Assembly-Scale and Whole-Building Energy Performance Analysis of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHP-FRC) Façade Systems

Abstract

Majority of building energy consumption is used to heat and cool enclosed spaces. An innovative ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC) facade system has the potential to reduce building energy consumption. The objectives of this research are (1) to analyze the heat and moisture transfer within the UHP-FRC facade panels, and (2) assess the energy performance of a proposed UHP-FRC facade system in comparison with conventional sandwich panel facade system in commercial building context (large office, medium office, and small office buildings). A transient hygrothermal analysis is conducted to investigate heat and moisture transfer within the UHP-FRC facade system and evaluate the risk of mold growth in internal layers of the facade system for different boundary conditions. A simulation-based building energy performance analysis is conducted to investigate the energy performance of the UHP-FRC panel system in the commercial building context (three DOE prototype commercial buildings are used as building context) in fifteen locations with different climate and weather conditions (45 scenarios). The results of the hygrothermal analysis showed that the UHP-FRC panel assembly’s performance is superior to the conventional panel regarding combined heat and moisture transfer. Although the result of building energy simulations showed that the energy savings of using the UHP-FRC panel depend on the building type and climate condition, in 44 out of 45 scenarios, the total energy savings were positive. It is expected that the results of this research help develop the next generation of high-performance energy-efficient facade systems using UHP-FRC.