Effectiveness of CFD simulation for the performance prediction of phase change building boards in the thermal environment control of indoor spaces

This paper reports on a validation study of CFD models used to predict the effect of PCM clay boards on the control of indoor environments, in ventilated and non-ventilated situations. Unlike multi-zonal models, CFD is important in situations where localised properties are essential such as in buildings with complex and large geometries. The employed phase change model considers temperature/enthalpy hysteresis and varying enthalpy–temperature characteristics to more accurately simulate the phase change behaviour of the PCM boards compared to the standard default modelling approach in the commercial CFD codes. Successful validation was obtained with a mean error of 1.0 K relative to experimental data, and the results show that in addition to providing satisfactory quantitative results, CFD also provides qualitative results which are useful in the effective design of indoor thermal environment control systems utilising PCM. These results include: (i) temperature and air flow distribution within the space resulting from the use of PCM boards and different night ventilation rates; (ii) the fraction of PCM experiencing phase change and is effective in the control of the indoor thermal environment, enabling optimisation of the location of the boards; and (iii) the energy impact of PCM boards and adequate ventilation configurations for effective night charging.