A novel passive solar energy space heating design of an emergency tent

Abstract

The adjustable tent is utilised in construction sites, military camps, tourist locations, disaster relief efforts, rescue operations, nomadic living, and other situations. Current methods offer thermal comfort in tents but may elevate weight, expense and complexity. This study introduces a design for a passive solar heating tent that controls internal temperatures using renewable solar energy. This tent was designed using SolidWorks, featuring a Nylon 6.6 cover and a metal frame. The study's results indicate that the aperture area of the sun's trajectory is essential for the tent's energy harvesting capability. The design's principal characteristic is the rectangular prism-shaped air containers, comprising three passive solar containers (PSAC) and two insulation containers (ISC). These containers (PSAC and ISC) can be utilised during the winter and stored during the summer. To determine the minimum necessary aperture area, we computed the tent's maximum thermal losses, representing the required space heating load of 1000 W. We formulated an equation to determine the aperture area of the three-sided tent on the sun-exposed sides based on the azimuth and elevation angles that affect the solar collectors. The integration of the five containers (PSAC and ISC) with the tent enhances thermal insulation by reducing the heat transfer coefficient from 6.5 W/(m²‧K) to 0.168 W/(m²‧K).