Aging Study of Plastics to Be Used as Radiative Cooling Wind-Shields for Night-Time Radiative Cooling—Polypropylene as an Alternative to Polyethylene

Ingrid Martorell (), Jaume Camarasa, Roger Vilà, Cristian Solé and Albert Castell
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Ingrid Martorell: Sustainable Energy, Machinery and Buildings (SEMB) Research Group, INSPIRES Research Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Jaume Camarasa: Sustainable Energy, Machinery and Buildings (SEMB) Research Group, INSPIRES Research Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Roger Vilà: Sustainable Energy, Machinery and Buildings (SEMB) Research Group, INSPIRES Research Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Cristian Solé: Sustainable Energy, Machinery and Buildings (SEMB) Research Group, INSPIRES Research Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain
Albert Castell: Sustainable Energy, Machinery and Buildings (SEMB) Research Group, INSPIRES Research Centre, Universitat de Lleida, Pere de Cabrera s/n, 25001 Lleida, Spain

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Polyethylene has widely been used in radiative cooling applications because of high transmittance values in the atmospheric window. However, it presents optical and mechanical degradation when exposed to environmental conditions and must be replaced every few months. This paper aims to find an alternative to polyethylene to be used in a unique device, the Radiative Collector and Emitter (RCE), that combines solar collection and night-time radiative cooling. The aging evolution analysis of five cheap and market available plastic films (two low density polyethylene, one high density polyethylene, one polypropylene, and one fluorinated ethylene propylene) exposed to environmental conditions was performed. FT-IR spectra and mechanical traction tests were performed before and after 90 days of exposure to the environment. Results confirm that polyethylene undergoes a degradation process both when it is covered by a glass and when it is uncovered. However, it maintains high average transmittance values in the atmospheric window. Polypropylene has average transmittance values slightly lower than polyethylene, but its aging behaviour is better since no oxidative processes are detected when the material is covered with glass. For all this, PP-35 is an interesting candidate for night-time radiative cooling wind-shields.

Keywords: night-time radiative cooling; wind-shield; plastic films; transmittance; mechanical tests; aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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