Experimental investigation of thermally activated glass fibre reinforced gypsum roof

• Published in: Energy and buildings 2020-12, Vol.228, p.110424, Article 110424
• Main Authors: Dharmasastha, K., Samuel, D.G. Leo, Nagendra, S.M. Shiva, Maiya, M.P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air conditioning; Air temperature; Building materials; Buildings; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Chilled ceiling; Construction materials; Cooling; Cooling loads; Diurnal; Energy; Energy conservation; Energy efficiency; Fiber reinforced materials; Glass fiber reinforced plastics; Glass fibers; Gypsum; Heat transmission; Hybrid systems; Low energy cooling; Radiant cooling; Roofs; Temperature gradients; Thermal comfort; Thermal image; Thermodynamic properties; Tubes; Water circulation; Water temperature
• ISSN: 0378-7788; 1872-6178
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110424

•Thermally activated building system coupled with glass fibre reinforced gypsum panel.•Hybrid system reduces diurnal temperature fluctuation of roof interior surface.•Air cavities in roof reduce the solar heat penetration and improves thermal comfort.•Thermal images used to know the temperature distribution of roof surfaces.•Hybrid system could reduce operational and embodied energies (life cycle energy). Switch to energy-efficient air conditioning systems and the use of eco-friendly building materials would result in significant energy savings and reductions in CO2 emissions. Thermally activated building system (TABS) is a promising low-energy cooling technology, which provides better thermal comfort than the conventional air conditioning system. In TABS, cooled water circulated in the tubes embedded in one or any combination of roof, floor slab and walls, not only reduces the heat ingress but also cools the building. Integrating TABS with eco-friendly building materials like glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) could be an intertwining solution. A hybrid system that integrates TABS with GFRG roof is investigated in this study. The thermal behavior of this thermally activated glass fibre reinforced gypsum (TAGFRG) roof is analysed experimentally in terms of diurnal temperature gradients, thermal images of the interior and exterior roof surfaces, decrement factor and water temperature variations. The reinforcement zone of the TAGFRG roof handled a higher cooling load compared to that of air cavity zones. The diurnal temperature fluctuation of interior roof surface at the air cavity and reinforcement zones is reduced by 5.1 and 6.7 °C respectively by TAGFRG roof cooling.