On-site operation performance investigation of nocturnal cooling radiator for heat radiation

Abstract

Nocturnal cooling radiation is one of the effective natural passive cooling technologies by electromagnetic infrared radiation exchange between terrestrial surfaces and the sky. For promoting the application of nocturnal cooling radiation in the active cooling system, a novel nocturnal cooling radiator with simple panel structure and low initial investment is designed in this study. In order to investigate the heat radiation performance of the nocturnal cooling radiator, a practical test rig of nocturnal cooling radiation system with thermometer sensors and flow rate sensors is assembled horizontally against on the roof of a science and technology building located in Jinan, China. Then, the outlet water temperature, cooling capacity, and the exterior wall temperature distribution of the nocturnal cooling radiator for different operation conditions are measured and recorded. According to the practical investigation, the heat dissipating capacity of properly designed and controlled nocturnal cooling radiator is proved to be considerable for merging with various active cooling systems.