TITLE:
Experimental Study of Heat Transfer in a Real Scale Building Incorporating PCM in the Air Layer of the Vertical Walls
AUTHORS:
Zahra Najam, Mustapha El Alami, Mostafa Najam
KEYWORDS:
Experimental Study, Heat Transfer, PCM, Air Layer, Real-Scale Building
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.7 No.5,
May
24,
2019
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to study the energy efficiency of a local living space exposed to solar radiation in the subtropical climate of Casablanca. The study was mainly focused on the contribution of a phase change material (PCM), inserted into a 7-cm thick air layer of a double brick wall, in two different locations. We note that the experimental study was conducted using two real-scale test cavities, located in the Faculty of Science Ain Chock-Casablanca. Two PCM mounting methods were used for the south and west walls, in order to test its energy efficiency as a storage and retrieval means of the solar flux coming from the outside. In the case of the southern wall, the PCM is put directly on the internal side of the outside part of the double wall (Case 1). For the west wall, the PCM is placed 1.2 cm away from the internal side of the outer part of the double wall (Case 2). The first result shows that the PCM placed to the wall allows storing the solar heat during the day and releasing it to the outside of the building at night. While in the second case, the PCM keeps the heat stored day and night.