Design, fabrication, and characterization of thermal and optical properties of nano-composite self-cleaning smart window

Polymer-based smart windows have recently received attention due to their capabilities in energy consumption reduction. A smart window provides desired optical properties when heated/cooled by using solar energy when the ambient temperature requires regulation. Thus the main axis of the current paper is the design and fabrication of such a smart element which operates according to temperature and energy efficiency requirements. The window in the proposed design operates the way that the percentage of light transmission depends on the presence of nanofluid between the two walls and refractive index conformity between the fluid and the polymeric walls; Therefore the percentage of light transmission will be at its minimum value (45%) in the absence of fluid and it will be at the maximum value (80%) at the presence of fluid. The fundamental steps of the present design includes design, fabrication, and characterization of the materials. In this regard experiments to determine the mechanical, physical, structural, optical, and thermal properties of components have been performed after considering, designing, and manufacturing various samples. The results show that the proposed smart window offers acceptable performance with a fast switching rate and even more than other similar smart glasses due to the usage of discharge/injection mechanism. In overall, the product can be used as a smart transparent element in various structures such as buildings and even vehicles to regulate energy consumption and/or block the view for security purposes.