99045 - Advanced Building Physics

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have acquired an in-depth knowledge on the thermal behavior of the building system and has acquired the design skills for different types of technological envelopes and HVAC plants for closed spaces.

Course contents

The course program include following lectures 

• Heat transfer in building structures. Stationary behaviour: thermal resistance and transmittance. Dynamic behaviour: thermal capacity. Convenction and radiation on building surfaces. Heat transfer in cavities. thermal bridges (6h)
• Thermal performances of traditional and advanced envelope systems: massive and light structures, insulating materials, PCM green wall/roof. (8h)    
• Vapour diffusion in structures and condensation risk. (4h)
• Solar Radiation and performances of transparent systems. Advanced windows systems: low emission glasses,solar control gl., electrocromic gl. Solar Greenhouse. (6h)
  
• Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and infiltration. (4h)
  
• General overview on heating and cooling plants: Typologies and choice criteria. Introduction on Renewable energy sources: Typologies choice criteria. (8h)
• Introduction to calculation of Energy needs for heating and cooling. (4h)
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Readings/Bibliography

Course slides

H. Hens, "Building physics : heat, air and moister : fundamentals and engineering methods with examples and exercises"; Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn

 

 

Teaching methods

Lectures on course content

Examples of thermal performances of building components and systems  

question and answers  

periodic assessment of student learning (

Assessment methods

the assessment involves

Written exam with exercises on course topics and multiple-choice questions

Teaching tools

free tools for calculations of thermal performances of building systems

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Semprini