SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1983
STP29457S

Simplified Thermal Parameters: A Model of the Dynamic Performance of Walls

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In situ measurement of wall thermal performance entails two problems: (1) selecting a technique for measuring time-varying surface temperatures and heat fluxes on both sides of the test wall, and (2) reducing this data set into a small number of parameters that characterize the wall. The first problem is addressed by the Envelope Thermal Test Unit (ETTU), consisting of two 1.2 by 1.2 m (4 by 4 ft) blankets placed on either side of the test wall that are used to both measure and control the surface heat fluxes and temperatures of the wall. Dynamic measurements always require specifying a driving cycle to get the dynamic characteristics from the test wall. The choice of a preferred dynamic cycle is addressed, and a pink-noise driving cycle is chosen to maximize the amount of information from a given test. To analyze the data gathered by ETTU we have developed a simplified dynamic model that describes the thermal performance of a wall by a small number of parameters: a steady-state conductance, a time constant, and some storage terms; we call these parameters Simplified Thermal Parameters (STPs). The ability of this model to simulate actual wall performance is demonstrated by comparison to results generated with conventional response-factor methods. The model is used to analyze the behavior of a theoretical multilayer wall whose properties have been specified by a response-factor calculation.

Author Information

Sherman, MH
Energy Performance of Buildings Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
Adams, JW
Energy Performance of Buildings Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
Sonderegger, RC
Energy Performance of Buildings Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
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Details
Developed by Committee: C16
Pages: 355–372
DOI: 10.1520/STP29457S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4856-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0230-9