fall 2005
ARC 386M:
Thermal Inertia
Course Description
This course describes the phenomenon of thermal inertia and its effects in the performance of buildings. This performance is measured in terms of human comfort, and, separately on HVAC Demand. The course emphasizes basic principles. To help achieve this objective the course relies heavily on computer simulations. To cement further the understanding of basic principles the course concludes with the development of "back of the envelope" manual methods to estimate the impact of thermal inertia on buildings.
Course Content
- Transient Behavior
- Thermal "Storage"
- Static Steady State Behavior
- Dynamic Steady State Behavior
- Effects due to Thermal Properties of Materials
- Effects due to Periodicity
- The "Gamma" Factor
- Phase Changing Materials
- Heat Balance
- Manual Methods