Energy Efficiency of Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings

Santos, Paulo

doi:10.5772/66136

Cited by 21 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The structural performance is improved in terms of seismic resistance and fire protection. This type of construction can improve the hygrothermal performance of the buildings and offer extra sound insulation, providing a healthy and high quality indoor environment [1][2][3][4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Assessment of a Novel Drywall System Insulated with VIPs

2019

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Advanced building envelopes targeting high energy performance should combine high thermal performance with easy and fast installation. The combination of lightweight steel-framed building systems with vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) form an attractive solution toward this requirement. In the present study, a lightweight metal frame drywall building insulated with VIPs is constructed and experimentally/theoretically investigated, focusing on the impact of every type of thermal bridges on the thermal performance of the envelope and its upgrade due to the presence of the VIPs at the walls. Temperature measurements obtained at several locations of the envelope, over a period of one year, are presented and analyzed. The results are in agreement with the theoretical values and demonstrate that the VIPs can reduce the thermal transmittance of the central part of the wall by ca. 50%, limiting the impact of metal studs. The paper discusses the impact of dimensional inaccuracies and damaged panels on the thermal performance of the envelope. It is shown that VIP decreases the impact of thermal bridges and reduces the risk of condensation inside the walls.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Assessment of a Novel Drywall System Insulated with VIPs

2019

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“…The use of lightweight steel frame (LSF) systems has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional construction and its usage are increasing every year, mostly because of its great advantages, such as: cost efficiency, reduced weight, mechanical resistance, fast assemblage and others [1,2]. However, the high thermal conductivity of the steel could lead to thermal bridges effects resulting in a poor thermal performance of the building if those issues are not properly addressed (e.g., at design stage) [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A usual LSF wall is mainly composed of three parts: (1) steel frame internal structure (cold formed profiles); (2) sheathing panels (internal and external, e.g., gypsum plasterboard and OSB); (3) the insulation layers (cavity/batt insulation, such as mineral wool, and/or ETICS-exterior thermal insulation composite system) [3]. Notice that the batt insulation, besides the thermal insulation function, can also perform an important acoustic insulation function [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the existence of an insulation layer and its position on the wall determines the type of LSF construction. According to Santos et al [1], a LSF construction element can be classified into three wall frame typologies: (1) cold, (2) hybrid, and (3) warm. On cold frame constructions, all the thermal insulation is placed inside the wall air cavity, between the vertical studs and limited to the stud depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analytical Methods to Estimate the Thermal Transmittance of LSF Walls: Calculation Procedures Review and Accuracy Comparison

2020

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An accurate evaluation of the thermal transmittance ( U -value) of building envelope elements is fundamental for a reliable assessment of their thermal behaviour and energy efficiency. Simplified analytical methods to estimate the U -value of building elements could be very useful to designers. However, the analytical methods applied to lightweight steel framed (LSF) elements have some specific features, being more challenging to use and to obtain a reliable accurate U -value with. In this work, the main analytical methods available in the literature were identified, the calculation procedures were reviewed and their accuracy was evaluated and compared. With this goal, six analytical methods were used to estimate the U -values of 80 different LSF wall models. The obtained analytical U -values were compared with those provided by numerical simulations, which were used as reference U -values. The numerical simulations were performed using a 2D steady-state finite element method (FEM)-based software, THERM. The reliability of these numerical models was ensured by comparison with benchmark values and by an experimental validation. All the evaluated analytical methods showed a quite good accuracy performance, the worst accuracy being found in cold frame walls. The best and worst precisions were found in the Modified Zone Method and in the Gorgolewski Method 2, respectively. Very surprisingly, the ISO 6946 Combined Method showed a better average precision than other two methods, which were specifically developed for LSF elements.

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“…As described by Soares et al [3], LSF construction presents several advantages, such as: small weight with high mechanical strength; speed of construction and reduced disruption on-site; great potential for recycling and reuse; high architectural flexibility for retrofitting purposes; easy prefabrication allowing modular construction, suited to the economy of mass production; economy in transportation and handling; superior quality, precise tolerances and high standards achieved by off-site manufacture control; excellent stability of shape in case of humidity; and resistance to insect damage. Despite these advantages, the low thermal mass of LSF construction (and resulting low thermal inertia) may be problematic for some functioning conditions and climates, leading to several comfort-related problems [4] [5], such as overheating and larger temperature fluctuations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal transmittance of lightweight steel framed walls: Experimental versus numerical and analytical approaches

Santos

Gonçalves

Martins

et al. 2019

Journal of Building Engineering

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Given the great influence of the thermal transmittance of the building envelope on the overall thermal performance and energy efficiency of the building, it is essential to accurately determine the U-value of the main building envelope elements. Due to the great heterogeneity of the thermal conductivity of the elements presented in a lightweight steelframed (LSF) wall, and to the geometric complexity of some steel framed structures, a reliable estimation of the thermal transmittance of LSF elements is even more challenging. Indeed, thermal bridging originated by steel studs must be considered in the assessment of the thermal transmittance of LSF walls. In this work, the thermal transmittance (U-value) of three LSF walls with different configurations will be investigated based on four different approaches: experimental laboratorial measurements based on the Heat Flow Meter (HFM) method; 3D finite element method (FEM) simulations using ANSYS CFX ® software; 2D FEM-based simulations using THERM software; analytical estimations based on the ISO 6946 procedure for building components with inhomogeneous layers. Several verification procedures were performed to ensure the reliability of the results. It was found that a secondary wood stud can mitigate the thermal bridging effect of the steel frame and improve the LSF thermal performance, which is more noticeable when there is no thermal insulation. Furthermore, a good agreement was found between the results of the 2D FEM and the analytical ISO 6946 approaches for the LSF wall with only vertical steel studs.

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Energy Efficiency of Lightweight Steel-Framed Buildings

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Thermal Assessment of a Novel Drywall System Insulated with VIPs

Thermal Assessment of a Novel Drywall System Insulated with VIPs

Analytical Methods to Estimate the Thermal Transmittance of LSF Walls: Calculation Procedures Review and Accuracy Comparison

Thermal transmittance of lightweight steel framed walls: Experimental versus numerical and analytical approaches

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