An optimization method coupling the response surface methodology and multi-objective particle swarm to enhance the performance of a novel water Trombe wall

Abstract

This study proposes a novel water Trombe wall (WTW) that integrates composite parabolic concentrators (CPC) with pulsating heat pipes (PHP) to enhance the heat storage rate in building walls. The thermal performance of the WTW is influenced by key operating parameters such as solar radiation intensity, water temperature, water flow rate, and their interactions. However, the specific impacts of these parameters on thermal performance remains unclear, and effective optimization methods are limited. To address this, a new method combining Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is proposed to improve the thermal performance of the WTW. The findings reveal that the primary contributors to the average heat storage rate of the WTW are solar radiation intensity (52.43 %), cooling water temperature (19.24 %), and the quadratic effect of cooling water flow rate (19.09 %). Furthermore, under optimal conditions of solar radiation intensity of 1000 W/m², a cooling water temperature of 8 °C, and a cooling water flow rate of 16.2 L/h, the Pareto front solution achieves a heat storage rate of 107.6 W and a thermal efficiency of 71.7 %. This study presents an innovative structural design and a method for optimizing the performance of building walls.