Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tatsuhiro Yamamoto, Akihito Ozaki, Suehiro Kaoru, Kazuhiro Taniguchi
Summary: A thermal environment simulation method was developed for a structure with a thermally complex building envelope, which combined heat transfer simulation, computational fluid dynamics, and a two-dimensional heat-flow calculation tool. The accuracy of the method was verified and validated, investigating the influence of calculation accuracy by comparing the accuracies with and without the coupling of the convective heat transfer coefficient. Through computational load reduction, computational accuracy was achieved with a small number of couplings.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tatsuhiro Yamamoto, Kazuhiro Taniguchi
Summary: This study examines the scope of application of advanced thermal-analysis methods from the designers' perspective and finds that the results of the simplified and detailed models are similar. Moreover, the results obtained using summer advection are sufficiently accurate, and introducing outside air increases the risk of floor dew condensation.
INDOOR AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Fang Liu, Xiaofen Zhang, Jiarui Zeng, Yafei Li, Gang Wang
Summary: The heritage of ancient buildings plays a significant role in the world's history and culture. Due to the age of their construction, many ancient palace buildings in Beijing suffer from issues such as peeling and molding on the inner surfaces. To tackle the problem of damp interiors, a mathematical model of indoor heat and moisture transfer was developed, validated, and analyzed. The results demonstrated that soil moisture and wall moisture were the main factors influencing indoor relative humidity.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ana Ferreira, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Jorge de Brito, Ricardo Mateus, Rita Mendonca
Summary: This study examined the cost-optimal levels of envelope solutions in retail buildings in accordance with the Energy Performance of Building Directive and Portuguese regulation. The findings suggest that solutions with lower U-values, such as vacuum insulation panels and sandwich panels, can lead to 2-5% energy savings and are cost-effective over a 15-50 year period.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Economics
Pablo Villarejo, Ramon Gamez, Angel Santamaria-Lopez
Summary: This article discusses the combination of existing regulatory, informative, and financial tools to create a national 'Building Renovation Passport' in Spain, which is expected to be introduced by the European Commission in 2023. It also highlights the importance of integrating existing tools and surveying current mechanisms to reduce costs and enhance conservation in the renovation of heritage buildings. Challenges such as division of competences between government levels, technical complexity, and urban scale considerations are identified as main obstacles for the initiative.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wenjing Zhou, Yonghai Zhang, Jinjia Wei
Summary: In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the bubble nucleation process on surfaces with different wettabilities. It is found that the position of bubble nucleation depends on the wettabilities of the surface. The nucleation occurs in the bulk of fluid when the surface is hydrophilic, while it occurs on the surface when the surface is hydrophobic. Furthermore, the heat flux between the solid surface and fluid is affected by the wettabilities of the surface.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Manta Marcelinus Dakyen, Mustafa Dagbasi, Murat ozdenefe
Summary: This study aims to establish reference residential buildings for Northern Cyprus lacking building energy regulations. Through statistical analysis of available building stock data, five residential reference buildings with distinct configurations were identified. EnergyPlus models were developed and calibrated for these buildings.
INDOOR AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
G. Q. Chen, J. X. Lu, H. Wu
Summary: This study aims to investigate the progressive collapse behavior of high-rise reinforced concrete frame buildings under blast loadings induced by Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED). The feasibility of using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel plate (SP) retrofitting measures to enhance blast resistance is also examined. The findings provide valuable references for evaluating, designing and retrofitting blast-resistant RC building structures.
ENGINEERING FAILURE ANALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Philip Gorzalka, Jacob Estevam Schmiedt, Christian Schorn, Bernhard Hoffschmidt
Summary: The approach presented uses Modelica to automatically generate a dynamic energy simulation model for existing buildings, with a focus on collecting data for energy retrofits in a cost-effective way. The method relies on photogrammetrically generated point clouds and open-source tools for data enrichment and model generation. The resulting model shows promising accuracy in reproducing internal air temperatures and whole building heat transfer coefficients, making it a practical tool for estimating potential financial and energy savings after refurbishment.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Fakher Eldin M. Suliman
Summary: The building sector consumes a large amount of electricity in many countries, especially in hot and arid regions like Saudi Arabia, where air conditioning is crucial. This study investigates the effects of energy rationalization measures on a non-residential building in Saudi Arabia. Through simulations, it was found that applying selected measures collectively reduced energy consumption and cost by 28.38%.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Alireza Norouziasas, Amir Tabadkani, Ramin Rahif, Mohamed Amer, Dick van Dijk, Herve Lamy, Shady Attia
Summary: Adaptive building envelope technologies improve energy efficiency. ISO/DIS 52016-3 provides an evaluation method. Simulation results show that roller blinds perform the best in reducing annual cooling loads by 63.9%.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Giovanna De Luca, Franz Bianco Mauthe Degerfeld, Ilaria Ballarini, Vincenzo Corrado
Summary: This study investigates the impact of main modeling assumptions on building thermal behavior and validates the model accuracy using the EN ISO 52016-1 standard method in comparison to dynamic calculation tool EnergyPlus. The results reveal significant inaccuracies in the EN ISO 52016-1 hourly model due to certain assumptions related to external convective and shortwave radiation heat transfer definitions.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tatsuhiro Yamamoto
Summary: The number of buildings with curved surfaces has recently increased. These buildings are thermally complex from an environmental engineering perspective. In order to analyze their thermal performance, a coupled analysis method was developed using Hygrabe, energy simulation, and CFD. The results showed that the thermal insulation performance of the building envelope did not change with or without fill, and the temperatures were below -3.0°C for all insulation performance levels on January 15.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Shady Attia, Jarek Kurnitski, Piotr Kosinski, Anatolijs Borodinecs, Zsofia Deme Belafi, Kistelegdi Istvan, Hrvoje Krstic, Macedon Moldovan, Ion Visa, Nicolay Mihailov, Boris Evstatiev, Karolis Banionis, Miroslav Cekon, Silvia Vilcekova, Karel Struhala, Roman Brzon, Oriane Laurent
Summary: This study examines the barriers to implementing nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) in ten Eastern European countries. The results show that most of these countries face challenges in complying with guidelines and cost-optimality approaches. The paper ranks each country and recommends specific measures to refine the nZEB definitions, providing opportunities for the future development of climate-neutral high-performance buildings.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mohamed Selim, Yasser E. Ibrahim, Mohamed Emara
Summary: The performance of a 50-year-old reinforced concrete building in Zagazig city, Egypt, was studied. The building did not meet the current seismic code requirements and suffered severe deterioration. Through retrofitting techniques such as providing new grid beams, replacing the basement floor slab, and adding RC jackets to the columns, the building's response was significantly enhanced.
CASE STUDIES IN CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Mehdi Aminyavari, Marcello Aprile, Lorenzo Pistocchini, Mario Motta
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REFRIGERATION-REVUE INTERNATIONALE DU FROID
(2019)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Saeid Charani Shandiz, Alice Denarie, Gabriele Cassetti, Marco Calderoni, Antoine Frein, Mario Motta
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ettore Zanetti, Marcello Aprile, Dongsuk Kum, Rossano Scoccia, Mario Motta
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Thermodynamics
Babak B. Dehghan, Linwei Wang, Mario Motta, Nader Karimi
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Thermodynamics
Tommaso Toppi, Marcello Aprile, Mario Motta
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REFRIGERATION
(2020)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Babak B. Dehghan, Tommaso Toppi, Marcello Aprile, Mario Motta
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jacopo Famiglietti, Tommaso Toppi, Lorenzo Pistocchini, Rossano Scoccia, Mario Motta
Summary: This study compares the environmental profiles of a condensing boiler and a gas driven absorption heat pump for space heating and domestic hot water in old buildings, finding that despite higher electricity consumption, the gas driven absorption heat pump has a lower environmental profile due to lower natural gas usage in the use phase.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Giulia Spirito, Alice Denarie, Fabrizio Fattori, Mario Motta, Samuel Macchi, Urban Persson
Summary: This study develops a methodology for assessing district heating potential by mapping energy demand and waste heat sources. By using a clustering algorithm to identify areas of high heat density and economic interest, the synergy with available heat sources is investigated to evaluate their potential.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Francesco Causone, Rossano Scoccia, Martina Pelle, Paola Colombo, Mario Motta, Sibilla Ferroni
Summary: Cities and nations worldwide are committing to energy and carbon neutrality objectives, with buildings playing a crucial role. While it is challenging for single buildings to achieve high-performance targets, groups of properly-managed buildings can reach these ambitious goals. Tools and experiences are needed to model, monitor, manage, and optimize buildings and their neighborhood-level systems.
Article
Thermodynamics
B. Babak Dehghan, Marcello Aprile, Lorenzo Pistocchini, Tommaso Toppi, Mario Motta
Summary: This study investigates the long-term transient response of a single-effect ammonia-water gas-fired absorption heat pump prototype using both numerical and experimental methods. The numerical model shows good agreement with experimental data in transient and near steady-state operation. The accuracy of the numerical model in predicting both transient response and steady-state values of measurable outputs makes it a valuable tool for gaining insight into the internal dynamics of ammonia-water absorption heat pumps.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Mohammad Abdollah Fadel Abdollah, Rossano Scoccia, Giulia Filippini, Mario Motta
Summary: This study focuses on reducing cooling energy use in residential buildings in Egypt by optimizing the building envelope with better technologies, with double wall with air gap and insulation on the outside identified as the best alternative. Simple measures such as more efficient lighting and night ventilation were also explored to further reduce cooling energy needs.
Article
Thermodynamics
M. Aprile, A. Freni, T. Toppi, M. Motta
THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRESS
(2020)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Samiran Khorat, Debashish Das, Rupali Khatun, Sk Mohammad Aziz, Prashant Anand, Ansar Khan, Mattheos Santamouris, Dev Niyogi
Summary: Cool roofs can effectively mitigate heatwave-induced excess heat and enhance thermal comfort in urban areas. Implementing cool roofs can significantly improve urban meteorology and thermal comfort, reducing energy flux and heat stress.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Qi Li, Jiayu Chen, Xiaowei Luo
Summary: This study focuses on the vertical wind conditions as a main external factor that limits the energy assessment of high-rise buildings in urban areas. Traditional tools for energy assessment of buildings use a universal vertical wind profile estimation, without taking into account the unique wind speed in each direction induced by the various shapes and configurations of buildings in cities. To address this limitation, the study developed an omnidirectional urban vertical wind speed estimation method using direction-dependent building morphologies and machine learning algorithms.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaojun Luo, Lamine Mahdjoubi
Summary: This paper presents an integrated blockchain and machine learning-based energy management framework for multiple forms of energy allocation and transmission among multiple domestic buildings. Machine learning is used to predict energy generation and consumption patterns, and the proposed framework establishes optimal and automated energy allocation through peer-to-peer energy transactions. The approach contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhances environmental sustainability.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ying Yu, Yuanwei Xiao, Jinshuai Chou, Xingyu Wang, Liu Yang
Summary: This study proposes a dual-layer optimization design method to maximize the energy sharing potential, enhance collaborative benefits, and reduce the storage capacity of building clusters. Case studies show that the proposed design significantly improves the performance of building clusters, reduces energy storage capacity, and shortens the payback period.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Felix Langner, Weimin Wang, Moritz Frahm, Veit Hagenmeyer
Summary: This paper compares two main approaches to consider uncertainties in model predictive control (MPC) for buildings: robust and stochastic MPC. The results show that compared to a deterministic MPC, the robust MPC increases the electricity cost while providing complete temperature constraint satisfaction, while the stochastic MPC slightly increases the electricity cost but fulfills the thermal comfort requirements.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Somil Yadav, Caroline Hachem-Vermette
Summary: This study proposes a mathematical model to evaluate the performance of a Double Skin Facade (DSF) system and its impact on indoor conditions. The model considers various design parameters and analyzes their effects on the system's electrical output and room temperature.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ruijun Chen, Holly Samuelson, Yukai Zou, Xianghan Zheng, Yifan Cao
Summary: This research introduces an innovative resilient design framework that optimizes building performance by considering a holistic life cycle perspective and accounting for climate projection uncertainties. The study finds that future climate scenarios significantly impact building life cycle performance, with wall U-value, windows U-value, and wall density being major factors. By using ensemble learning and optimization algorithms, predictions for carbon emissions, cost, and indoor discomfort hours can be made, and the best resilient design scheme can be selected. Applying this framework leads to significant improvements in building life cycle performance.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)