Thermal Analysis of Indoor Cooling Performance of the Thermoelectric Radiant Panel (TERP) System

Description

A thermal analysis of indoor cooling of the designed thermoelectric radiant panel (TERP) system is conducted to evaluate the system's capability to regulate temperature effectively. By analyzing its thermal performance, potential issues can be identified and addressed to optimize the indoor environment. The system is expected to perform reliably without significant temperature deviations in the indoor environment under tropical climate conditions. Detailed thermal analyses were performed using ANSYS software, which utilized the geometry of the target room with specific dimensions and exposure to heat sources, such as occupant-generated heat and solar radiation. In the analysis, the boundary conditions are set up as: (a) A steady state because this research focuses on evaluating the designed TERP system's performance at the minimum, average, and maximum outdoor temperatures in Malaysia, which are 25°C, 27°C, and 32°C, respectively. (b) The analysis is set up as laminar flow model since the air velocity in the target room is considered zero due to minimal or no air movement, given that the room is fully enclosed with all windows and doors tightly sealed at all times. (c) Only the ceiling and the east-facing wall and window are exposed to sunlight. Therefore, these façades are the only ones affected by outdoor temperature. (d) The temperature for the other walls, windows, floor, and door is set to 24°C, as they face the building's interior, where it is assumed that the adjacent rooms, the room below, and the pavement in front of the target room are also maintained at this temperature. Findings: The results are shown in the form of a 3D thermal profile, which uses color contours to represent temperature variations across the system and the target room. The analysis demonstrated that the TERP system could maintain indoor temperatures around 25°C, even during peak outdoor temperatures in Malaysia, even under extreme weather conditions. While high outdoor temperatures intensified uneven surface temperature distribution, this had minimal impact on overall indoor temperature stability. Furthermore, the panels exhibited a low risk of condensation due to surface temperatures consistently exceeding the indoor dew-point temperature. The results validate the TERP system's potential as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional air conditioning systems, with applications particularly suited to tropical climates.

Steps to reproduce

The TERP system is designed based on the target room cooling load. Detailed thermal analysis of indoor cooling of the TERP system was performed using ANSYS software, which employs advanced CFD tools to simulate heat transfer in detail. The process began with creating a model of the designed TERP system integrated with the target room. A mesh was then generated for the model, ensuring sufficient refinement to accurately capture the model's details while maintaining computational efficiency. Material properties were defined based on standard building materials commonly used in Malaysia. ANSYS software’s comprehensive material database simplified this process by allowing the direct selection and assignment of material characteristics without requiring manual input. The boundary conditions were set as follows: (a) A steady-state condition was applied, as the analysis focused on evaluating the performance of the TERP system at the minimum, average, and maximum outdoor temperatures in Malaysia, which are 25°C, 27°C, and 32°C, respectively. (b) A laminar flow model was used, considering the air velocity in the target room as negligible due to minimal or no air movement. This assumption was based on the room being fully enclosed, with all windows and doors tightly sealed. (c) Only the ceiling, east-facing wall, and window were exposed to sunlight, making them the only surfaces influenced by outdoor temperature. (d) The temperatures of the other walls, windows, floor, and door were set to 24°C, as these surfaces faced the building's interior, where adjacent rooms, the room below, and the pavement in front of the target room were assumed to maintain this temperature. Before running the analysis, the number of iterations was set to 1500 to ensure reliable results that accurately reflected the system's behavior. The simulation was then conducted to obtain the indoor and panel surface temperatures of the designed TERP system. The results were presented as a 3D thermal profile using color contours to represent temperature variations across the system and the target room. If the indoor temperature was found to be outside the acceptable range defined by ASHRAE Standard 55 and Malaysian Standard 1525, the TERP system design would be modified by adjusting the configuration and quantity of the thermoelectric modules used, as well as altering the panel thickness, to optimize performance.

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