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Description

The U-Value tool Equivalent U-Value allows you to calculate and display equivalent U-values. The equivalent U-value takes periodic thermal bridge occurrences into account (e.g. the joist in figure 2).

How do I activate it?

The U-Value tool can be activated with the command U-Value in the menu Results or by clicking on the icon in the Toolbox flyout. Then select Equivalent U-Value as kind in the tool properties (cf. figure 1). When the tool is active, the mouse becomes a .

How do I use it?

To calculate the equivalent U-value over a surface edge, three steps are required:

With the first two clicks (at points A and B in the example at hand) you set the cross section line, thus defining the surface edge over which the  equivalent U-value is to be calculated. After you have moved the mouse outside of the construction area, and a dashed preview appears, define with a third click the position of the measurement lines.

If the SHIFT key is pressed while you define the surface line, then the first click sets start and endpoints automatically at the adjacent adiabatic edges (e.g. construction sections).

The first click should be set near the boundary where the bordering surface line should begin. With the second click you define the parallel cross section and confine the bordering surface line.

Defining Styles

The presentation of an equivalent U-value object can be defined in the Style list in the Equivalent U-Value tool properties (see figure 1). The list shows all styles for equivalent U-value objects that have previously been determined in the Styles flyout.

A new equivalent U-value object will always be created with the styles currently marked in the Style drop down list. You can either change the selection of the styles in the Styles flyout or in the Style drop down list in the Equivalent U-Value tool properties.

The styles can also be adjusted afterwards by using the Assign Properties tool or by using the Drag&Drop function (see tutorial 1).

Figure 1: Equivalent U-Value tool properties

Accurate Results

To receive accurate results, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

If you would like to interrupt the input before defining the 3rd point, you can use context menu command (right click) Cancel or you can hit the ESC key.

With the Select, Move, Scale toolor Edit tool respectively, you can change the position of the label as well as the position of the section.

The type of label (e.g. number of post-decimal place holders, whether the heat flow should be calculated through the section surface) as well as the graphical properties of the cross section line can be adjusted with the corresponding styles in the Styles flyout.

Figure 2

Physical Explanation

The equivalent U-value (previously equivalent K-value) is calculated as follows:

and calculated as follows if the heat flux through the section should be taken into account (cf. figure 4, Properties flyout)

where:

Ueq: equivalent U-value [W/m2K]

ΦA-B: heat flow from A to B (counterclockwise) [W/m]

ΦC-A: heat flow from C to A (counterclockwise) [W/m]

ΦB-D: heat flow from B to D (counterclockwise) [W/m]

b: length of the projection of the distance line AB on the perpendicular to the section line AC [m]

ΔT: temperature difference TA-TC of the boundary condition temperatures TA und TC  by the points A and C [K]

Comments

Ueq A-B, exterior= Ueq A-B (C-A,B-D), interior     and   Ueq A-B, interior = Ueq A-B (C-A,B-D), exterior

Figure 4: Properties flyout of a equivalent U-value object

Limitations