Experimental study of the potential of eucalyptus fibres for evaporative cooling

Abstract

Energy consumption by human enhanced activities has led to distinctive environmental problems; in particular, climate change and global warming. In hot regions, the main reason for energy consumption comes from the cooling of many buildings. The intensity and duration of the sunshine in hot regions have a direct relation with the usage of cooling systems. The aim of this paper is to study the performance of eucalyptus fibre pads which can be used as a new material for the evaporative cooling process in order to reduce the energy consumption caused by cooling loads. A wind tunnel is used to investigate the performance of evaporative cooling by eucalyptus fibres. This paper also analyses the behaviour of the eucalyptus fibres under different conditions. From the measurement of one material sample, it was found that the maximum reduction of air temperature was between 11.3 degrees C and 6.6 degrees C, while the maximum cooling efficiency was in the range of 71% and 49% at 0.1 and 0.6 m/s air velocities respectively. Corresponding cooling capacities were also calculated as 108 W and 409 W indicating a directly proportional relation between air velocity and cooling performance. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.