scholarly journals REDUCING THERMAL INERTIA TO IMPROVE THERMAL COMFORT BY CONFIGURATION OF A NEW BRICK

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (08) ◽  
pp. 72-81
Author(s):  
Louis Okotaka Ebale ◽  
◽  
Narcisse Malanda ◽  
Loubouth Severin Jean Maixent ◽  
Doria Vaneca Ngambomi ◽  
...  

Climate change has changed seasons, affecting the indoor temperature of buildings and causing a strong feeling of discomfort, especially in hot weather. This feeling of discomfort is mainly due to thermal inertia. The aim of this work is to reduce the indoor temperature of buildings by using a new brick with a low thermal inertia. As part of this work we have designed a brick with the same characteristics as the ordinary ones but which are perforated so that in the construction of the wall they form a conduit for the transport of air. The latter thus acts as a heat transfer fluid in its upward convective movement, bringing with it the heat stored in the wall. In order to improve thermal exchange, an air-extractor roller system has been installed. This air extractor allows to increase convection in the walls, reducing thermal inertia and implicitly improving thermal comfort.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (suppl. 1) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zana Stevanovic ◽  
Gradimir Ilic ◽  
Mica Vukic ◽  
Predrag Zivkovic ◽  
Bratislav Blagojevic ◽  
...  

The purpose of Thermal Comfort is to specify the combinations of indoor space environment and personal factors that will produce thermal environment conditions acceptable to 80% or more of the occupants within a space. Naturally ventilated indoors has a very complex air movement, which depends on numerous variables such as: outdoor interaction, intensity of infiltration, the number of openings, the thermal inertia of walls, occupant behaviors, etc. The most important mechanism for naturally ventilated indoors is the intensity of infiltration and thermal buoyancy mechanism. In this study the objective was to determine indicators of thermal comfort for children, by the CFD model based on experimental measurements with modification on turbulent and radiant heat transfer mathematical model. The case study was selected on school children aged 8 and 9 years in primary school ?France Presern?, Belgrade. The purpose was to evaluate the relationships between the indoor environment and the subjective responses. Also there was analysis of infiltration and stack effect based on meterological data on site. The main parameters that were investigated are: operative temperature, radiant temperature, concentration of CO2 and air velocity. The new correction of turbulence and radiative heat transfer models has been validated by comparison with experimental data using additional statistical indicators. It was found that both turbulence model correct and the new radiative model of nontransparent media have a significant influence on CFD data set accuracy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 2663-2667 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ben Khedher

In this study, thermal performance of building walls integrated with phase change materials (PCM) was evaluated in terms of indoor temperature reduction and heat transfer time delay. PCM was incorporated as thin layer placed longitudinally within walls. The thermal performance of a room with and without PCM was evaluated numerically. The developed model is based on the enthalpy formulation for PCM melting and solidification, which is solved by an implicit finite difference method. The effect of PCM type on heat gain indoors was studied. Three phase change materials (n-octadecane, n-eicosane and calcium chloride hexahydrate) were tested in hot weather. Results showed that octadecane is the best in ensuring an indoor temperature close to 27 °C for the test room. Moreover, optimal thickness of the PCM layer within the walls is critical for heat transfer reduction and management and should be carefully chosen.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Koranteng ◽  
David Nyame-Tawiah ◽  
Kwabena Abrokwa Gyimah ◽  
Barbara Simons

PurposeAs the global population keeps increasing with its associated urbanisation and climate change issues being experienced in various degrees worldwide, there is the need to find mitigating measures to improve thermal conditions within spaces. The study aimed to evaluate green roofs to determine whether they could provide thermal comfort within residential buildings.Design/methodology/approachForty-two-year weather data were retrieved from the Kumasi weather station to establish the pattern of the climatic variables. Furthermore, an experiment was conducted by constructing test cells to determine the potential of vegetation/green roofs on temperature development within spaces. This approach led to a simulation-based exploration of the thermal performance of the test cells to probe variables that could lead to the reduction in temperature after the models in the software (design-builder) had been validated.FindingsThe results on the 42 years (1976–2018) weather data showed a significant (p = 0.05) mean temperature increment of 2.0 °C. The constructed test cell with Setcreasea purpurea (Purple Heart) vegetation showed an annual mean temperature reduction of 0.4 °C (p = 0.05). In addition, the exploration using the simulation application showed combinations of various soil depth (70–500 mm) and leaf area indices (leaf area index of 2–5) having a potential to lower indoor temperature by 1.5 °C and its associated reduction in energy use. The option of green roofs as a valuable alternative to conventional roofs, given their potential in mitigating climate change, must be encouraged. A survey of occupants in six selected neighbourhoods in Kumasi showed varying subjective perceptions of several green issues (24–98%) and increases in temperature values because of the loss of greenery in the city.Originality/valueEmpirical data that point to the significant reduction of indoor temperature values and a subsequent reduction in energy use have been unearthed. Therefore, built environment professionals together with city authorities could invest in these sustainable measures to help humanity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 849-868
Author(s):  
Jingxian Xu ◽  
Huijuan Liu ◽  
Yunyi Wang ◽  
Jun Li

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the heat transfer mechanism of the uniforms used by people working in hot, humid and windy environments. Furthermore, the effectiveness of an opening structure added to the armpit of the uniforms in improving thermal comfort was comparatively examined.Design/methodology/approachA set of uniforms was tested with the opening at the armpit alternatively zipped or unzipped. Thermal manikin and human tests were performed in a climatic chamber simulating the specific environmental conditions, including wind speeds at four levels (0.15, 0.5, 2, 4 m/s) and relative humidities at two levels (50 and 85%). Static and dynamic thermal insulations of clothing (IT) were examined by the thermal manikin tests. The human bodies' thermal responses, including heart rates (HR), eardrum temperatures (Te), skin temperatures (Tsk) and subjective perceptions, were given by the human tests.FindingsSpecial mechanisms of heat transfer in the specific uniforms used in tropical monsoon climates were revealed. Reductions on IT were caused by the movement of the human body and the environmental wind, and the empirical equations would underestimate this reduction. The opening at the armpit was able to prompt more heat transfer under dynamic condition, with reducing the IT by 11.8%, lowering the mean Tsk by 0.92°C, and significantly improving the subjective perceptions (p < 0.05). The heat exhaustion was alleviated with lowering the Te by 0.32°C.Originality/valueThis study managed to improve the thermal performance of uniforms for workers under unforgiving conditions. The evaluation and design methods introduced by this study provided practical guidance for similar products with strict dress codes and cost control requirements based on the findings from thorough product tests and analysis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guansheng Chen ◽  
Nanshuo Li ◽  
Huanhuan Xiang ◽  
Fan Li

It is well known that attaching fins on the tubes surfaces can enhance the heat transfer into and out from the phase change materials (PCMs). This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the thermal characteristics of finned coil latent heat storage unit (LHSU) using paraffin as the phase change material (PCM). The paraffin LHSU is a rectangular cube consists of continuous horizontal multibended tubes attached vertical fins at the pitches of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mm that creates the heat transfer surface. The shell side along with the space around the tubes and fins is filled with the material RT54 allocated to store energy of water, which flows inside the tubes as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The measurement is carried out under four different water flow rates: 1.01, 1.30, 1.50, and 1.70 L/min in the charging and discharging process, respectively. The temperature of paraffin and water, charging and discharging wattage, and heat transfer coefficient are plotted in relation to the working time and water flow rate.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3298
Author(s):  
Gianpiero Colangelo ◽  
Brenda Raho ◽  
Marco Milanese ◽  
Arturo de Risi

Nanofluids have great potential to improve the heat transfer properties of liquids, as demonstrated by recent studies. This paper presents a novel idea of utilizing nanofluid. It analyzes the performance of a HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) system using a high-performance heat transfer fluid (water-glycol nanofluid with nanoparticles of Al2O3), in the university campus of Lecce, Italy. The work describes the dynamic model of the building and its heating and cooling system, realized through the simulation software TRNSYS 17. The use of heat transfer fluid inseminated by nanoparticles in a real HVAC system is an innovative application that is difficult to find in the scientific literature so far. This work focuses on comparing the efficiency of the system working with a traditional water-glycol mixture with the same system that uses Al2O3-nanofluid. The results obtained by means of the dynamic simulations have confirmed what theoretically assumed, indicating the working conditions of the HVAC system that lead to lower operating costs and higher COP and EER, guaranteeing the optimal conditions of thermo-hygrometric comfort inside the building. Finally, the results showed that the use of a nanofluid based on water-glycol mixture and alumina increases the efficiency about 10% and at the same time reduces the electrical energy consumption of the HVAC system.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document