Building Physics - KU Leuven personal webserver

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POSSIBLE TOPICS MASTER THESIS AT THE BUILDING PHYSICS SECTION PROF. B. BLOCKEN, PROF. H. JANSSEN, PROF. S.ROELS, PROF. D. SAELENS ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015

On the next pages you will find the possible topics for a master thesis at the Building Physics Section of the Department of Civil Engineering. Most topics fit within ongoing research projects. Within the Building Physics Section, we investigate and evaluate the coupled heat, air and moisture transfer in the built environment, with a focus on thermal comfort and air quality in interior environments and the sustainability and durability of built structures. Illustrative examples of our research activities are: frost and salt damage in building materials, air and moisture transport in walls and roofs, in situ determination of buildings’ energy performance, development of zero-energy buildings, analyses of driving rain and wind comfort,… Our research (inter)acts at different levels, from materials over components to buildings and environments. It furthermore combines experimental and numerical work, and our section has acquired a strong international reputation on both fronts. Although there will always be an interaction between the different levels, the proposed topics are grouped according their main research level: BWF-1 up to BWF-7:

topics dealing with heat and mass transport in building materials

BWF-8 up to BWF-13:

topics dealing with heat and mass transport in building components

BWF-14 up to BWF-18:

topics dealing with energy use and ventilation of buildings and the built environment

BWF-19 up to BWF-19:

topics dealing with driving rain and wind comfort in the built environment

As the The Buildings Physics section has developed an extensive network with other international universities and research institutes, apart from the presented topics, also a master thesis in the framework of the Erasmus exchange program is a possibility. Our most important Erasmus-partners within the field of Building Physics are NTNU in Trondheim, Norway; Chalmers University in Goteborg, Sweden; DTU in Copenhagen, Denmark and FEUP in Porto, Portugal.

BWF F-01 Porië ënblokkade es in baksteen ten ge evolge van gipskristalllisatie Pore clogging c of ceramic ce bricks ks by gypsum crystallisatio c on Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacct person(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hanss Janssen Jelen na Todorovic Jelen na.Todorovic@b bwk.kuleuven.b be 1 or 2 English BWK GT, IRA BTO

In the last few decad des, a new type e of efflorescen nce started to aappear on bricck masonry buildings in the UK, the Ne etherlands and in Belgium. Co ontrary to the common efflorrescence of hig ghly soluble sa alts, which easiily wash off o during rain events, this ne ew efflorescencce consists of llowly soluble gypsum, and is therefore high hly persisttent. Since the e problem und dermines the aesthetic a appeaarance of massonry buildingss, it results in a growin ng number of complaints fro om building owners. Althoug gh gypsum effflorescence ha as already bee en known n for several de ecades, the me echanisms behin nd this phenom menon have no ot yet been unvveiled. One of the research problems is th hat gypsum effflorescence can nnot be induceed under labora atory condition ns. Simple e laboratory tessts – where briick sample are fed with gypsu um solution at the bottom, w which evaporate es at the top surface – showed that gypsum g crystallizes under thee surface, form ming subfloresccence instead of escence. On the other hand, under the sam me conditions, other salts do precipitate at the surface an nd efflore do form efflorescencce. Even though h the internal crystallization c o of calcium sulphate does not cause damage es, pore precipitation induces porre clogging, wh hich highly influ uences the moiisture and gypssum transport. its in-p The aiim of this masster thesis is to o quantitatively y estimate the pore clogging of bricks, induced by calcium sulpha ate (CaSO4 · 2H H2O) in function n of concentrattion. In the firsst part of the prroject, gypsum m solution uptakke test will w be performe ed. At the botttom surface, brick samples w will be in contaact with gypsum solution, witth evaporation allowed only at the top p surface. In th his way, gypsu m in-pore crysstallization will be induced. Th he on of the test, and/or the con ncentration of gypsum, g will in nfluence the wiidth and densitty of the crysta alduratio lization n front. The se econd part starrts with the dry ying of these g gypsum contain ning samples, o only through th he upper surface. After reaching a con nstant weight, two tests will be conducted.. One group off gypsum-loade ed es will be subjected to the water w uptake te est, while for th he other a deccane uptake te est is performed. sample In botth cases, uptak ke will take pla ace from the surface s where previously evaaporation had occurred. Water uptake e test will give us an insight into the gypsum m dissolution raate. On the oth her hand, deca ane is apolar an nd does not n dissolve sallts. Treating th he gypsum conttaining samplees as a bilayer material, the w width of crystallization front and deg gree of pore fillling can be esttimated, from tthe kinetics off decane sorption. Additionally, um transport, including i the d dissolution in w water, can follow w. numerrical simulation study of gypsu This master m thesis is composed of:  Literature re eview on salt transport, t calcium sulphate p properties and analysis of the sorptivity of a bilayer composite  Gypsum solution, water an nd decane upta ake tests, undeer laboratory co onditions  Numerical simulation study y on gypsum trransport.

Gypsum ssolution

Illustra ration: Gypsum m efflorescence (left ( & center),, laboratory set etup of gypsum m solution uptakke test (right)

BWF F-02 Verg gelijkende levenscyclu l usanalyse van v bouwb blokken op basis van kurk Comp parative life cycle cy assessm ment of buildin ing blocks bassed on cork Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hans Janssen, J Karen Allacker TBD [email protected] kuleuven.be, [email protected] hans.ja 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

In a quest to counte eract the global climate chang ge and resourcce depletion ch hallenges, the b building industtry i ‘rapidly rene ewable materials’. Rapidly reenewable materials, with straw w or bamboo a as has a keen interest in nown examples, are said to have h to have enormous e pote ntial to come tto a more susttainable built enwell-kn vironm ment (see www w.ecobuildingpu ulse.com/buildiing-materials/g growing-deman nd.aspx for add ditional information). Cork – the ba ark of the cork oak which can n be harvested every 10 yearrs – is another illustration, witth ng from insulattion material to o cladding soluttion (see the illlustrations below). A new appotenttial uses rangin plicatio on of cork is its use as a building block, in which expandeed cork granulees are bonded with a cementtitious binder. b Such co ork building blo ocks are promo oted for their eexcellent combination of therrmal and mechanical performance, p ass well as for th heir significant capacity c for CO O2 fixation. This master m projects aims at a com mparative life cycle c assessme nt (LCA) of succh cork buildin ng blocks. In a an introdu uctory part, the mechanical and a hygrotherm mal properties of cork buildin ng blocks are ccharacterised, tto define an appropriatte functional un nit (as comparrative base) an nd to identify p potentially equivalent productts. This characterisation n focuses on th he blocks’ mechanical (elasticcity modulus, ccompressive sttrength) and hyermal (thermal conductivity, capillary c absorp ption coefficien nt) properties. In the key parrt, an LCA of th he grothe cork building b blocks and the alternative function--equivalent bloccks will be made. Such LCA A study will allo ow evalua ating the enviro onmental impact of these blo ocks over their whole life cyclle. All life cycle stages are co overed,, and the LCA study s hence includes extractiion of resourcees, production of materials, cconstruction pro ocess, use u stage, dem molition, End-off-Life and all ne ecessary transp port. For all liffe cycle stagess all input/output flows are a inventoried d and evaluated (e.g. energy y use, harmful emissions, watter use, land u use) for the cork buildin ng blocks and its equivalent products. p Speccial attention iss given to carb bon sequestratiion, both from a metho odological and an a analytical po oint of view. The prroject contains the following aspects: a  he existing literrature, to obtain a deeper an d broader know wledge on all ttopics involved;; Review of th  Determinatiion of the mech hanical and hyg grothermal maaterial propertiees of the cork b building blocks;;  Life cycle asssessment of th he cork building blocks, comp pared to functio on-equivalent b building blocks;  Concluding comparison an nd recommenda ations for furth her research

Referrence: Vogtlän nder JG, van de er Velden NM, van v der Lugt P, 2014, Carbon n sequestration n in LCA, a pro-posal for f a new apprroach based on n the global carrbon cycle; case ses on wood an nd on bamboo, International Journa al of Life Cycle Assessment 19 9:13–23.

Illustra ration: raw barkk of cork oak (lleft), expanded d cork insulation on (centre), cork rk as cladding m material (right))

BWF F-03 Num merieke en experimen e tele analys se van zonn nekokers Nume erical and exp perimental an nalysis of sola ar cookers Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hans Janssen J TBD [email protected] kuleuven.be hans.ja 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

In dev veloped countriies, buildings are a conditioned d to preserve th he comfort and d health of building occupantts. This however h require es the consum mption of fossil fuels, and hen nce leads to siignificant carbo on dioxide emissions. In developing g countries on the other hand, comfort and d health of buiilding occupants mainly link tto p In ndoor cooking on wood or co oal results in a strong pollution of the interrior climate, an nd food preparation. thus le eads to substa antial complain nts with relatio on to comfort aand health. T The burning off wood and co oal moreo over consumes many valuable e resources and d produces sign nificant carbon dioxide emissiions. These negative impa acts of wood/ccoal cooking ca an be strongly reduced by th he use of solarr cookers, whicch apply the heat of th he sun to heatt food (see illu ustrations undeerneath). Thee thermal optim misation of solar cookerrs is hence high hly important, and forms the core topic of tthis project. Th he performance of some generic mo odels will be co ompared based d on simulations and experim ments, with focu us on the therm mal efficiency of the co ookers. In a su ubsequent step p, the aim is to o improve the ssolar cooker deesign to make even better usse of the solar radiation n. The prroject contains the following aspects: a  eview: in orderr to obtain a brroader and deeeper knowledgee, the existing literature on th he Literature re topic is revie ewed;  Implementa ation: simulatio ons for solar cookers c are deeveloped based d on an existing package fo ort hermal build ding simulation n;  Experimentss: lab and in situ s experimentts are perform med to validate e the numerical models for th he solar cookerrs;  Simulation study: s an exten nsive simulation study will ind dicate which ellements contrib bute to the the ermal efficiency of the cooke ers, which are then used to o optimize their p performance;

Illustratio on: various type pes of solar coo okers: panel (lef eft), box (centre re), parabolic (rright)

BWF F-04 Kara akterisatie van v vochte eigenschap ppen op bassis van dyn namische expe erimenten en e inverse modellerin ng Chara acterization of o hygric prop perties via dy ynamic metho ods and invers rse modelling g Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hans Janssen, J Staf Roels R Evy Ve ereecken Evy.Ve [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

Moistu ure transfer in building materials is a majo or determinant for the durab bility and susta ainability of bu uilt structu ures, the achie evement of a healthy indoorr environment,, the energy cconsumption, e etc. To simulate moistu ure transfer, the moisture storage and moistture transport properties of b building materials are required. Curren ntly, these pro operties are, however, not defined d for thee full moisture range. In the e mid-saturatio on range,, knowledge on the hygric properties p is lacking. In addittion, ad- and desorption me easurements are merge ed. Furthermore e, the current measurement m techniques t req uire weeks till months of exp periments. In thiss project, the potential p to dettermine the hy ygric material p properties via d dynamic hygricc measuremen nts in com mbination with inverse modelling will be sttudied. Inversee modelling aim ms to find the e unknown input param meters (in this case c the hygricc material properties) resultin ng in a known o output (in this case the resullts of a dynamic d hygricc experiment),, as also expla ained in the ffigure below. Since dynamicc measuremen nts deman nd a shorter measurement m period, this sttrategy will ressult in a reduction of the ttime required to characcterize material properties. In n addition, tho ose dynamic m measurements could give info ormation on th he hygric behaviour in the mid-saturattion range. In a first part of th he thesis, the p possibilities of invers modellin ng e explored base ed on theoretical material pro operties. The aiim of this part is the developm ment of a robu ust will be inverse e identification algorithm. To gain insight on n the propertiees in the mid-saaturation range e and on the ad dand desorption proccess, dynamic measurementss will be propo osed and implemented. In a an experimenttal t inverse iden ntification algorrithm will be ap pplied for real building materrials and will be e validated. part, the The th hesis contains the t following asspects:  Literature re eview: in orderr to obtain a brroader and deeeper knowledgee, the existing literature on th he topic is revie ewed; Numerical study: Establishment of a virtual testb bed to scan the possibilitiies of dynam mic  measureme ents in combin nation with inv verse modellin ng. To this aim m, in a first step a materiial database is set up. These properties will be used to sim mulate dynamicc measurementts; al study: Dynamic experime ents are perfo ormed to usee as an input in the inversse Experimenta  characteriza ation strategy.

Invers se modelling:: (1) a dynam mic experimen nt is performe ed, (2) the num merical simullation that is in agree ement with the e experimenta al results give es the hygric m material prop perties.

BWF F-05 Stud die van voch hteigensch happen op basis b van o over-hygro oscopische desiccatorren da ampdiffusiietests. Invesstigation of moisture m prope perties based on overhygro oscopic desicccators and di diffusion cupss Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hans Janssen J Evy Ve ereecken Evy.Ve [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

Moistu ure is often a key k factor in da amage or disco omfort in buildi ngs, and the ccorrect design o of new building gs hence requires a re eliable assessm ment of moistu ure transfer in n building matterials. Such assessment necessita ates hygric ma aterial propertie es for moisture e storage and transport. Currrent measurem ment technique es allow measuring mo oisture storage e and transporrt only for rath her dry statess (hygroscopic range) and fo or ear-capillary range). For moissture states in between, usuaally interpolatio on, based on th he rather wet states (ne edge of the pore structure, iss applied. The correctness of such interpolaation remains d debated though h. knowle In thiss project, we will w attempt to develop d new measurement teechniques for m moisture storag ge and transporrt, based on psychrome etry. Psychrom meters allow dettermining relattive humidities near to 100 % %, exactly in that mediate range that t currently remains r unmea asured. Use off psychrometerrs in desiccato ors – sealed po ots interm with a specific relative humidity in nside, meant to o determine m moisture storag ge (left figure) – and diffusio on cups – combinationss of sealed potts at different relative humid dities, meant to determine m moisture transffer (right figure) – will thus enable wider w measurem ment of moistu ure storage and transport. The experimenttal w be combined d with a numerical part in wh hich the influen nce of experim mental errors an nd measurement part will uncerttainties on the simulated hygrric performance e of building ellements will bee studied. The th hesis contains the t following asspects:  Literature re eview: in orderr to obtain a brroader and deeeper knowledgee, the existing literature on th he topic is revie ewed;  Experimenta al study: Overrhygroscopic de esiccators and cup tests will be developed d. Both ad- an nd desorption measurementss will be perfo ormed. Thereto o, also more sstandard techn niques (standard p desiccator, pressure plate tests) will be performed. s The inffluence of exp perimental erro ors and measurement unce ertainties will b be  Numerical study: studied. Thereto, in a first step, the errors/uncertain nties will be deefined. Next, tthe influence of uilding elementts will be studie ed these errorss/uncertainties on the simulatted hygric perfformance of bu based on a numerical simu ulation model. a)

b)

a) Desicc cators, b) cup p test.

BWF F-06 Ontw werp van ee en in situ experiment e t voor het b bepalen va an vocht- en afloo opgedrag bij b poreuze bouwmate erialen Desig gn of an in sittu experimentt to determin ne the moistu ure and runoff ff behaviour o of porous wallss Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels Thijs Van V den Brande e thijs.va andenbrande@ @bwk.kuleuven..be 1 or 2 Dutch or English I BWK, IRA

ased moisture levels in poro ous building fa açade materia ls can result in durability p problems of th he Increa materiial. Damage may m occur due to freeze-thaw w cycles, surfacce soiling, discoloration by effflorescence an nd moistu ure induced sa alt migration. In I case of mo onumental build wever difficult to quantify th he dings it is how moistu ure behaviour or o determine iff the wall got a hydrophobic ffinish without aany knowledge e on the materiial properrties. Over the t last decade es the Karsten tube has been n used as a te sting device to o measure in ssitu the moisture transfe er properties of o porous wallls (see figure)). This non-deestructive meth hod gives reprroducible resullts when applied accura ately. It gives however h little physical p interp pretation and th he process is vvery sensitive to urate positioning of the tube. inaccu Aim off this master th hesis is to deve elop a new in siitu experimentaal device to meeasure the moiisture and runo off behaviour of a porous wall. Using needles with different diam meters, a drop is placed on tthe wall and th he ed. The goal iss to compare tthis experiment with a 2D m model of the wa all behaviour of that drrop is monitore quid drop and see whether th he liquid transfer properties of the wall can n be determine ed based on th he and liq runoff behaviour of the t droplet.

Appl plication of the Karsten K tube on site (Sint-Ma artinusbasiliek, Belgium). Thee tube is fixed to the wall with h adhessive putty, after er that the tube e is filled with water w and the hheight of the w water column iss monitored oveer time. On the e right, the wett tting region aroound the tube is shown.

BWF F-07 Duurrzaamheid van extern ne luchtdic chtingstape es voor laag g-energie h houtskelettwoningen: experimentele e studie An ex xperimental study s on the durability d of external e adhe esive tapes fo for timber fram me passive house es Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels Jelle La angmans [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

Today, labels introdu uced to certify standardised low l energy buiildings, such as ‘Passivhaus’ in Germany an nd ‘Minen nergie’ in Switzerland, are beccoming increassingly applied aacross Europe. Both labels exxplicitly require a thresh hold level of airttightness (0.6 air changes pe er hour (ACH) aat 50 Pa). For ttimber frame p passive houses in Belgium, this require ement is comm monly achieved d by carefully sealing all joiints in betwee en the structurral boardss. An on ngoing research h project at th he Building Ph hysics Section in collaboratio on with the in ndustrial partner REDCO O nv explores the t hygrotherm mal requiremen nts for exterior air barrier sysstems. The focu us of the proje ect is on the t optimisation n of the materiial properties fo or this techniqu ue. However, aan important re esearch questio on in the context rema ains the durab bility and life-tiime expectatio on of the adheesive tapes to o seal the join nts between the structtural boards. Exterior air barrier b are exxposed to high temperature e and humidity ations. Studying the influence e of these para ameters on thee sealed joints will be the corre of the present fluctua thesis.. The th hesis concerns an experimen ntal study verifying the duraability and agin ng of sealed joints. The ma ain focus will be on the influence of th he air permeab bility and mech hanical propertties of taped jo oints in betwee en ng boards under climatic varriations. The thesis studentt(s) are expectted to set-up a an experimenttal buildin proced dure to test th he above-menttioned aspects under variouss conditions. T The student ca an apply precisse measu urement equipm ment available e at both the Laboratory L of Building Physiics (e.g. Air pe ermeability tesstsetup, Figure left) an nd the R&D lab boratory of the industrial partn ners (e.g. heatt-rain chamber,, Figure right).

Left: L Air permea ability test-setu up and right: he heat-rain climate te chamber.

BWF F-08 Hygrrothermische prestatiie-analyse van koude e zolders Hygro othermal perf rformance ana alysis of cold d attics Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Hans Janssen J TBD [email protected] kuleuven.be hans.ja 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

Cold attics a are a popular solution for the insulattion of the roo of construction in Scandinavian countries. IIn such cold c attics, insu ulation is place ed on the attic floor instead o of in the roof iitself, which le eads to generallly colder conditions in the t attic, hence the name. Su uch solution is of interest wh hen thermally u upgrading atticcs, ecute. But alsso newly built dwellings are progressively m more often con nstructed with a as it iss simple to exe cold atttic. Such cold c attics are however h very sensitive s for the infiltration off warm and hu umid interior airr, which may re esult in mould growth h and wood rott in the attic sp pace. The expeeriences in Sweeden teach us tthat a dedicate ed ventila ation strategy is required to avoid a damage in these cold atttics. Despite tthese foreign e experiences, co old attics are suggested more and morre frequently in n Belgium: thee tighter requireements for the e thermal perfo ore of buildings and a the rising costs c of energy consumption p play an importaant role in thatt evolution. An nd mance while the t Swedish gu uidelines emph hasize a good ventilation v straategy, no functtional guideline es are in place in Belgium. This projects p aims att studying the hygrothermal benefits and d damages of cold attics in Belgium: the que estion to o answer is wh hether this atticc solution can be safely appl ied in the Belg gian climate. In n a first part, a an existin ng analytical model for the te emperature, rellative humidityy and ventilatio on flows in atticcs is to be com mpleted. Application of o this simulatio on model then allows an asssessment of thee consequence es of (better) ind attic floors, and a an evaluattion of possible e solutions. Co omplementarilyy, results of me easurements are sulated processsed and interp preted, to supp port the theore etical investigattion. Confrontaation of the nu umerical and experime ental results wiill then finally permit p to formu ulate robust atttic solutions. The th hesis consists of o the following tasks:  Literature re eview concerning moisture prroblems in (un))vented (cold) attics  Completion of an analytica al model for the e hygrothermaal behaviour of attics  Processing and a interpretattion of selected d hygrothermall measurementts in attics  Application of the numericcal model for th he assessment of attic and/orr roof solutionss  n of robust solu utions for the th hermal insulatio on of attic consstructions Formulation

Illustration n: problems witth wood rot (lef eft & right) en m mould growth ((center) in cold d attics

BWF F-09 Kan binnenisolatie veilig worden w toe egepast ind dien houte en vloerbalk ken zijn opge elegd in de wand? A hyg grothermal study of woode en beam ends s in masonry walls insulatted with interrior insulation

Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels Evy Ve ereecken [email protected] uven.be 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

The la ast decade, energy e require ements becam me more and more stringeent. To improvve the therm mal performance of exissting masonry walls, both interior and exxterior insulatiion can be ap pplied. Althoug gh exterio or insulation ha as a higher pottential and less hygrothermal risks, for somee buildings inte erior insulation is the on nly possibility. Although A a lot of progress ha as been made ffor a reliable aapplication of in nterior insulatio on and ba asic guidelines are available, one of the issues remains un nsolved so far:: what about tthe risk on woo od rot wh hen interior insu ulation is applie ed on masonry y walls with woo oden beam ends incorporated d in the wall. To eva aluate the risk and possible solutions s both numerical and experimental work will be p performed in th his master thesis. The numerical n work k includes therrmal and hygri c simulations o of the wooden n beam ends fo for ent boundary conditions. c In the t experimenttal part, a massonry wall will be built in the e hot box / co old differe box (ssee figure below w) at the laborratory of the bu uilding physics section. In thiis set-up differrent solutions fo or woode en beam ends incorporated in the masonrry wall will be constructed. By imposing ffixed indoor an nd outdoo or conditions the hygrotherm mal conditions around a the wo ooden beam en nds can be mo onitored and th he risk on n mould growth h and wood rott evaluated.

BWF F-10 De im mpact van uitvoeringskwaliteit op de thermische pre estatie van wand- en dake elementen Quant ntifying the im mpact of work kmanship on the thermal p performance e of wall and rroof comp ponents Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels A-H. Deconinck D anhele een.deconinck@ @bwk.kuleuven n.be 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

e debate on en nergy efficient dwellings, an accurate know wledge of the aactual thermal performance of In the our bu uildings’ fabricc is essential. Currently, the e thermal qua lity of the building envelope is awarded a performance label during d the desiign phase. Thiis label is baseed on theoretiical calculation ns and does not n with the re eality of the construction c process where workmanship p issues, moissture infiltration, reckon undesired air flows, etc. e can influen nce the therma al performance of building eleements in a negative way. Th his t performance of wall and roof com mponents due to undesired a air master thesis treats the reduced thermal t the bu uilding element. flows through Rotatio onal air flows around insula ation layers orr wind washing g in roofs havve a baleful in nfluence on th he therma al performance e of wall and roof r componen nts and induce a discrepancyy between the as-built U-valu ue and th he theoretically calculated U-v value [1]. Causses for these ph hysical phenom mena in the acttual constructio on processs can be foun nd on building g sites by visu ual inspectionss. The focus o of these inspecctions is on th he construction of the insulation and airtight layers of roof and w wall componentts. This masterr thesis can ad dd observ vations to the existing e set of inspections. i

Differen nt constructions s of a cavity wa all. Source: [2], [3] The in nsulation layer of o a cavity wall is designed as s a continuous layer adjacentt to the inner w wall leaf. Poor workm manship, howev ver, shows thatt air gaps aroun nd the insulatio on layer often o occur on site in n practice. Paralle el to the inspecctions on site , this master the esis intents to q quantify the im mpact of rotatio onal air flow an nd wind washing w on the e thermal performance of walll and roof com ponents. This iis done by the use of numerrical models. Th he latter contain a lot of assu umptions conceerning friction lo osses, air flow resistances , etc. Fe eedback from the t on-site insp pections will be e used as an in nput for measu urements speciffying those valuess in more detaill. [1] [2]

[3]

J. Lecompte e, “De invloed van v natuurlijke convectie op d de thermische kwaliteit geïsoleerde spouwconsttructies,” KU Le euven, 1989. G. Verbeeck k and S. Roels, “TETRA-PROJE ECT BEP2020. Betrouwbare eenergieprestatie van woningen. Naar N een robuu uste en gebruik kersonafhankel ijke performan ntie. N°110189.” Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, KU Leuven, L pp. 1–3 38, 2012. S. Saelen, “Uitvoering gskwaliteit als essentiële paraameter voor dee energetische prestatie van reside entiële nieuwbo ouw.,” KU Leuv ven, 2012.

BWF F-11 Inno ovatieve inttegratie va an photovoltaische en nergie in ge evels Innov vative integra ation of photo tovoltaics in cladding c syste ems Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Dirk Saelens TBD kuleuven.be [email protected] 1 or 2 English BWK, ENE, IRA

In order to reduce th he primary ene ergy use of buildings the use o of renewable eenergy plays an n important role. o the techniqu ues to integratte PV in the clladding system m is replacing the glazing un nit with a high hly One of insulatted PV panel. In the examp ples shown in Figure 1, the insulation is p provided by ad dding a vacuum insulattion panel (VIP). The integrration of PV and a VIP in clad ddings howeveer poses different challenge es, mainly y related to the e high temperattures that may y occur in the syystem. In thiss master thesis students will design, d assess and test severaal options to m make such a cla adding system. The ob bjectives of the e thesis are:     

to develop a thermal mode el describing th he performancee of the claddin ng system analyse the impact of the temperatures on o the energy yield of the PV V-system analyse the durability of the t VIP (e.g. th he joints of thee VIP) and PV unit (e.g. dela amination) under extreme tem mperatures design a sy ystem that prov vides the best overall energyy performancee in terms of in nsulation quality including thermal bridging g , risk of delam minating of the PV, energy yieeld of the PV, ... develop a measurement m setup s to the cladding system ms and test the designed system under re eal climatic con nditions

o will provide the samples for testing an This thesis subject is in collabora ation with Dow w Corning who nd backgrround informattion on the systtem.

FIG 1. Schematic Sc repre esentation of proposals pr to inge gegrate PV in th he cladding sysstem

BWF F-12 Intre egratie van n vacuüm is solatie pan nelen (VIP)) in gevelsy ystemen Integ gration of vac cuum insulatio ion panels (VI VIP) in claddin ng systems Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Dirk Saelens TBD kuleuven.be [email protected] 1 or 2 English IRA

Facade es consist of a sequence of opaque and tran nsparant parts.. In some high rise buildings a uniform façade e is desired. In order to obtain n this uniform façade, f shadow w boxes are ussed in cladding systems to mimic the esthetical aspect of norm mal glazing unitts. Usually, the opaque parts are insulated w with traditional w has the drawback d that the thickness o of the façade vvaries between transparent insulattion materials which and op paque parts. To o overcome thiis problem, the e traditional inssulation layer m may be replaced d with a VIP. The in ntegration of VIIP in claddings however posess some challen nges, mainly re lated to the the ermal bridging and th he high tempera atures that ma ay occur in the system. In thiss master thesis students will design, d assess and test severaal options to m make such a cla adding system. The ob bjectives of the e thesis are:     

to develop a thermal mode el describing th he performancee of the claddin ng system analyse the impact of the temperatures on o the stressess in the facade analyse the durability of th he VIP (e.g. the e joints of the VIP) design a sysstem that prov vides the best overall o energy p performance in n terms of insulation quality including thermal bridging g , risk of glass failure (thermaal stress) and V VIP failure develop a measurement m se etup to the cladding systems and test the d designed system m under real climatic con nditions

This th hesis subject iss in collaboratio on with Dow Co orning who willl provide the saamples for testting and backgrround informattion on the systtem

FIG 1. Scchematic repres esentation of a proposal p to inte tegrate VIP in tthe cladding sys ystem

BWF F-13 Ontw werp en detaillering van v een pre efab-gevelssysteem vo oor de therrmische reno ovatie van een e bestaand kantoorrgebouw Desig gn of prefabric icated façade e elements forr the thermall renovation o of an existing g office buildiing Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels Jelle La angmans, Liesb beth Staepels [email protected] uven.be, liesbetth.staepels@bw wk.kuleuven.be e 1 or 2 Dutch or English G IRA BTO BWK GT,

ngs are responssible for a large e share of the energy use an nd CO2-emissio ons. But where recent stringent Buildin energy y requirementss resulted in a lot of progresss for new bui ldings, improv ing the existin ng building stocck remain ns a huge challenge. The buiilding stock of the University of Leuven is a typical example. The current state and thermal performance p of o the building gs is often in painful contraast with the ttechnological e en scientiific knowledge available by itss users. The aim of this masster thesis is to t design a lig ghtweight façad de system for the renovatio on of one of th he c of the Celestijnenlaa n. The work iss part of the research proje ect typicall concrete buildings at the campus ‘HOLD DUB: Holistic sustainable con nstruction’, a joint j collaboraation between different depa artments of th he Faculty y of Engineerring. The projject wants to combine thee available kno owledge en e expertise in th he departtments to tran nsform one of the existing buildings b of KU U Leuven into a pilot projectt on sustainab ble renova ation of existin ng buildings. Th he academic year y 2013-2014 4 a monitoring campaign and d exploration o on possib ble renovation tracks has bee en performed for f this buildin ng. This maste er thesis is a fo ollow up on th his work and aims at the t design and d detailing of a façade systtem that can be prefabricatted to thermallly ate the existing g building witho out disturbing the activities w within the build ding. The main focus will be o on renova the de esign and dettailing of the prefabricated elements and d their junctio ons. In addition the therm mal performance of a sta andard elemen nt will be nume erically simulatted to get a co orrect estimation of the finallly ved overall improvement. achiev

Left: the envisaged building, b right: example of a renovation r baseed on exterior light weight fa açade element

BWF F-14 Het gelijktijdig g g verbetere en van klimaatconditie es en energ gieprestatiies van monumenten: het h Erasmu ushuis in Anderlecht A Simulltaneously im mproving consservation con nditions and e energy perforrmance of mo onuments: th he Erasm mus house in Anderlecht Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Ro oels TBD uven.be [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch G IRA BTO BWK GT,

The Errasmus house in Anderlecht dates d from 146 60 and is one o of the eldest go othic houses in Brussels. It wa as not acctually the housse of Erasmus, but the great humanist stayeed as a guest in the house fo or a short perio od to enjo oy the country yside (at that moment m Anderrlecht was a sm mall village of 300 inhabitantts). Although h he didn’t stay long, he made m a great im mpression and the building b became famouss as the house where the great B of the 20th century,, the Erasmus h house has been n restored to the way it looke ed Erasmus had lived. Beginning 21, the moment Erasmus lived d in the house. Today, the ho ouse hosts a m museum surrou unded by a mo ost in 152 wonde erful garden. But, as for many mo onumental build dings, the climatic conditionss in the house are not alwayss optimal for th he ble collection and a neither is the energy performance p off the building. Aim of this m master thesis is valuab twofold. On the one e hand analyse e the current situation and p ropose amendments to imprrove the climattic ollection and on n the other han nd make suggeestions to redu uce the energyy consumption of conditions for the co uilding, while maintaining m the comfort of the e visitors. The sstudy could con ntain the follow wing steps: the bu 1.. general aud dit of the Erasm mus house in its current statte (description of heating sysstem, measurin ng air tightnesss, IR-images,… …) 2.. analysis and d interpretation n of data loggin ng (performed by the museum m) 3.. compiling th he required clim matic conditions in view of thee collection of the museum 4.. simulation of o the thermal dynamic beha aviour of the b building based on BES-mode el (BES: Buildin ng Energy Simulation) both fo or the current state s as for posssible alternativves 5.. based on all previous work k, propose imp provements for building fabricc, HVAC-system m,… The work w will be don ne in close collaboration with h the conservattor of the Erasmus house as well as with th he ‘Dienstt Monumenten en Landschappen van het Brrussels Hoofdsttedelijk Gewestt’.

BWF-15 Het modelleren van warmteverliezen tgv luchtinfiltratie/-exfiltratie mbv systeemidentificatie-methoden Modelling heat losses due to air infiltration/exfiltration using system identification methods Supervisor(s): Assistant(s): Contactperson(s): Number of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Roels Geert Bauwens [email protected]; [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English BWK GT, IRA BTO

In order to reduce the energy use of dwellings, different countries have put forward more strict regulatory demands to the energy performance of new and renovated buildings. Without exception, this performance is calculated in the design phase. Several studies, however, show that the as-built performance can differ significantly from this theoretical value. The energy performance of buildings comprises three parts: building fabric, building services and building usage. Hence, the characterisation of the thermal performance of the building fabric represents an important first step towards bridging the gap between the designed energy performance and the performance that is actually achieved upon completion. Heat loss through a building fabric essentially consists of two components: transmission heat losses and natural ventilation heat losses (infiltration/exfiltration). The latter arises due to a combination of thermal stack and wind induced pressure differences over the building envelope. A leaky envelope will lead to important heat losses due to air flowing through it, which subsequently needs to be heated to comfort conditions. Studies show that the heat loss due to air infiltration and exfiltration can represent an important share of the total heat loss. The aim of this thesis is to describe the actual air change rate through the building envelope, taking place during a heating experiment or during normal use of the building. Simplified models with physical relevance will be defined and fitted to measurement data. For instance, a model could describe the air flow as a direct function of weather conditions as e.g. outdoor air temperature, wind speed and direction. An important part of the thesis will be devoted to a thorough analysis of simulated and real measurement data (e.g. tracer-gas tests will be performed) of air flows occurring in representative dwellings under typical weather conditions. This thesis has been put forward in the framework of the collaborative project between KU Leuven and Knauf on “Investigating the gap between real and predicted/expected thermal performances of buildings”. It also inspired by recent and ongoing international activity in the framework of the IEA EBC Annex 58 project: “Reliable building energy performance characterization based on full scale dynamic measurements”.

BWF-16 Naar een karakterisatie van de thermische prestatie van gebouwen op basis van eenvoudig metingen Towards a thermal performance characterisation of buildings based on crude measurement data Supervisor(s): Assistant(s): Contactperson(s): Number of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Staf Roels Geert Bauwens, Liesje van Gelder [email protected]; [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English BWK GT, IRA BTO

In order to reduce the energy use of dwellings, different countries have put forward more strict regulatory demands to the energy performance of new and renovated buildings. Without exception, this performance is calculated in the design phase. Several studies, however, show that the as-built performance can differ significantly from this theoretical value. The energy performance of buildings comprises three parts: building fabric, building services and building usage. Hence, the characterisation of the thermal performance of the building fabric represents an important first step towards bridging the gap between the designed energy performance and the performance that is actually achieved upon completion. This thesis will investigate the possibility, on the basis of measurement data acquired during on-board monitoring campaigns (buildings in use and heated by installed services), to estimate the building envelope’s thermal performance (e.g. heat transfer and solar aperture coefficients). To that end, simple models with physical relevance will be defined, and in a subsequent step fitted to available measurement data. The result is e.g. a model that describes the heating power demand of a dwelling as a function of its characteristics, monitored indoor and outdoor air temperatures, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, user behaviour characteristics, etc. The building is then characterized by the physically relevant parameters that make up these models. In a First part, the thesis will include an elaborate data analysis of readily available measurement data. The final aim is to characterise the investigated dwellings and to optimize the characterisation process towards result (what can we characterise and to what uncertainty?) and practice (which measurements are necessary to obtain reliable results? How long do we have to measure for?). This thesis has been put forward in the framework of the collaborative project between KU Leuven and Knauf on “Investigating the gap between real and predicted/expected thermal performances of buildings”. It also inspired by recent and ongoing international activity in the framework of the IEA EBC Annex 58 project: “Reliable building energy performance characterization based on full scale dynamic measurements”.

BWF-17 Warmterecuperatie uit rioolwater voor verwarming en warm water Heat recovery from sewer systems for domestic heating and hot water Supervisor(s): Assistant(s): Contactperson(s): Number of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Dirk Saelens Thijs Vandenbrande [email protected], [email protected] 1 or 2 Dutch or English NA BWK, ENE, IRA

World-wide 30 to 40% of the total energy use is used for operating the building stock. A more efficient use of buildings can reduce the economic cost and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Because of the environmental impact of the depletion of energy resources, the interest in sustainable, low impact alternatives for energy increased considerably in the past years. As the temperature of waste water is usually higher than that of the water supply a potential track to decrease the energy consumption is to recover energy from waste water by using a heat exchanger built-in in the sewer system and coupling it to a heat pump. In this master thesis students will develop a model for such a sewer heat recovery system and couple it to an existing dynamic building energy simulation tool. This includes the development of code and the collection of all relevant boundary conditions such as mass flow rates, temperature of waste water and frequency of drainage. Subsequently, using yearly simulations the system will be evaluated in terms of the Coefficient of Performance (COP) or the Heating Season Performance Factor (HSPF), the maximal power and the potential energy reduction compared against traditional systems. In the first half of 2014 such a heat recovery system will be build in Leuven and linked to a collective heating system. If the measurements become available the model may be compared against these data. In the figure below, a schematic representation of a heat recovery system for sewers is depicted. On the left, waste water from the central collection tube is transferred to a reservoir and filtered. This waste water is then transferred through a heat exchanger which exchanges heat with a secondary loop that connects to the evaporator of a heat pump. This heat pump increases the temperature level and stores the heat ina buffer reservoir. The required heat to fulfil the needs for zone heating and domestic hot water use is then taken from this reservoir by using heat exchangers.

Sewer + filters

Heat exchanger

Schematic representation of a heat recovery system for sewers

Heat pump

Reservoir + heating system

BWF F-18 Centtrale of dec centrale energievoorz ziening op ccampus Arrenberg? Centrral or decentrral energy sup pply on the Arenberg A cam mpus? Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Dirk Saelens beth Staepels, Christina C Proto papadaki Liesb [email protected] kuleuven.be, [email protected] en.be 1 or 2 Dutch or English BWK, ENE, IRA

The en nergy use of th he building stocck of the KU Le euven in generaal and that of tthe Arenberg C Campus in particu ular is not exacctly an example e of good practtice. The quality ty in terms of ssustainability an nd technologica al innova ation is in stron ng contrast to the t technologiccal and scientifiic knowledge aavailable to the users of the buildin ngs. This thesiss topic is part of o the HOLDUB project aiming g at finding solu ution to make tthe campus more sustainable. s The ob bjective of this thesis is to foccus on the energy production on the campu us. Two main options are availab ble: when the current c boilers are due for rep placement, theey are replaced d with the best available curren nt technology or o a central pow wer plant is con nceived that deelivers energy tto the differentt buildings on the campus. In a first step studen nts will list the advantages a and disadvantagees based on liteerature, own in nsights resultin ng in a SW WOT analysis for f both optionss. In a se econd main ste ep students will develop a mo odel in a dynam mic energy simu ulation tool to a assess the advanttages and disadvantages for both options. This T model con nsists of 3 subm models: (1) a m model describin ng the en nergy demand for f the building gs, (2) a modell describing thee energy produ uction units (he ere distinction is made between produ uctions units within w the building and central units) and (3)) a model descrribing the us energy distriibution grid in case c of the cen ntralized system m. campu In a th hird step measu urements on th he existing (verry old) thermall grid are carrieed out to provid de insight in th he distribution losses an nd to evaluate the t performancce of the modeels. The fo ourth step is to develop and assess a differentt scenarios for tthe centralized d and decentrallized option to and co ome to a conclu usion which of the systems pe erforms best in n terms of enerrgy demand. In a fiffth step an eco onomical cost-b benefit analysiss is carried out to come to final conclusions

FIG 1. An overview of o the Arenberg g Campus

BWF F-19 Ontw werp van de stedelijke omgeving voor optiimaal wind d- en regen ncomfort Desig gn of the urba an canopy to improve wind d and rain co omfort Superv visor(s): Assista ant(s): Contacctperson(s): Numbe er of students: Language of thesis: Project link: Study lines:

Bert Bllocken, Staf Ro oels Thijs Van V den Brande e thijs.va andenbrande@ @bwk.kuleuven..be 1 or 2 Dutch I BTO BWK, IRA

High wind w speed aro ound high-rise buildings can lead to wind discomfort an nd local amoun nts of streamin ng wind-d driven rain. Offten pedestrian ns are confronted with thesee problems aftter the constru uction of a ne ew high-riise building in an urban env vironment. The ese effects can n however be predicted usin ng wind comfo ort assesssment studies which w consist of o combining sttatistical meteo orological data with aerodyna amic informatio on and a comfort criterio on. The aerodynamic in nformation, wh hich transformss statistical weeather data to o local wind sspeeds and ra ain o two parts: th he terrain relatted contribution n and the desig gn related contribution. In th his intensities, consists of w investigate the design re elated contribu ution using a computationall fluid dynamiccs master thesis we will are package (O OpenFOAM) with an additionall wind-driven raain model. softwa The master m thesis consists c of the selection of a case in whicch local discom mfort due to w wind and rain is presen nt. Using CFD simulations s thiss discomfort wiill be quantified d and in the neext steps poten ntial measures tto improv ve wind and rain comfort in th he urban environment will bee designed and quantified.

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