DESIGN AND TESTING OF AIR HEAT EXCHANGER WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL (PCM) FOR FREE COOLING

Free cooling is an innovative idea of saving the nighttime cold and utilizing it during the daytime. Free cooling technique can be efficiently used with the help of Phase Change Material (PCM). This publication establishes a methodology to systematically design the Air-PCM heat exchanger and to select appropriate PCM material. This research also includes experimental study to improve the efficiency of designed heat exchanger. The experimentation was done with simulated climatic conditions. PCM HS29 with melting temperature 29˚C was selected taking climatic conditio ns into consideration. The air-PCM heat exchanger was tested with different air velocities, which is one of the most significant parameters deciding the efficacy of heat transfer. It was found that when air velocity is increased; it results in an increased convective heat transfer between PCM and air and thereby, increasing the cooling effect.