Experimental study on the performance of a novel RC-PCM-wall

To reduce the indoor cooling loads and improve occupant's thermal comfort, a novel all-day cooling wall (RC-PCM-wall) combining phase change materials (PCM), micro-channel heat pipes (MCHPs), and radiative cooling (RC) plate is presented. In this study, a field test of the room with the RC-PCM-wall (Room C) as well as two comparative testing rooms were simultaneously carried out in three consecutive days, one of which is the brick wall (Room A) and the other is PCMs wall (Room B). The testing results indicated that the peak temperature of the interior surface of south wall are 40.7 degrees C for the Room A, 34.9 degrees C for the Room B, and 32.5 degrees C for the Room C. Additionally, the corresponding daily indoor average temperature are 27.8 degrees C, 27.3 degrees C and 27.0 degrees C, respectively. The melting time of PCMs in the Room C is about 16h in a day, which is about 2.3 h longer than that of the Room B. Moreover, the cooling loads from south wall for the Room C are decreased by 47.9% and 23.8% compared to Room A and B, respectively. Overall, the RC PCM wall has a good potential application in saving fossil fuel consumption in summer season. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.