Hydrogel Panel

Hydro Panel
//The panel is made by two surfaces containing hydrogel spheres in between. It works as a cooling facade system which absorbs water from the rain and keeps the facade cool for a longer time as the water evaporates slowly.

A3-01

Setup
 //The volume required by one sphere of hydrogel to grow to its maximum size is 4 cm3. By tilting one cell of the panel we can determine the area of the triangle in which the water will collect. By associating this area to the magnitude of estrusion the cell will always have the volume of the container enough for one sphere. The rest of the area needs to be perforated for the collection of water and ventilation.

Parameters and optimization

//The parameters used to optimize the geometry of the cell are the volume of water required by one sphere, the total exposed surface area and the size of perforations on the inside. The volume is kept constant while maximizing the exposed area and size of perforations on the outside and the minimizing the size of perforations on the inside.

A3-02

A3-03