Effect of the thermal conductivity of building materials on the steady-state thermal behaviour of underground building envelopes

Using a mathematical model of heat transfer of basement, the calculation area is divided into eight rectangles according to the interzone temperature profile estimation (ITPE) technology, and the solution obtained for all the parts by the separation of variables technique. During the solution, the Fourier coefficients are determined by the continuity of the heat flux and boundary conditions, as a result, a system of linear equation group including 14N equations has been obtained. The effect of building materials on the temperature and heat flux for the building envelope has been evaluated by calculating the temperature and heat flux for three buildings built with different building materials. The results show that the highest relative error in heat flux among the three envelopes built with various non-insulation material is 27.8%, which indicates the thermal conductivity of the building materials is an important factor of the heat transfer of the envelope. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.