Modelling and Simulation of an Integrated Phase Change Material Blind System for Double Skin Façade Buildings

In this study, an integrated phase change material (PCM) blind system has been theoretically evaluated in a double skin façade (DSF) model. Compared with traditional thermal management methods (e.g. venetian blind), the proposed PCM blind system can absorb excessive solar heat gains in the DSF cavity during overheating periods with flexible tilt angles. Heat transfer models for both the PCM blind and the DSF have been developed. In order to achieve a high degree of reliability, data from an existing typical DSF building have been collected and used for defining the boundary conditions in the simulation exercise. The thermal performance of the system has been predicted under overheating scenario with the ANSYS Workbench Fluent software and been compared with conventional aluminium blind system. The study has shown that the PCM blind system has the potential to be used as an effective thermal management device in DSF system.