ISHS Acta Horticulturae 281: II Workshop on Greenhouse Construction and Design
MECHANISM OF LIGHT TRANSMISSION THROUGH WET POLYMER FILMS |
| Authors: | A. Jaffrin, S. Makhlouf |
| Abstract:
The mechanism responsible for the reduction of the light transmission of polymer films in the presence of water deposits is studied from classical optics concepts. The hemi-spherical dioptres created by condensation droplets on non wettable polymers can be responsible for a 40 % reduction of the optical transmittance of a film at normal incidence, and slightly less for oblique rays. On the contrary, the complete wettability obtained by the inclusion of chemical agents in the polymer resin makes wetted films to be even more transparent than dry films. Numerical simulations based on these optical concepts accurately reproduce thermal effects resulting from a loss of wettability of a film used for soil solarisation. | |
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