Effect of Thermal Bridge in Light-Frame Wood Wall

Abstract

The presence of thermal bridges in a wall increases local heat conduction of the building envelope, resulting in a decrease in the wall’s average thermal resistance. Simultaneously, the internal surface temperature of thermal bridge is lower than that of the surrounding areas and shows a tendency of condensation. Therefore, it is necessary to employ thermal bridges in the stage of construction design. In the research, a two-dimensional steady-state numerical simulation was performed targeting thermal bridges with light-frame wood wall. Meanwhile, the heat bridge effect was simulated under different circumstances by changing the types of insulation and cladding materials, the number of the studs, and the framing factor. The results showed that the linear heat transfer coefficient increased linearly as the studs and framing factor rose. After the test was validated, the relative error rate between the simulated correction coefficients and the experimentally derived correction coefficients was 11.4%, indicating that the correction coefficients can be simulated.

Keywords

• light-frame wood wall
• linear heat transfer coefficient
• simulation
• thermal bridge
• correction coefficient