Princeton C.H.A.O.S. Lab's visit of ICE in Fribourg

The ICE Lab and the CHAOS (Cooling and Heating for Architecturally Optimized Systems) Lab have complementary research agendas, and their collaboration started within the research framework of “TEACH-RS: Thermal Environments and Architecture for Cooling and Heating with Radiant Systems” in 2020. In the first experimental project conducted in the CELLS, shortwave and longwave radiation effect on the human body was studied, and the novel scanning and thermography methods developed by CHAOSense were used. The Scanning Mean Radiant Temperature (SMaRT) Sensor spatially resolving surface temperatures using a non-contact IR sensor and a Lidar module was used to produce a thermal point cloud of the surface temperatures in the scanned experimental room. Additionally, two precision pyrgeometer arrays were used in the study to precisely capture the radiant flux at a point. In the ongoing project focusing on localized heating and cooling of people using radiant surfaces, the ICE team deploys the CUBE sensors to measure precisely the mean radiant temperature and an upgraded stationary version of the SMaRT sensor. These instruments will provide a detailed spatial and temporal variation of the radiant environment created by the combination of the active heat exchange surfaces, the human body, and the building envelope surfaces, including a large glazed surface.

Recenly, the CHAOSense developed a new measurement technique (SMaRT-SL) to fully resolve spatial variation in shortwave, from terrestrial reflected and diffuse sky, radiant heat transfer along with the direct solar radiation. The new SMaRT-SL sensor records 360 deg shortwave and longwave panoramic images. Prof. Forrest Meggers and Coleman Merchant demonstrated their novel sensor during their visit of the ICE Lab in Fribourg. Apart from the discussion regarding the instrumentation to resolve thermal radiation, Forrest and Coleman virtually visited the new Smart Living Building using the tool developed by Building2050 group. Their trip to Fribourg was combined with biking and enjoying meringues with La Gruyère double cream.