Evaluation of Strategies to Improve the Thermal Performance of Steel Frames in Curtain Wall Systems

Ji Hyun Oh, Hyun Jung Yoo and Sun Sook Kim
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Ji Hyun Oh: Department of Architecture, Ajou University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 443-749, Korea
Hyun Jung Yoo: Department of Architecture, Ajou University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 443-749, Korea
Sun Sook Kim: Department of Architecture, Ajou University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 443-749, Korea

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Recently, metal curtain wall systems have been widely used in high-rise buildings due to many advantages, including being lightweight, rapid construction, and aesthetic features. Since the metal frame may lead to lower energy performance, thermal discomfort, and condensation risk due to the high thermal conductivity, its thermal performance can be important for the improvement of the overall thermal performance of the curtain wall system, as well as the energy efficiency of the building envelope. This study aims to evaluate variety of design strategies to improve the thermal performance of steel curtain wall frames. Five base cases and three further steps were selected for two different head profile shapes based on a state-of-the art technology review, and their thermal transmittances were calculated through simulations according to the ISO 12631 standard which is an international standard for calculating thermal transmittance of curtain wall system. Measured results that were obtained from hot-box tests were compared with the calculated results to validate the simulation method of this study. The shape of the head profile did not strongly influence the overall thermal transmittance, and the choice of strategies for the rabbet space was more important. More effective strategies could be decided according to the steps for variation development. This result can serve as a guideline for the design of high-performance curtain wall frames.

Keywords: curtain wall; steel frame; thermal transmittance; U-value; hot-box test (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: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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