Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos,

Canales y Puertos de Barcelona

BUILDING STRUCTURES

Professors Climent Molins Borrell Work made by

Vicente Villalba Herrero Andrea Giavoni
AS 8490409

Assignment 3

THERMAL INSULATION AND

CONDENSATION
Contents'
1.#Introduction#and#data#of#the#problem#......................................................................................#3!
2.#Thermal#transmittance#of#the#roof#...........................................................................................#5!
3.#Check#of#superficial#and#interstitial#condensation#production#..................................................#7!
4.#Maximum#solar#radiation#condition#.......................................................................................#13!
5.#Summary#results#tables#.........................................................................................................#14!
1.'Introduction'and'data'of'the'problem''
A residential building is designed with a plain roof composed of the different layers illustrated in
the figure below.

Until this moment, this closure does not present any isolation material layer: this is the reason why
it is proposed to put an expanded polystyrene layer of 3 cm width inside the air chamber.

The aim of this document is to check this solution from the thermal and hygrometric point of view.

In the following table the section properties values are resumed.

It is reminded that λ is the thermal conductivity coefficient of the material: it represents the heat
quantity that crosses an infinite extension sample with flat surface-parallels per unit area, unit
difference between faces temperatures and unit time.
On the other hand, rv is the vapour resistivity against steam cross, i.e. the inverse of permeability
coefficient dv (diffusivity) of steam through the material.

rv
Layer Material Width [cm] λ [W/m°C]
[MNs/gm]
1 brick pavement 4 0,93 55
2 brick decking 4 0,93 55
3 air cavity 18 2,25 5,5
4 expanded polystyrene 3 0,0372 160
5 concrete slab 11 1,63 80
6 plaster cladding 2 0,233 60

The third layer is an air cavity slightly ventilated.

As aforementioned, a fourth layer made of expanded polystyrene is introduced in this space in
order to improve the thermal behaviour of the structure.

Regarding the thermal properties of the air spaces, the relevant values resumed in the table have
been calculated according to what is prescribed on the CTE-DB-HE Code. In fact, for a slightly
ventilated air chamber it should be considered the middle of the values of the thermal resistances
for a non-ventilated chamber of the same width:
Once defined the relevant case under consideration, the following values of the thermal resistance
are taken into account:

However, the air chamber under consideration has a width larger than 5 cm. For this reason, it
should be assumed that such air chamber without ventilation and having a width larger than the
maximum of the values proposed on the CTE-DB-HE has a total thermal resistance equal to 0,16
m2°C/W, that is actually the value corresponding to the larger horizontal case. In the specific case
here investigated, the half of such value will be taken, since a condition of slight ventilation occurs.

Moreover, the vapour resistance of the air chamber is assumed as 5,5 MNs/gm (per unit width).

Finally, both the inner and the outer ambient condition parameters are resumed in the following
table.

Ambient condition parameters

Te 2,5 °C outer temperature
Hr,e 95 % outer relative humidity
Ti 20 °C inner temperature
Hr,i 50 % inner relative humidity

Where Hr is the relative humidity and is defined as follows:

P%
H" = ×100*[%]
P%&
where:
P% is the partial pressure of water vapour;
P%& is the saturation pressure.
2.'Thermal'transmittance'of'the'roof'
The thermal transmittance of the roof can be evaluated simply by applying its definition through
the following formulae:

1 56 1
./0/ = .1 = + +
ℎ3 76 ℎ8
1 6

1
9=
./0/
where:

./0/ is the total thermal resistance of the system;

.1 is the k-th layer thermal resistance;

:
= .=3 is the internal superficial thermal resistance;
;<

:
= .=8 is the external superficial thermal resistance;
;>

56 is the j-th layer width;

76 is the j-th layer thermal conductivity coefficient.

As can be easily noted, the extreme additional air layers contribution is simply obtained by inverting
the coefficients hi, he of superficial transmission heat, thus gaining the superficial thermal
resistances Rsi, Rse. On the other hand, the material layers contribution is obtained by multiplying
each thermal resistivity r=1/λ for the relevant layer width L.

Rsi and Rse can be evaluated by means of the appropriate tables given in the CTE-DB-HE that take
into account the direction of the heat flow and the orientation of the layers. What is contained in
the red box of the table below reflects the conditions one can find in the case under consideration.
In the following table all the values for the relevant layers are resumed, thus the computation of
the total thermal resistance is straightforward.

Layer L [m] λ [W/m°C] Rk [m2 °C/W] Rtot [m2 °C/W]

external 0,04
1 0,04 0,93 0,043010753
2 0,04 0,93 0,043010753
3 0,18 2,25 0,08
1,265794691
4 0,03 0,0372 0,806451613
5 0,11 1,63 0,067484663
6 0,02 0,233 0,08583691
internal 0,1

It should be noted the significance of the thermal resistance contribution given by the expanded
polystyrene layer with respect to the other layers contribution: it is actually one order of magnitude
larger than the others.

The thermal transmittance is simply obtained by inverting such thermal resistance.

Moreover, the unitary heat flow (i.e. the heat per unit time and unit surface) can be computed since
the inside and outside environment temperatures are known.
In formula form: ? = 9 ∙ ΔB.

Rtot [m2 °C/W] U [W/m2 °C] ΔT [°C] q [W/m2]

1,265794691 0,790017534 17,5 13,82530684

'
3.'Check'of'superficial'and'interstitial'condensation'production'
In this chapter the vapour air resistance of the roof and the relevant possibility of superficial and
interstitial condensation production is analysed.

Starting from the values of the layers resistivity against steam cross rv, it is possible to obtain the
resistance against steam cross simply by multiplying each value for the relevant layer width:

53
.C,/0/ = .C,3 = = FC,3 53
EC,3
3 3 3

where dv is indeed the inverse of the diffusivity or permeability coefficient dv=1/rv, which represents
the quantity of water vapour that crosses a sample of infinite extension and parallel surfaces per
unit area, unit difference of steam partial pressures between faces, and unit time.

rv,i Rv,i Rv,tot

Layer Li [m]
[MNs/gm] [MNs/g] [MNs/g]
1 0,04 55 2,2
2 0,04 55 2,2
3 0,18 5,5 0,99
20,19
4 0,03 160 4,8
5 0,11 80 8,8
6 0,02 60 1,2

It should be noted that there is not any vapour barrier since all the values of Rv are lower than 10
MNs/g. Therefore, it is possible for the water vapour to cross all the roof.

Some conditions have to be verified in order to check the possibility of superficial or interstitial
condensation.

Specifically, the superficial condensation is the one that appears on a closure surface when its
superficial temperature is lower or equal to the dew point of the air in contact. Similarly, the
interstitial condensation is the one that appears inside a closure when the crossing water vapour
reaches the saturation pressure at some point.

For a given partial vapour pressure PV, the dew point or saturation temperature Tr is the
temperature at which a wet sample of air gets saturated and starts the condensation, i.e. the change
of the physical state of matter from gas phase into liquid phase. On the other hand, for a given
temperature T, the saturation pressure PVS is the vapour pressure in saturated conditions.

The interstitial and superficial condensations appear when the next equivalent conditions are met:

•! for a given temperature T, when PVS < PV

•! for a given partial vapour pressure PV, when T < Tr
•! equivalently, when Hr > 100%
Firstly, the temperatures T at each interstitial point between consecutive layers shall be computed
by means of the following simple relation:

.1
ΔB1 = ΔB
./0/

where:

ΔB = B3 − B8 is the difference between inside and outside environment temperatures;

.1 is the k-th layer thermal resistance;

./0/ is the total thermal resistance of the system.

The thermal resistance values have been computed in the previous chapter. In the following table
they are resumed as well as every layer temperature is computed.

Layer Rk [m2 °C/W] Point ΔTk [°C] T [°C]

external 0,04 external / 2,5
1 0,043010753 external – 1 0,553012274 3,1
2 0,043010753 1–2 0,594636853 3,6
3 0,08 2–3 0,594636853 4,2
4 0,806451613 3–4 1,106024547 5,3
5 0,067484663 4–5 11,149441 16,5
6 0,08583691 5–6 0,932996167 17,4
internal 0,1 6 – internal 1,186721617 18,6
internal / 20,0

Such values have to be compared with the relevant dew points or saturation temperatures Tr. These
last can be obtained if the PV values are known first. Since both the outer and the inner relative
humidity values are given, the computation of both outer and inner partial vapour pressures is quite
straightforward thanks to the definition of relative humidity:

P% HIJKL& H" P%&

H" = ×100* % * * P% = *[Pa]
P%& 100

The relevant saturation pressure values Pvs,e and Pvs,i can be obtained by means of the psychrometric
abacus, being both inner and outer temperature given (as shown in the figure below). For this
purpose, the table represented on the left side of the abacus will be used as it turns out to be easier
to manage. The pressure values are expressed in mbar, that can be converted into Pascal through
the equivalence 1 mbar = 100 Pa.
 outer side inner side
Te 2,5 °C Ti 20 °C
Pvs,e 732 Pa Pvs,i 2338 Pa
Hr,e 95 % Hr,i 50 %
Pv,e 695,4 Pa Pv,i 1169 Pa

Starting from these data, it is possible to calculate the partial vapour pressure Pv in all the inter-
layers points by previously computing the relevant increments ΔPv.

.C,1
ΔNC,1 = ΔN
.C,/0/ C,/0/
where:

ΔNC,/0/ = NC,3 − NC,8 is the difference between the inside and outside environment pressures;

.C,1 is the k-th layer resistance against steam cross;

.C,/0/ is the total resistance against steam cross.

Taking Pv,e as the starting point, the partial vapour pressure profile can be computed and the
relevant dew points (i.e. saturation temperatures) can be detected on the psychrometric abacus.
Such computations are resumed in the following table.

Point ΔPv,k [Pa] Pv,k [Pa] Tr,k [°C]

external / 695,40 1,8
external – 1 / 695,40 1,8
1–2 51,60574542 747,01 2,8
2–3 23,22258544 770,23 3,2
3–4 112,5943536 882,82 5,2
4–5 206,4229817 1089,25 8,2
5–6 28,14858841 1117,39 8,6
6 – internal / 1169,00 9,3
internal / 1169,00 9,3

At this point it is possible to check if the inequality T < Tr is verified: in such a case condensation
will occur. This check can be better appreciated through a graphical representation.

It is important to highlight that the actual first layer does not correspond to the zero value of the
x-coordinate because the air resistance to heat conduction (and also a little resistance to heat
convection) is taken into account. In general, when conduction, convection and radiation all occur
at the same time, the overall thermal resistance of air spaces becomes virtually independent of gap
width when it is greater than around 2,5 cm. In the case under consideration, a width equal to 2
cm is considered for the outside layer, while a width equal to 3 cm is considered for the inside one.

cumulative thickness
Point T [°C] Tr,k [°C]
[m]
external 0 2,5 1,8
external – 1 0,02 3,1 1,8
1–2 0,06 3,6 2,8
2–3 0,1 4,2 3,2
3–4 0,28 5,3 5,2
4–5 0,31 16,5 8,2
5–6 0,42 17,4 8,6
6 – internal 0,44 18,6 9,3
internal 0,47 20,0 9,3
 CONDENSATION#TEMPERATURES
T Tr

25,0

20,0
TEMPERATURE![°C]

15,0

10,0

5,0

0,0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4 0,45 0,5
THICKNESS![M]

In all the points of the roof the aforementioned inequality is not strictly verified. However, it is
clear that in the air cavity the actual temperature is very close to the saturation one and along the
thickness it gets closer and closer to the dew condition.

As one can see, at the point between the air chamber and the expanded polystyrene layer, the
temperature of the vapour is almost equal to the saturation temperature (5,2°C vs. 5,3°C).
Just behind such a point, the distance between the two curves becomes larger and the condensation
phenomenon is far from occurring.

Therefore, it is evident the favourable effect of the insulating layer, however it is only theoretically
sufficient: if some tolerances (even if very small) were admitted, it would not be possible to state
without any doubt that condensation is completely avoided. As a result, a larger thickness for the
expanded polystyrene layer should be employed.

As a proof of what has been checked, the same analysis can be carried out by considering the values
of partial pressure and by comparing them with the relevant saturation ones. Knowing the various
temperatures, the relevant inter-layers saturation pressures can be detected by means of the
psychrometric abacus.

cumulative thickness
Point Pv,k [Pa] Pvs,k [Pa]
[m]
external 0 695,40 732
external – 1 0,02 695,40 763
1–2 0,06 747,01 791
2–3 0,1 770,23 825
3–4 0,28 882,82 891
4–5 0,31 1089,25 1877
5–6 0,42 1117,39 1986
6 – internal 0,44 1169,00 2142
internal 0,47 1169,00 2338
 CONDENSATION#PRESSURES
Pv Pvs

2500,00

2000,00
PRESSURE![PA]

1500,00

1000,00

500,00

0,00
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4 0,45 0,5
THICKNESS![M]

As one could expect, a similar profile is obtained for the vapour partial pressure. Also in this case,
the condensation inequality is not strictly verified, but this is only a theoretical result, while on the
contrary it is quite reasonable that condensation may occur inside the air chamber.

Regarding the third question of the exercise, all the computations worked out so far can answer to
that. Specifically, the temperature on the outer face of the roof corresponds to the temperature at
point external – 1 of the closure along its thickness: it turns out to be equal to 3,1 °C.
4.'Maximum'solar'radiation'condition'
In this chapter it is considered the condition in which the the solar radiation is maximum and the
outer temperature of the closure is equal to Tse’ instead of the previously computed temperature.

In such a situation, by applying the stationarity heat flow hypothesis, the reduction percentage of
the heating power that maintains the inner temperature as 20 °C shall be computed.

Since the layers arrangement of the roof does not change, the previous values of thermal
transmittance and total thermal resistance are still valid. The unitary heat flow is the product of the
thermal transmittance and the difference between inside and outside temperatures, therefore the
new external temperature should be computed as the internal one is maintained at 20°C.

The following path of reasoning is applied to get the external temperature Te’ in such condition:

P
.18O/
ΔB8O/ = B=8 − B8P = (B − B8P )
./0/ 3
therefore:

P .18O/
B=8 − *B
./0/ 3
B8P =
.8O/
1− 1
./0/

Both the direction of heat flow and the orientation of the layers does not vary, therefore .18O/ is still
equal to 0,04 as made before.

The values of the parameters used for this computation are resumed in the following table.

Tse' 16 °C
Ti 20 °C
Rkext 0,04 m2 °C/W
Rtot 1,265794691 m2 °C/W

Te' 15,86947243 °C

Once the updated value of outside temperature is known, the actual value of the unitary heat flow
q (that is a power per unit area) can be computed.
In the following table the comparison between the previous and the current condition is pointed
out.

BEFORE ATFER
Rtot 1,265794691 m2 °C/W Rtot 1,265794691 m2 °C/W
U 0,790017534 W/m2 °C U 0,790017534 W/m2 °C
ΔT 17,5 °C ΔT 4,130527568 °C
q 13,82530684 W/m2 q 3,263189203 W/m2
Therefore, the percentage reduction of heating power is computed as follows:

?S8T0U8 − ?VT/8U
×100 = 76,40%
?S8T0U8

5.'Summary'results'tables'

Data
Te He Ti Hi Tse' Ea Ep
2,50 95,00 20,00 50,00 16,00 18,00 11,00

Questions
1 Roof thermal transmittance 0,79 W/m2 ºC
2 Roof vapour mass resistance 20,19 MNs/g
3 Interior superficial temperature 3,05 ºC
4 Exterior superficial temperature 18,62 ºC
5 Partial vapour pressure in the interior face 1169,00 Pa
Partial vapour pressure between the 4 and 5
6 1089,25 Pa
layer
7 Saturation vapour pressure in the interior face 2142,00 Pa
Saturation vapour pressure between the 4 and 5
8 1877,00 Pa
layer
Are there superficial or interstitials
9 NO YES/NO
condensations?
% of heating power reduction in situation of
10 76,40 %
maximum solar radiation

Regarding the Question 9, it should be repeated that the condensation conditions are not strictly
fulfilled thus condensation does not occur theoretically. Practically, both the temperature and and
the pressure profiles are extremely close to the relevant saturation profiles therefore one may state
that condensation might occur.