Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials
Interest in the use of container houses has been increasing in recent years because of their resistance to earthquakes and fires. The incorporation of recyclable materials into these houses will simultaneously reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emission rates. In this context, the thermal performa...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/3944 |
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| author | Issa Omle Ali Habeeb Askar Endre Kovács |
| author_facet | Issa Omle Ali Habeeb Askar Endre Kovács |
| author_sort | Issa Omle |
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| description | Interest in the use of container houses has been increasing in recent years because of their resistance to earthquakes and fires. The incorporation of recyclable materials into these houses will simultaneously reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emission rates. In this context, the thermal performance of an external multi-layer wall of a container house mostly made of recyclable materials is studied and compared to that of a normal wall. The current study proposes a completely new structure, where there are air gaps and plastic layers between the steel sheets to enhance thermal insulation. In these gaps, different gases including argon are tested to reduce the heat loss. Calculations are carried out for a steady-state case in the winter season using the student version of ANSYS 2023 R2 Academic software, and the heat loss is calculated for different materials and different thicknesses of the wall layers. Afterward, based on a life-cycle cost analysis, the optimum air gap materials, optimum thickness of plastic and air gap, and energy savings are determined for a period of 20 years. We found that the optimum number of plastic layers to minimize the heating load is 21, but this reduces to 11 when considering economic factors. Furthermore, if a reflective layer covers the plastic layer, the optimum is just one layer. For an insulation thickness of 2 cm, the maximum total life-cycle savings are 335.14 and 350.52 USD, respectively, and the minimum ones are 16.06 and 31.44 USD, respectively, for multi-layer walls with and without reflective layers compared to conventional walls. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3b17249e54d54c0387751c7a6c4a0b23 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-3b17249e54d54c0387751c7a6c4a0b232024-12-27T14:15:49ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092024-12-011412394410.3390/buildings14123944Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic MaterialsIssa Omle0Ali Habeeb Askar1Endre Kovács2Institute of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc, HungaryInstitute of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc, HungaryInstitute of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Miskolc, 3515 Miskolc, HungaryInterest in the use of container houses has been increasing in recent years because of their resistance to earthquakes and fires. The incorporation of recyclable materials into these houses will simultaneously reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emission rates. In this context, the thermal performance of an external multi-layer wall of a container house mostly made of recyclable materials is studied and compared to that of a normal wall. The current study proposes a completely new structure, where there are air gaps and plastic layers between the steel sheets to enhance thermal insulation. In these gaps, different gases including argon are tested to reduce the heat loss. Calculations are carried out for a steady-state case in the winter season using the student version of ANSYS 2023 R2 Academic software, and the heat loss is calculated for different materials and different thicknesses of the wall layers. Afterward, based on a life-cycle cost analysis, the optimum air gap materials, optimum thickness of plastic and air gap, and energy savings are determined for a period of 20 years. We found that the optimum number of plastic layers to minimize the heating load is 21, but this reduces to 11 when considering economic factors. Furthermore, if a reflective layer covers the plastic layer, the optimum is just one layer. For an insulation thickness of 2 cm, the maximum total life-cycle savings are 335.14 and 350.52 USD, respectively, and the minimum ones are 16.06 and 31.44 USD, respectively, for multi-layer walls with and without reflective layers compared to conventional walls.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/3944argon insulationcontainer housesrecycled materialsradiation effectoptimizationFEM simulation |
| spellingShingle | Issa Omle Ali Habeeb Askar Endre Kovács Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials Buildings argon insulation container houses recycled materials radiation effect optimization FEM simulation |
| title | Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials |
| title_full | Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials |
| title_fullStr | Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials |
| title_short | Optimizing the Design of Container House Walls Using Argon and Recycled Plastic Materials |
| title_sort | optimizing the design of container house walls using argon and recycled plastic materials |
| topic | argon insulation container houses recycled materials radiation effect optimization FEM simulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/3944 |
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