th Proceedingsofthe11 InternationalConferenceonEnvironmentalScienceandTechnology Chania,Crete,Greece,35September2009

DETERMINATIONMETHODOFTHERMALCONDUCTIVITYOFBUILDING PARTSINSITUTHROUGHIRIMAGINGBYMINIMIZINGTHEINFLUENCEOF ENVIRONMENTALPARAMETERS

* G.FIVOSSARGENTIS,A.CHATZIMPIROSandN.SYMEONIDIS

NationalTechnicalUniversityofAthens ZografouCampus:HeroonPolytechniou9,15780Zografou,Greece email:fivos@itia.ntua.gr ABSTRACT Infraredimagingisanondestructivemethod,whichdeterminesthethermalbehaviourof buildingmaterialsinsitu.Throughinfraredimaging,thermalbridges,moistureabsorbed by buildings materials as well as other parameters related to a buildings thermal and energybehaviourcanbedetermined. Abuildingsheatlossescanbedistinguishedintoconductionlossesthroughitsenvelope and losses due to ventilation and infiltration. Losses through a buildings envelope are relatedtothethermalresistanceofitsdifferentpartsandcomponentsused.Inorderthat the thermal resistance (R) of the buildings parts is determined, the parameter 1/, (thermalresistanceoftheexteriorsurface),whichdependsonmeteorologicalconditions, should be determined. This work presents a method for the calibration necessary to calculatethethermalresistance(R)ofdifferentpartsofthebuildingsenvelope. Through the application of this method the thermal behaviour of unknown materials in buildingscanbedeterminedinsitu. KEYWORDS:building,ecology,insulation,bioclimatic,infraredimaging 1. INTRODUCTION Inorderthatthermalbehaviourofbuildingsisoptimizedintheframeworkofsustainable development [1], the modern constructor should aim to minimize the amount of energy consumedtoobtainthermalcomfortforthebuildingsusers[2]. Althoughsuchissuescanbedealtwithduringthestudyphaseofaconstruction,thereis alsoneedforthetestingandevaluationofexistingbuildings[3].Forthetestofexisting buildings, this paper presents a determination method minimizing the influence of environmental parameters of the thermal conductivity of building parts in situ through infraredimaging. Infrared (IR) imaging is a non destructive method through which matters thermal radiation at the infrared spectrum is detected providing information on its temperature. The method is widely applied in buildings for the qualitative analysis of the different temperatures on a buildings envelope [4, 5, 6], the determination of the thermal behaviourofbuildingmaterialsinsituandthedetectionofenergylossesthroughthermal bridges,aswellasofmoistureandindicationsofmould. Energy lossesofa construction canbe distinguished into conduction losses through its envelope and losses due to ventilation and infiltration. This work presents a calibration methodforthecalculationof thethermalresistance(R)ofdifferentpartsofabuildings envelope. In order that the thermal resistance (R) is determined, the parameter 1/,

(thermalresistanceoftheexteriorsurface),whichdependsonmeteorologicalconditions, shouldbecalibrated[7]. TheequationoftheheatflowthroughasinglelayerofmaterialisdescribedbyFouriers lawofconduction:

Heatflow =

Thermalconductivi *Area *Temperatur difference ty e Thickness of alayer

Environmentalparameterswhicharenotincludedintheequation,suchassunandwind, affect the temperature of materials in situ (Figure 1). This paper describes how the equation with these parameters can be solved, in order that thethermal conductivityof materialsisdetermined. Heatbetweenamaterialandtheairisconductedinbothdirectionsthroughathinlayer ofairadjacenttothematerialssurfaceanddependsonthespecificconditionsoftheair (temperature and speed) within that layer. Therefore, when a materials surface is exposed to the air, the coefficient of the thermal conductivity is not constant, as it depends on the specific external conditions that apply. The coefficient ax describes the conductivityofthesurfacewithrespecttotheflowofheat.
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ai t Li

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t La Q 1 Q s1 Q2 Q s2

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Q 3

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d

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x 1

Figure1:Thevariationofthesurfacetemperaturesinthreecases:(a)theoretical,(b)in caseofwin(bluearrows)and(c)incaseofsolarradiation(redarrows) 2. METHODDESCRIPTION 2.1.Testexample Differenttestsshowthattheresultsoftemperaturesinbuildingmaterialsoftheinfrared imageanalysisareasummaryoftheinfluenceofdifferentenvironmentalparameters[8, 9]. In practice, while determining thermal conductivity [10] at an in situ study (Figure 2), environmental conditions are different than theoretical assumptions (Figure 3, 4). The difference is in outdoor surfaces conductivity that affects the heat flow. The aim is to calculate the outdoor surfaces conductivity aFAN, which varies for different measurements,asafunctionoftheheatflowandsolvethenewheatbalanceofFouriers Lawfordifferentenvironmentalparameterseachtime(Figure5).

Figure2:Infraredimagingtesting

Figure3:Temperatureandsolarenergydiagramduringthemeasurements
19.0C 31,0C 30 AR02 15 AR01 25

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15 13,3C

Figure4:Isothermtemperaturesareaofwindows Averageoutsidetemperatureofwindowsisabout 15C Averageinsidetemperatureofwindowsisabout16.2C

OUTSIDE INSIDE OUTSIDE INSIDE OUTSIDE INSIDE OUTSIDE INSIDE C tLi Q s 20 20 t2 t1 C tLi C tLi C tLi

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Temperature expectedresults withwind (qualitative)

Temperature expectedresults withsun (qualitative)

Temperature resultsbyIR testing t116,2 t215

Theoreticalanalysisof temperature t113,15 t213,92

Figure5:Environmentalaspectsofinfraredimagingtesting

2.2.Calculations There are various approaches to determine and evaluate the thermal conductivity of buildingspartsinsituthroughIRimaging[11,12,13]. ThefollowinganalysisisamethodtocombineThermalinsulationforbuildingequipment and industrial installations Calculation rules of the Hellenic Organization for Standardization,(basedonDIN4108)[14],withThermalinsulationQualitativedetection of thermal irregularities in building envelopes Infrared method of the Hellenic OrganizationforStandardization[10]. Inthismethodofanalysis,theparametersusedare: tLa:outsidetemperature tLi:insidetemperature t1 :surfacetemperature(interior) t2 :surfacetemperature(exterior) ax :surfaceconductivity K:thermalconductivityofpartofthebuildingsenvelope R:thermalresistanceofpartofthebuildingsenvelope=1/K

1 :thermalresistanceofthematerial L

Afirstapproachofthethermalconductivityfromtheinteriortemperatureandthesurface conductivityaioftheinteriorofthebuildingcanbefoundinequation1:

K *( Li -t )= a *( Li - t )K = t t La i 1

a ( Li - t ) i t 1 ( Li - t ) t La ai( Li - t ) t 1 ( 2 - t ) t La

(1)

TheoutdoorsurfaceconductivityaFAN isdeterminedinequation2:

a FAN *( 2 - tLa )= a *( Li - t ) a FAN = t t i 1

The thermal resistance of the materials 1 equation3:
R= 1

(2)

according topreviousdata is calculated in

= 1 + 1 + 1 1 = 1 - 1 - 1 aFAN L ai L K aFAN ai

(3)

ThethermalresistanceofabuildingsenvelopeaccordingtotheGreekStandardsforthe thermalinsulationofbuildingsisgiveninequation4: Rinsitu= 1

K situ in

= 1 + 1 + 1 aa L a i

(4)

A comparison of the experimental results from buildings, taken using the methodology presented, with the respective theoretical approach of the Hellenic Organization for Standardizationsthermalinsulationsstandards(basedonDIN4108)[14],canbefound below. At this point it should be highlighted that some measurements were conducted withsolarinfluencethepresenceofthesunwasthemainconstraintforthecalibrationof theparameterax insitu.

Figure6:Theoreticaldata(redbars)andexperimentaldata(bluebars)ofK,without solarradiation(137)andwithsolarradiation(3758) According to statistical analysis, the precision of the method (%) is described by the followingefficiencyfactor:

(x - y ) d =1 (y - y )
i i i i

2 2

(5)

where: d=efficiencyfactor xi =experimentaldata yi=theoreticalapproach Theefficiencyfactorofthemethodincasesofabsenceofsolarradiationis94%,whileits 2 valueinthepresenceofsolarinfluenceis70%(forsolarradiationinferiorto50W/m ).

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Figure7:Testofthemethodwithout influencefromthesun 3. DISCUSSION

Figure8:Testofthemethodwith influencefromthesun

Theconclusionisthattheapplicationofthismethodminimisestheinfluenceofparameter ax, related to the thermal conductivity, which depends on the air flow on the exterior

surface of a material. However, air flow at the exterior surface does not affect the accuracy of the method. On the other hand, the accuracy of the methods results obtainedisnotsatisfactorywhenthereisconsiderableinfluenceofsolarradiationonthe externalsurfaceofthebuildingsparts. Therearesomedifficultiesinapplyingthemethodinspecifictypeofmaterialswithhigh thermalstoragecapacity,suchasstone.Experimentaldatashowthatfortheapplication ofthemethodforthecalculationofthethermalconductivityinthistypeofmaterials,the followingconditionsshouldapply: Eliminationofenvironmentalinterruption(solarenergy,wind) Maximizationofthetemperaturedifference(indooroutdoor) Stablethermalflowformorethanthreehours

Therefore,theoptimalmeasurementistakenduringcoldwinternights,andatthesame timewheninsidetemperatureofthebuildingisthehighestpossible. Sothemethodisdefinedtoprovideresultsforthethermalbehaviourofdifferentpartsof abuildingwithprecisionofmorethan80%ifthefollowingconditionsapply: Stablethermalflowbetweenindoorandoutdoorsystemformorethan1hour Minimumvariationoftheoutdoortemperature Differencebetweenindoorandoutdoortemperaturessuperiorto15C No measurements are taken while there is solar radiation on the building. Solar influenceisacceptedifthesunispresentfornomorethanonehourbeforethein situ measurement and according to a statistical analysis of the metrological 2 conditionsatthetimeofthemeasurementsforsolarradiationinferiorto50W/m .

Accordingtothe calculations conducted, in some casesoutdoor surface conductivityax was negative. In these cases there were thermal inversions and the heat flow was differentthaninthecaseofthehypothesis. 4. CONCLUSIONS Through this method, infrared imaging, mostly used as an approach for qualitative analysis, becomes a quantitative analysis tool for improving the accuracy of the in situ determinationofthethermalconductivityofbuildingsmaterials. Based on this method, existing buildings parts can be evaluated quantitatively with regard to their thermal conductivity, which is related to the buildings energy requirements. Inaddition,failures in buildingsenvelopes, suchasthermal bridges, can bedetectedandanalysedquantitatively,whilealsomeasuresforimprovingtheinsulation ofbuildingscanbeevaluatedthroughquantitativeandaccuratedata. REFERENCES
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BarreiraE.andV.P.deFreitas,Evaluationofbuildingmaterialsusinginfraredthermography, ConstructionandBuildingMaterials21(2007),pp.218224. Titman D.J., Applications of thermography in nondestructive testing of structures, NDT &E International34(2001)p.149154,2001. GuerreroI.C.,S.M.OcaaandI.G.Requena,Thermalphysicalaspectsofmaterialsusedfor the construction of rural buildings in Soria (Spain), Construction and Building Materials 19 (2005),pp.197211. HellenicOrganizationforStandardization,No1364,ThermalinsulationQualitativedetection ofthermalirregularitiesinbuildingenvelopesInfraredmethod Grinzato E., V. Vavilov, T. Kauppinen, Quantitative infrared thermography in buildings, EnergyandBuildings,Vol.29,p.19,1998. IbarraCastanedoC.,D.Gonzlez,M.Klein,M.Pilla,S.VallerandandX.Maldague,Infrared imageprocessinganddataanalysis,InfraredPhysicsandTechnology46(2004),pp.7583. Meola C., G.M. Carlomagno and L. Giorleo,The use ofinfrared thermographyformaterials characterization, Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004), pp. 1132 1137. HellenicOrganizationforStandardization,No12241(basedonDIN4108),Thermalinsulation forbuildingequipmentandindustrialinstallationsCalculationrules