Parametric space distribution effects of wall heat capacity and thermal resistance on the dynamic thermal behavior of walls and structures

The present work aims at the investigation of the combined space distribution effects of heat capacity and thermal resistance on the transient thermal behavior of a wall, seen as a continuum of distributed parameters. The physical system is compared with the idealized wall lumped parameter model and its thermal time constant is related to its effective wall heat capacity, defined as the fraction of the wall heat capacity which participates in a transient thermal process. The effect of the space distribution of heat capacity and thermal resistance on the effective wall heat capacity is investigated for a wide range of homogeneous and multilayer thermally insulated walls. It is derived that the decrease of thermal resistance in homogeneous walls leads to an increase of their effective heat capacity. However, the effects are remarkably stronger on the effective heat capacity of thermally insulated multilayer walls, in which when the thermal insulation layer is at the ambient side, it leads to a significant increase of effective heat capacity, although when it is installed at the room side it leads to very low effective heat capacity, irrespective of the wall thermal resistance. Based on the first order results from a simplified room model, it was subsequently found that the influence of these parameters on the effective heat capacity of the building envelope leads to significant effects on the transient thermal behavior, thermal time constant and stability of structures. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.