Effects of Inhomogeneities on Heat and Mass Transport Phenomena in Thermal Bridges

Paola Iodice, Nicola Massarotti and Alessandro Mauro
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Paola Iodice: Università Telematica Pegaso, Centro Direzionale, Isola A3, 80143 Napoli, Italy
Nicola Massarotti: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143 Napoli, Italy
Alessandro Mauro: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143 Napoli, Italy

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: The interest of calculating the effects of thermal bridges in buildings energy consumption is growing, due to recent energy saving regulations applied in different countries. The widespread use of insulating materials to reduce energy requirements of buildings, often employed for intermediate insulation of the building envelope, makes thermal bridges a crucial point in the energy analysis of building envelopes. Furthermore, heat losses through thermal bridges often lead to building pathologies due to moisture condensation. Therefore, thermal bridges need to be correctly characterized in the building design stage in order to reduce heat losses and avoid materials degradation. The authors numerically simulate, by using finite elements, the steady-state and dynamic three-dimensional (3D) heat and vapor transport in inhomogeneous thermal bridges and building envelopes. The aim of the present work is to show the importance of taking into account the presence of inhomogeneities ( i.e. , metal stud) in building materials for the calculation of actual heat losses and water condensation in 3D thermal bridges. The obtained heat transfer results are verified against the reference data of the technical standard UNI EN ISO 10211. The proposed microscopic approach is essential to calculate the actual heat losses of three-dimensional thermal bridges and building envelopes and to overcome condensation problems.

Keywords: inhomogeneity; dynamic; conduction; diffusion; thermal bridge; thermal dispersions (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 references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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