Effect of the exposed steel structure on the thermal performance of buildings.
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Depending on the building typology, the architectural characteristics and
the materials used in a building, its interaction with the local climate can
produce negative impacts on the energy consumption of the buildings.
The presence of steel in the building structure characterizes a reduction
in the thermal resistance of the building envelope, which causes an
increase in energy costs for environment heating or cooling. In this
context, simulation of the thermal performance of buildings using
computer programs has generated several constructive advantages for
the establishment of energy-efficient buildings. This paper’s main
purpose is to evaluate the influence of the exposed steel structure area
on the thermal performance of naturally ventilated and artificially
conditioned environments using computational simulations. The results
showed that in the numerical simulation of naturally ventilated
environments, there were increases of about 3.0% and 2.0% in the
environment indoor temperatures during the winter and summer
periods, respectively. Considering the winter period, the heat losses
through the steel structure were up to 4.1 times larger concerning
those made for walls without steel, and the heat gains about 4.2 times
higher in the summer period. The effects of thermal bridging were
more evident in the evaluation of artificially conditioned environments.
There was a maximum increase of 4.8% in the environment total
cooling thermal load and, as a consequence, a maximum variation of
4.9% in the building energy consumption, evidencing that the larger
the exposed steel area in the building closure system, the larger the
effect caused by this thermal bridge.
Description
Keywords
Thermal performance, Steel structure, Thermal bridge, Natural ventilation, Thermal load
Citation
CAETANO, L. F.; SOUZA, H. A. de; GOMES, A. P. Effect of the exposed steel structure on the thermal performance of buildings. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, v. 18, p. 38-55, oct. 2020. Disponível em: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17452007.2020.1833828>. Acesso em: 03 maio 2023.