Experimental Study on the Performance of a Space Radiation Cooling System under Different Environmental Factors

Abstract

As a new passive cooling technology, space radiation cooling has great potential for development because the cooling itself has no energy consumption, and the radiation heat exchanger does not affect the appearance, with low noise and low cost. Several rectangular stainless steel plates coated with RLHY-2 material are used as the transmitter for the field test. The experimental results show that, in the case of no windscreen, the increase of outdoor humidity will reduce the cooling effect, and the greater the humidity, the more pronounced the reduction effect. Significantly when the humidity increases from 78% to 90%, the cooling power of the cooler reduces from 102 to 67 W/m2. The thickness of the cloud layer also affects the cooling effect of the space radiative cooler. Compared with the clear weather, the cooling power of the cooler is reduced by 11.65 W/m2 on average under foggy weather conditions. Compared with the force-1 wind and the force-3 wind, the cooling effect of the cooler is the worst under the condition of the force-2 wind, and the average cooling power is only 49.76 W/m2. In addition, laying polyethylene (PE) film as a windscreen is beneficial to improving the radiative cooling effect, and the difference in surface temperature between the two is up to 3 °C. This research provides a theoretical basis and practical reference for applying radiative cooling technology in different regions and seasons and adjusting and improving its effects.