Thermo-Energy Performance of Lightweight Steel Framed Constructions: A Case Study

Abstract

The building sector continues to play an essential role in reducing worldwide energy consumption. The reduced consumption is accompanied by stricter regulation for the thermotechnical design of the building envelope. The redefined nearly Zero Energy Building levels that will come into force for each member state will pressure designers to rethink the constructive details so that mandatory levels can be reached, without increasing the construction costs over an optimum level but at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The paper aims to illustrate the main conclusions obtained in assessing the thermo-energy performance of a steel-framed building representing a holistically designed modular laboratory located in a moderate continental temperate climate, characteristic of the south-eastern part of the Pannonian Depression with some sub-Mediterranean influences. An extensive numerical simulation of the main junctions was performed. The thermal performance was established in terms of the main parameters, the adjusted thermal resistances and global thermal insulation coefficient. Further on, the energy consumption for heating was established, and the associated energy rating was in compliance with the Romanian regulations. A parametric study was done to illustrate the energy performance of the investigated case in the five representative climatic zones from Romania. An important conclusion of the research indicates that an emphasis must be placed on the thermotechnical design of Light Steel Framed solutions against increased thermal bridge areas caused by the steel’s high thermal conductivity for all building components to reach nZEB levels. Nevertheless, the results indicate an exemplary behaviour compared to classical solutions, but at the same time, the need for an iterative redesign so that all thermo-energy performance indicators are achieved.

The Relevance of Surface Resistances on the Conductive Thermal Resistance of Lightweight Steel-Framed Walls: A Numerical Simulation Study

“…The authors already have a large degree of experience in using three of these computational tools, as can be verified in the following published papers, regarding THERM [18,[20][21][22][23][34][35][36][37][38][39][40], ANSYS [21,22,34,38,39,41,42] and PSIPLAN [12,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Only the FLIXO software is being used by the authors for the first time, but with excellent results, as can be checked afterwards.…”

Development and Characterization of Innovative Hemp–Gypsum Composites for Application in the Building Industry

“…Lightweight partitions, as shown in Figure 13a, based on light steel framing (LSF partitions), offer significant advantages over traditional construction, including easier handling and reduced execution times, shorter transportation times and lower emissions from the logistic process, higher quality in the execution of building systems, lower volumes of waste generated during construction, increased recyclability, and the possibility of producing standardized and more reliable pieces [67,68]. However, as demonstrated in other previous research, it is advisable to use thermal break strips to mitigate the effect of cold spots caused by the load-bearing steel structure [69].…”

Thermal bridge assessment at industrial buildings

“…R -unidirectional, R'av average and R' adjusted), the thermal coupling coefficient L and the global insulation coefficient G1, the calculation formula are provided by the design norms series C107 [1,3,4], the methodology Mc001-2006 [6], as well as the Order 2641 [2]. The analyses follow the same calculation steps as previously described in other studies [11] The thermotechnical characteristics of the analysed elements, respectively the apparent density ρ [kg/m 3 ] and the thermal conductivity λ [W/(m . K)] are provided in annex A of the C107/3 [3].…”