Evaluating the Effect of New Local Materials of Evaporative Cooling Pads

The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of celdek pads, luffa pads, straw fiber pads and sackcloth pads as alternative pad materials. Experimental measurements were conducted and the experimental data were quantitative. The experimental work mainly focused on the effects of different types and thicknesses of evaporative cooling pads when used for changing the environmental conditions inside greenhouses. Moreover, the experimental work involved the measurement of environmental parameters viz., temperature, relative humidity, air velocity and pressure drops at different times during the day, using the different thickness parameters of the evaporative cooling pads i.e., 50, 100 and 150 mm and the water flow rates through the pads. The data obtained from the experiments and measurements were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Results deciphered that there was a significant difference between evaporative cooling pad types and cooling efficiency. The Luffa pads yielded an average saturation of 73.67%, whereas other pads yielded the following average saturations: straw fiber pads 71.87%, celdek 70.33% and sackcloth 69%. However, there was a highly significant difference between the pad thickness and cooling efficiency. The results obtained for environmental factors, indicated that there was a significant difference between environmental factors and cooling efficiency. In terms of the effect of air velocity on saturation efficiency and pressure drop, higher air velocity decreases saturation efficiency and increases pressure drop across the wetted pad. Finally, the present study indicated that the luffa pads perform better than the other evaporative cooling pads and have higher potential as wetted-pad material.