Numerical simulation and sensitivity analysis on an improved Trombe wall

Abstract Trombe wall can absorb solar energy and provide heat for buildings passively. To improve its heating performances, an improved Trombe wall was proposed and experimentally investigated in our previous study. To better understand the improved Trombe wall, a numerical study on investigating its heating characteristics was carried out in this paper. Overall, the improved Trombe wall increased the average air temperature at the top vent, average air velocity at the top vent, heating capacity, and thermal efficiency by 1.9 °C, 30.4%, 57.1%, and 55.7%, respectively, when compared to a traditional Trombe wall. Besides, the fields of temperature and flow in the improved Trombe wall were also much better than those in the traditional Trombe. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of the heating characteristics of the improved Trombe walls with different thickness of air channel ranging from 50 to 130 mm demonstrated that the best heating characteristics of the improved Trombe wall with a height of 2.7 m can be achieved when the thickness of air channel ranged from 70 to 80 mm. The numerical results of this paper can provide a beneficial effect on the development of the improved Trombe wall.