Climatic chamber with solar simulator

• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics, Technical Thermodynamics and Thermal Energy Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 432052716

At the University of Bayreuth, the Center of Energy Technology (ZET) with its broad orientation to thermal, electrical, chemical and biological aspects of energy generation, transmission, storage and usage in combination with the materials-science research of the Center of Material Science and Engineering (ZMW) offers a wide range of applications for using and converting solar energy. Moreover, the effect of climatic conditions and in particular solar radiation on biological and thermal processes as well as different materials is of strong interest. The proposed climatic chamber with solar simulator enables measurements of winterly solar transmission and summerly solar reflection on facade elements, the determination of heat storage capacity of innovative wall systems, the characterization of photovoltaic and solar thermal modules, as well as the investigation of domestic energy systems, their components and control systems. In this context, the climatic chamber enables predetermined dynamic profiles of temperature and relative humidity. Due to the concept of an adjustable irradiation angle, dynamic radiation profiles can be realized. In order to investigate diverse facade elements, a small climatic test chamber is added that allows an application-oriented heat flux dependent on the solar radiation and indoor climate. The chosen size as well as the performance range and the high quality equipment of the proposed device allow a large number of test objects and applications. Therefore, a strong cross-use within the key-labs of ZET and ZMW in the same building is guaranteed. Until now, a comparable kind of system of climate chamber and integrated solar simulator is not available at the University of Bayreuth. By means of the climatic chamber with solar simulator results of past projects can be holistically supported, reproducibility is guaranteed and transferability is provided. Simultaneously, in contrast to time-consuming outdoor experiments, scientific projects can be conducted in a more efficient and better predictable way. In addition, the application of the device is not limited to specific current and planned projects. Instead, due to its wide flexibility, it can be used for a widespread variety of future scopes of application as well as for collaborations across the faculties and between universities.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Klimakammer mit Sonnensimulator
• Instrumentation Group: 2980 Prüfkammern (Klima, Vakuum, Vibration) und Korrosionsprüfgeräte
• Applicant Institution: Universität Bayreuth
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Dieter Brüggemann