Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study

To evaluate the potential of phase-change materials (PCMs) in improving the indoor thermal and airflow environment of Trombe walls under solar energy limitations, a computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) model was employed in this study to perform comparative simulations. Taking traditional Trombe wall...

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Main Authors: Rui Xu, Yanfei Zhang, Shaoyang Lou, Xu Chen, Guoyi Zhang, Zhonggou Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1239
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author Rui Xu
Yanfei Zhang
Shaoyang Lou
Xu Chen
Guoyi Zhang
Zhonggou Chen
author_facet Rui Xu
Yanfei Zhang
Shaoyang Lou
Xu Chen
Guoyi Zhang
Zhonggou Chen
author_sort Rui Xu
collection DOAJ
description To evaluate the potential of phase-change materials (PCMs) in improving the indoor thermal and airflow environment of Trombe walls under solar energy limitations, a computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) model was employed in this study to perform comparative simulations. Taking traditional Trombe walls (TWs) as the control group and PCM-Trombe walls (PCM-TWs) as the experimental group, the simulation analysis was carried out based on meteorological data from a typical spring day in Hangzhou in 2024. The results indicate that the application of PCM significantly reduced temperature fluctuations in the air channel, lowering the peak temperature by 8.3 °C. Meanwhile, it delayed the decline in ventilation rate, extending the effective ventilation time by approximately one hour. Moreover, by calculating the Grashof number and ventilation rate, it was observed that the buoyancy effect of PCM-TWs is weaker than that of TWs at the peak wind speed, resulting in a lower natural convection intensity. The ventilation rate variation trend of PCM-TWs was smoother, with its peak ventilation rate slightly lower than that of TWs by 0.008 kg/s.
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series Buildings
spelling doaj-art-4f45319b9f3d4a4686a2991c41a7834d2025-08-20T03:14:15ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-04-01158123910.3390/buildings15081239Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case StudyRui Xu0Yanfei Zhang1Shaoyang Lou2Xu Chen3Guoyi Zhang4Zhonggou Chen5Department of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaDepartment of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaDepartment of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaDepartment of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaDepartment of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaDepartment of Landscape and Architecture, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, ChinaTo evaluate the potential of phase-change materials (PCMs) in improving the indoor thermal and airflow environment of Trombe walls under solar energy limitations, a computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) model was employed in this study to perform comparative simulations. Taking traditional Trombe walls (TWs) as the control group and PCM-Trombe walls (PCM-TWs) as the experimental group, the simulation analysis was carried out based on meteorological data from a typical spring day in Hangzhou in 2024. The results indicate that the application of PCM significantly reduced temperature fluctuations in the air channel, lowering the peak temperature by 8.3 °C. Meanwhile, it delayed the decline in ventilation rate, extending the effective ventilation time by approximately one hour. Moreover, by calculating the Grashof number and ventilation rate, it was observed that the buoyancy effect of PCM-TWs is weaker than that of TWs at the peak wind speed, resulting in a lower natural convection intensity. The ventilation rate variation trend of PCM-TWs was smoother, with its peak ventilation rate slightly lower than that of TWs by 0.008 kg/s.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1239Trombe wallphase-change materialventilationnumerical simulationCFD
spellingShingle Rui Xu
Yanfei Zhang
Shaoyang Lou
Xu Chen
Guoyi Zhang
Zhonggou Chen
Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
Buildings
Trombe wall
phase-change material
ventilation
numerical simulation
CFD
title Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
title_full Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
title_fullStr Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
title_short Simulation-Based Natural Ventilation Performance Assessment of a Novel Phase-Change-Material-Equipped Trombe Wall Design: A Case Study
title_sort simulation based natural ventilation performance assessment of a novel phase change material equipped trombe wall design a case study
topic Trombe wall
phase-change material
ventilation
numerical simulation
CFD
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/8/1239
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