Session: 02-05 Innovations for Sustainably Built Environments

Paper Number: 107043

107043 - Energy Analysis of a Solar-Powered Heating System for a Greenhouse in the Martian Environment 

Greenhouses are considered as critical platforms in developing sustainable living conditions for extraterrestrial environments. The extreme environmental conditions as well as the limitations in energy sources lead to major challenges is development of proper environments for plant growth in support of manned planetary space missions.  The present paper is focused on developing a mathematical model to perform energy analysis on the heating requirements for a greenhouse in Martian environment. The extreme cold temperatures and lower amount of solar radiation, as compared to earth, necessitates the use of proper heating system for greenhouse in Martian environment to achieve effective plant growth. Energy scarcity, on the other hand, is a crucial factor which must be considered for supplying the heating system in extra-terrestrial environment. For this study, energy analysis is performed by obtaining the available data from different environmental parameters recorded by the Rover Environmental Monitoring System on-board the Curiosity Rover, located near Gale crater. Using the daily minimum and daily maximum temperature values recorded, a model is developed and the heating load calculation for a greenhouse with a fixed geometry is performed. The amount of energy needed to address the annual heating demands is determined. The available solar radiation for solar power generation using photovoltaic panels for a period of one Martian year (668 Sols) is also evaluated. Several atmospheric parameters are taken into consideration, and the seasonal variations of solar irradiance are studied. The size of a solar array for addressing the energy demands for the heating system is calculated accordingly. Several other parameters including the solar panel efficiency, solar cell temperature based on the ambient conditions and wind velocity and the effects of extreme temperature conditions on solar cell degradation are discussed. The results from this study can be used to help with addressing the potential challenges to support sustainable living conditions in extra-terrestrial environmental conditions.

Presenting Author: Nivedha Karigiri Madhusudhan Florida Institute of Technology

Presenting Author Biography: Nivedha Karigiri Madhusudhan is a graduate student of Mechanical Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology. Her research is focused on heat transfer and numerical analysis of thermal systems.