• International Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.17-26
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• 2001

Simulation was conducted using TRNSYS to evaluate the thermal performance of a facility. This facility has a condensing-type heat exchanger which is able to recover the latent energy for the purpose of reducing the heating energy in winter. The boiler and chiller are selected based on the annual peak loads and controlled to maintain the facility at the set temperature of 14~$17^\circ{C}$. Supplied energy by the boiler and recovered energy by the heat exchanger were calculated as a function of number of pass through heat exchanger, kind of fuel and hot water velocity. Simulation results show that about 20% of the total heating load can be recovered by the heat exchanger and the amount of latent heat is increasing with the number of pass. This means that the efficiency of the waste energy recovery system can be increased by using a condensing-type heat exchanger rather than a traditional sensible heat exchanger.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.243-264
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• 2008

This paper details a testing facility ("NATURAL FIRE FACILITY") that allows closely-controlled experimental testing on full-scale sub-frames while reproducing the spatially transient temperature conditions measured in real fires. Using this test facility, an experimental investigation of six steel sub-frames under a natural fire was carried out at the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Coimbra. The main objective of these tests was to provide insight into the influence of these connection types on the behaviour of steel sub-structures under fire. The experimental layout is defined by two thermally insulated HEA300 columns and an unprotected IPE300 beam with 5.7 m span, supporting a composite concrete slab. Beam-to-column connections are representative of the most common joint type used on buildings: welded joints and extended, flush and partial depth plate. Finally, the available results are presented and discussed: evolution of the steel temperature; development of displacements and local deformations and failure modes on the joints zone.