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A High‐Efficiency, Portable, Solar‐Powered Cooling System Based on a Foldable‐Flower Mechanism and Wireless Power Transfer Technology for Vehicle Cabins
Author(s) -
Zhang Tingsheng,
Feng Yan,
Wu Xiaoping,
Pan Yajia,
Zhang Zutao,
Yuan Yanping
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.202000028
Subject(s) - wireless power transfer , photovoltaic system , electrical engineering , automotive engineering , resistor , solar energy , engineering , power (physics) , electricity , electromagnetic coil , physics , voltage , quantum mechanics
In summer, the high temperature inside vehicles is a problem, because cooling a vehicle parked under the scorching sun is both time and energy consuming. Herein, a portable solar‐powered cooling system (SPCS) is proposed based on a foldable‐flower mechanism and wireless power transfer (WPT) technology. The proposed system consists of three main parts: a solar foldable‐flower module (SFFM), an energy transfer module, and a temperature control module. The SFFM is a novel foldable mechanism that achieves a high space utilization through a rotating process and a folding process, like a flower opening its petals. The SFFM, equipped with photovoltaic (PV) cells, collects solar energy and converts it into electricity. The energy transfer module stores electricity from the SFFM in a supercapacitor via a WPT unit. The temperature control module achieves automatic temperature regulation using a cooling device. Experimental results show that output power reaches up to 7.571 W with a load resistor of 5 Ω, whereas the efficiency of the WPT reaches up to 73.6% with a load resistor of 15 Ω. Moreover, thermal simulation results illustrate that the proposed system achieves an average temperature reduction of 27.45 °C, making it feasible and effective to cool a hot vehicle cabin.