| Title: |
3E evaluation of a cascade PCM-based solar cooling system for meeting different cooling loads |
| Authors: |
Abdelwanes, Abdelsalam; Peter, King; Upul, Wijayantha; Kumar, Patchigolla; Renaldi, Renaldi |
| Source: |
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy ; ISSN 0957-6509 2041-2967 |
| Publisher Information: |
SAGE Publications |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Description: |
This research presents a Techno-Economic-Environmental (3E) evaluation of a cascade phase change material (PCM)-based thermal energy storage (TES) integrated into a solar-driven cooling system designed to meet different cooling loads, including freezing, refrigeration, and air-conditioning. The system employs paraffin and salt hydrate PCMs with modified melting points to enable multi-temperature operation through thermal stratification. The configuration combines ammonia-based charging and R134a/water discharging loops, supported by TRNSYS–MATLAB co-simulation, to analyse the dynamic thermal response, phase transition behaviour, and overall system efficiency. Results show that the cascade PCM arrangement provides stable cooling performance across diverse load ranges, with PCM2 (4°C) and PCM3 (15°C) contributing over 90 % of total stored energy. However, the high capital investment (£2.2 million) leads to an extended payback period of approximately 115 years, despite significant electricity savings and a reduction in CO 2 emissions compared to conventional systems. The findings underscore the technical feasibility and environmental merit of cascade PCM-based TES while identifying cost as the main barrier to large-scale adoption. The study contributes a general 3E framework combining thermal, economic, and environmental metrics to evaluate cascade PCM–TES integration for multi-load solar cooling. The results provide design guidance and highlight future research opportunities in cost optimisation, composite PCMs, and modular TES architectures to enhance both affordability and scalability. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1177/09576509251412577 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1177/09576509251412577; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/09576509251412577; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/09576509251412577 |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.2567A91F |
| Database: |
BASE |