Insulation Performance Comparison of Curtain Wall Systems with Existing Pipe Frames and Truss-Shaped Insulation Frames

Bo-Hye Choi and Seung-Yeong Song
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Bo-Hye Choi: Department of Architectural & Urban Systems Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03760, Korea
Seung-Yeong Song: Department of Architectural & Urban Systems Engineering, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03760, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare insulation performance between a base case that applied the existing steel pipe frame and an alternative case that reduced thermal bridging by applying a truss-shaped insulation frame (TIF) to a back frame type curtain wall. Insulation performance was compared by obtaining the effective U-factor and the lowest indoor surface temperature through a three-dimensional steady-state heat transfer simulation. In addition, mock-up tests were performed to compare the U-factors of the base case and alternative case. The simulation results showed that the effective U-factor of the alternative case was 36% lower than in the base case, a significant heat loss reduction. The lowest indoor surface temperature of the alternative case was 0.5 °C higher than in the base case, showing that the surface condensation risk also decreased. In the mock-up test results, the alternative case U-factor was 33% lower than in the base case, confirming the associated large heat loss reduction. For the base case, both the effective U-factor by simulation and the U-factor by the mock-up test were much higher than the design U-factor according to the Korean Design Standard, which neglects thermal bridging, indicating a significantly increased heat loss caused by this factor. For the alternative case, however, both U-factors were similar to the design U-factor.

Keywords: thermal insulation; thermal bridge; curtain wall; truss-shaped insulation frame (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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