Enhancing the Thermal Performance of Temporary Fabric Shelters for the Advanced Energy Efficient Shelter System
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to aid the Air Force Civil Engineer Center with the development, testing, and analysis of Advanced Energy Efficient Shelter Systems ultimately leading to the procurement of next-generation shelter systems. Specifically, this research focused on the thermal performance of radiant barrier technology integrated into different types and configurations of fabric materials used for the fly, skin, and liner of temporary fabric shelter. The absence of testing standards specific to the thermal performance of temporary fabric shelters required testing procedures and thermal performance metrics to be analyzed and established. Then, a design of experiments was conducted using a modified hot box apparatus and small-scale test jigs resulting in over 57,350,000 data points capturing exterior climatic conditions and resulting temperatures of the materials and interior space. Comparisons of means and correlations were used to identify the optimal number of layers, number of radiant barriers, and placement and direction of radiant barriers. As a result, hot box air conditioning runtimes were reduced up to 54.6 percent compared to standard single-layer systems while test jig interior temperatures decreased as much as 14.8 degrees F. Finally, multiple regression modeling of thermal performance confirmed the best two- and three-layer fabric systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1055198
Entities
People
- Justin E. Eshleman
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology