Alternative study of heat transfer on radiant ceiling systems oriented to commissioning process in real buildings

Abstract

A brief general description of radiant ceiling systems and a detailed analysis of heat transfer are developed, covering such topics as materials and working principle. The most studied and documented heat flow patterns are based on natural convection and simplified radiation exchange between two surfaces. However the convective heat exchange on a radiant ceiling surface becomes a complex process, considering specially the combined effect of ceiling perforation, ventilation, fenestration systems and multiple surfaces radiation. There are too many configurations and possible combinations of these elements in the modern buildings that do not allow to completely describe the phenomenon with a correlative method. In this study the analysis of ceiling convection and radiation on the systems is performed in order to allow its use in commissioning process in real buildings.