Nor Zaini Zakaria

Thermal Characterisation of Thermoset Polyester Resin Filled Recycle Expanded Polystyrene Composite with Aerogel and Alumina Additives

The preparation and characterization of Unsaturated Polyester Resin (UPR) filled recycled Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) composite systems were systematically investigated. Additives such as Alumina and silica aerogel powder were added to the composite for Infrared reflection and insulation enhancement. The effect of differing alumina weight percentage on the thermal properties, i.e. thermal conductivity and glass transition temperature, Tg were determined. The fabricated composite undergoes thermal analysis by using a DSC and a hand-held thermal probe, and characterized by a FTIR. There is little variation of the Tg across the samples tested. Specific heat capacity, cp from the DSC thermogram was significantly affected by incorporation of silica aerogel; 565 J/kgK compared to the unfilled sample result of 1706 kJ/kg. The thermal conductivity showed a minimum at 0.147 W m-1 K-1 from integrated silica aerogel only sample, and alumina addition increases the thermal conductivity above the minimum k value in the ranges 0.227-0.313 W m-1 K-1. Alternative Cp values from the thermal probe followed similar trend as the DSC Cp. Thermal diffusivity from the probe also showed an increase upon silica aerogel and alumina incorporation.

Roof angle for optimum thermal and energy performance of insulated roof

Mineral wool is among the commonly used conductive insulation material for building insulation. Studies on insulated building envelope in temperate climate have shown potential energy savings towards attaining energy efficient buildings and sustainable built environment. To date, there is no empirical data on the benefits of insulated building envelope in warm humid tropical climate. Such data would provide commercial mileage to the insulation and building industries. Hence, the Center for Research and Innovation in Sustainable Energy (RISE) of Universiti Teknologi MARA has embarked on research collaboration with a local insulation manufacturing association. This paper presents the empirical findings on thermal and energy evaluation of mineral wool insulation under Malaysian sky condition. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the whole-building thermal and energy performance for mineral wool insulation at roof pitch for selected roof pitch angle, and finally to identify the optimum roof pitch angle due to the thermal and energy saving potential. The experimental works were conducted inside the Twin Energy Efficiency Test Cells inside the campus of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam Selangor. Two test buildings named as Test Cell A and Test Cell B has identical building design with conventional envelope constructions. Test Cell A was the control unit while Test Cell B was later modified with the installation of mineral wool insulation of thickness 75 mm at roof pitch angle of 10°, 15° and 20°. Both cells were installed with a normal 750 W split unit air-conditioning system. Identical automated outdoor and indoor data logging systems were installed inside both test cells for simultaneous data collection. For each roof pitch angle, ten days data from Test Cell A and Test Cell B were simultaneously and consecutively monitored in a 24-hour air conditioned (AC) mode. Ambient temperature for outdoor and attic were collected for the thermal performance analysis. Electrical data of current, voltage, power and energy consumption were collected and analysed for the building cooling energy performance. The thermal and energy performance of the mineral wool insulation were appraised by the cooling load savings. The findings identify the optimum roof pitch angle and conclude that the mineral wool insulation at roof pitch produces nominal thermal improvement but noteworthy energy savings.

Thermal and Energy Performance of Pitch and Wall Insulation for Air-Conditioned Buildings in Malaysia

Thermal design of building envelope and microclimatic conditions influence the indoor thermal comfort conditions and energy consumption of buildings. This paper presents the findings of study conducted to investigate the effect of building insulation on thermal impact and energy for cooling. The study were performed via computer simulation using a whole-building thermal energy software Integrated Environmental Solution (IES) with ApacheSim 5.9.2. The results show that pitch insulation (PITCH) was more effective to reduce the attic temperature but both pitch and wall insulation (WALL) had nominal thermal improvement for the indoor. However, compared to the BASE model, WALL model gave a significant savings of 41% for cooling

Thermal and energy analysis of ceiling and pitch insulation for buildings in Malaysia

The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits of pitch insulation and ceiling insulation for air-conditioned buildings in the tropical climate of Malaysia. These are performed via computer simulations using a whole-building thermal energy software Integrated Environmental Solution (IES) with Apache Sim 6.0.2. The benefits are appraised by the thermal impact and the cooling load in three cooling modes due to the pitch insulation and ceiling insulation. The three cooling modes are 24-hr cooling, daytime and night-time cooling. The simulation is performed using the Subang weather data for the month of March that represents the hottest month in typical year weather data in Malaysia. Results show that advantage and the disadvantage of the insulation are more evident in the attic than in the indoor space underneath the ceiling. Compared to the non-insulated roof, pitch insulation reduces the daytime attic temperature up to 6.9°C but only about 0.4°C for the indoor. On the contrary, ceiling insulation elevates daytime attic temperature up to 2.2 °C but lowers the indoor temperature up to 0.8°C. Both insulations create adverse temporal effect in both spaces, however the advantage outweighs the disadvantage. Despite nominal thermal improvements, the month savings on the cooling load of about 6–24 % is noteworthy.

Thermal performance of naturally ventilated test building with pitch and ceiling insulation

A field study was carried out to evaluate the benefits of insulated roof and insulated ceiling for naturally ventilated buildings in Malaysia. Two identical test cells with dimensions of 4m × 4m × 3m were used as building samples. Both test cells have identical design and were constructed with conventional building envelope. The non-insulated control unit is named as Test Cell A (TCA) while the insulated test unit is named as Test Cell B (TCB). Conductive thermal insulation of R-value 2.22 (m2K/W) and 2.88 (m2K/W) was consecutively installed at the roof pitch and internal ceiling respectively. For each insulation configuration, the outdoor and indoor environmental data for both test cells were concurrently monitored using automated data logging equipments. Data logging duration was five days for roof pitch insulation and ten days for ceiling insulation. This paper presents the findings on thermal impact on the non-insulated Test Cell A and insulated Test Cell B. These are appraised by the respective indoor temperature. The finding shows that pitch insulation and ceiling insulation lower the daytime indoor temperature up to 0.8°C and 0.6°C respectively. However, both have adverse impact at night. It is concluded that both pitch and ceiling insulations are beneficial to reduce the day-time thermal impact. The impact is more significant with the pitch insulation. Due to the nominal temperature differential to determine the benefits on the thermal comfort conditions, a cooling load analyses could further substantiate the advantage and disadvantage of the insulation.

Heat Flux through Naturally Ventilated Building in Malaysian Climate

Roofs and walls are the main media for heat transfer for typical Malaysian buildings. In order to estimate the duration of uncomfortable periods, the environmental temperature of a building was determined over a period of time. A study of heat flux through a naturally ventilated was conducted by simulation. This study focused on heat transfer through the roof, ceiling and vertical walls. A Thermal Analysis Software was used for the modeling and analyses. A virtual test building model dimension 4m x 4m x 3m was created using conventional construction parameters for roof, ceiling, windows, door, walls and floor which meet the minimum requirement in Malaysian Standards. The results show that heat rate flux mostly peak at east wall before 12:00 hrs and west wall after 12:00 hrs. The heat rate flux through the roof is higher than that through the ceiling during daytime but lower at night as roof was the surface of most exposed to solar radiation. The proportion of heat through roof was 87% by radiation, 11% by convection and 2% by conduction. 97% of heat was transferred by radiation and 3% by conduction for ceiling and heat through wall was 88% by radiation, 8% by convection and 4% by conduction respectively.

Thermal and energy performance of conditioned building due to insulated sloped roof

For low‐rise buildings in equatorial region, the roof is exposed to solar radiation longer than other parts of the envelope. Roofs are to be designed to reject heat and moderate the thermal impact. These are determined by the design and construction of the roofing system. The pitch of roof and the properties of construction affect the heat gain into the attic and subsequently the indoor temperature of the living spaces underneath. This finally influences the thermal comfort conditions of naturally ventilated buildings and cooling load of conditioned buildings. This study investigated the effect of insulated sloping roof on thermal energy performance of the building. A whole‐building thermal energy computer simulation tool, Integrated Environmental Solution (IES), was used for the modelling and analyses. A building model with dimension of 4.0 m × 4.0 m × 3.0 m was designed with insulated roof and conventional construction for other parts of the envelope. A 75 mm conductive insulation material with thermal ...