Tuning the Solar Performance of Building Facades through Polymer 3D Printing: Toward Bespoke Thermo‐Optical Properties
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Date
2023-03-24
Publication Type
Journal Article
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yes
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Abstract
Façades are the primary interface controlling the flow of solar energy in buildings and affecting their energy balance and environmental impact. Recently, large-scale 3D printing (3DP) of translucent polymers has been explored as a technique for fabricating façade components with bespoke properties and functionalities. Transmissivity is essential for building facades, as the response to solar radiation is crucial to obtaining comfort and greatly affects electricity and cooling demands. However, it is still unclear how 3DP parameters affect the optical properties of translucent polymers. This study establishes an experimental procedure to relate the optical properties of PETG components to design and 3DP parameters. It is observed that printing parameters control layer deposition, which governs internal light scattering in the layers and overall light transmission. Moreover, the layer resolution determines angle-dependent properties. It is shown that printing parameters can be tuned to obtain tailored optical properties, from high normal transparency (≈90%) to translucency (≈60%), and with a range of haze levels (≈55–97%). These findings present an opportunity for large-scale 3DP of bespoke façades, which can selectively admit or block solar radiation and provide uniform daylighting of a space. In the context of the building sector decarbonization, such components hold great potential for reducing emissions while ensuring occupant comfort.
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published
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Journal / series
Volume
8 (6)
Pages / Article No.
2201200
Publisher
Wiley-VCH
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Edition / version
Methods
Software
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Date collected
Date created
Subject
3D-Printing; Building Facades; Polymers; Solar Transmission; Thermo-optical Properties
Organisational unit
03902 - Schlüter, Arno / Schlüter, Arno
02284 - NFS Digitale Fabrikation / NCCR Digital Fabrication