Building Physics Of The Envelope

The facade is the building’s interface with its environment. It is here that building physics parameters such as heat, humidity, sound and light interact with the building. All these influences need to be controlled by the building envelope in order to ensure the comfort of the user and the functional performance of the architecture. This introduction explains the most important phenomena and then relates them to design and building practice – which materials react in which way to these factors? How do facade systems deal with heat, humidity, sound and light? This practice-oriented book, which is the result of cooperation between an architect and a structural engineer, describes the most important facade materials and constructions under the aspect of their building physics performance.

Buildings influence people. They account for one third of energy consumption across the globe and represent an annual capital expenditure of 7%-10% of GNP in industrialized countries. Their lifetime operation costs can exceed capital investment. Building Engineering aims to make buildings more efficient, safe and economical. One branch of this discipline, Building Physics/Science, has gained prominence, with a heightened awareness of such phenomena as sick buildings, the energy crisis and sustainability, and considering the performance of buildings in terms of climatic loads and indoor conditions. The book reflects the advanced level and high quality of research which Building Engineering, and Building Physics/Science in particular, have reached at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It will be a valuable resource to: engineers, architects, building scientists, consultants on the building envelope, researchers and graduate students.

This text provides a broad view of the research performed in building physics at the start of the 21st century. The focus of this conference was on combined heat and mass flow in building components, performance-based design of building enclosures, energy use in buildings, sustainable construction, users' comfort and health, and the urban micro-climate.

Energy Modeling and Computations in the Building Envelope instills a deeper understanding of the energy interactions between buildings and the environment, based on the analysis of transfer processes operating in the building envelope components at the microscopic level. The author:Proposes a generalized physics model that describes these interacti

This text provides a broad view of the research performed in building physics at the start of the 21st century. The focus of this conference was on combined heat and mass flow in building components, performance-based design of building enclosures, energy use in buildings, sustainable construction, users' comfort and health, and the urban micro-climate.

Bad experiences with construction quality, the energy crises of 1973 and 1979,complaints about `sick buildings?, thermal, acoustical, visual and olfactory discomfort, the need for good air quality, the move towards more sustainability ? all these have accelerated the development of a field that, for a long time, was hardly more than an academic exercise: building physics. The discipline embraces domains such as heat and mass transfer, building acoustics, lighting, indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency. In some countries, fire safety is also included. Through the application of physical knowledge and its combination with information coming from other disciplines, the field helps to understand the physical phenomena governing building parts, building envelope, whole building and built environment performance, although for the last the wording `urban physics? is used. Building physics has a real impact on performance-based building design. This volume on `Applied Building Physics? discusses the heat, air and moisture performance metrics that affect building design, construction and retrofitting.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the use of bamboo in building industry. It systematically demonstrates bamboo’s utility in terms of its properties, describing the material properties of typical industrial bamboo products, and discussing their performance evaluation and optimization as building components and in the creation of building envelopes. The book also includes examples of the high-value utilization of bamboo forest resources. Further, it examines how building performance may be affected by conditions such as climate. Including insights from material science, construction design, building physics and building climatology, the book also provides data obtained from technology and market status investigation, laboratory test and the computer simulation.This book appeals to scientists and professionals, as it introduces and tests various bamboo products, demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages for each one. The book is also a valuable resource for civil engineers and students interested in this unique plant material and its application in the building industry.