Experimental study of cooling effects of a passive evaporative cooling wall constructed of porous ceramics with high water soaking-up ability

As a passive cooling strategy aimed at controlling increased surface temperatures and creating cooler urban environments in summer, the authors developed a passive evaporative cooling wall (PECW) constructed of porous ceramics. These ceramics possess a capillary force to soak water, which means that their vertical surface is wet up to a level higher than 100 cm when their lower end is placed in water. The present paper describes an experiment that clarifies the cooling effects of a prototype PECW constructed of pipe-shaped ceramics. The PECW is capable of absorbing water and allows wind penetration, thus reducing its surface temperature by means of water evaporation. Passive cooling effects such as solar shading, radiation cooling, and ventilation cooling can be enhanced by incorporating PECWs into the design of outdoor or semi-outdoor spaces in parks, pedestrian areas and residential courtyards. The following findings were understood from an experimental data collected over a summer period. Wet vertical surfaces of the ceramic pipe reached a height of over 1 m at an outdoor location exposed to solar radiation. Wet surface conditions can be maintained throughout successive sunny days during summer. A slight difference in the vertical surface temperatures of the ceramic pipe was found. The air passing through the PECW was cooled, and its temperature can be reduced to a minimum value by several degrees during summer daytime. It was also found that the surface temperature of the shaded ceramic pipe can be maintained at a temperature nearly equal to the wet-bulb temperature of outdoor air. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.