About the project
Climate change caused by increased CO2 emissions is an important issue of the 21st century. The building sector and its heating and cooling are partly responsible for the increased emissions of this harmful gas. Building envelopes must meet increasingly stringent requirements in the area of energy saving, as they represent an important interface between internal temperature control and the outdoor climate. In detail, the quality and structural design of the façades play a decisive role here. The Architecture + Metal Construction teaching and research area at Fachhochschule Dortmund is specifically investigating the possibilities for saving resources and energy in substructures for ventilated rainscreen façades (VHF), made possible by the new use of hot-dip galvanized steels in this sector.
VH façades according to DIN 18516-1 are proven and standardized constructions in residential and commercial buildings. The weak point of this system is the constructive heat loss from the building envelope, e.g. due to localized thermal bridges from wall brackets for the building façade. The aluminum substructure material used as standard is a major factor in these losses. The previous "classic approach" to counteract this is to increase the thermal insulation, but this also increases the consumption of resources.
The aim of the research project described is to investigate and develop wall brackets and support profiles made of hot-dip galvanized steel to extend the substructure systems of VH façades in accordance with DIN 18516-1 - as well as their possible energy-saving effects. The design of new support profiles and wall brackets made of hot-dip galvanized steel sheets could result in further significant energy savings on the building façade. The modulus of elasticity of steel, which is three times higher than that of aluminum, could lead to larger spans of the support profiles and thus simultaneously to a reduction in the number of wall brackets. Fewer wall brackets = less heat loss. Another positive aspect is the thermal conductivity of steel, which is significantly lower than that of conventional aluminum systems. The redesign of the two system components should enable energy savings in the wall structure as well as a resource-saving and material-friendly use of hot-dip galvanized steel as a substructure material.
Research institution 1
Project management:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Helmut Hachul
Fachhochschule Dortmund
Faculty of Architecture
Department of Architecture and Metal Construction
Emil-Figge-Str. 40
44227 Dortmund
helmut.hachufh-dortmundde
Research institution 2
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Weimar
University of Siegen
Department of Architecture
Structural Design
Hölderlinstraße 3
57076 Siegen
weimararchitektur.uni-siegende
Research assistants
Daniela Ridder M.Sc. (FH DO)
Yesim Tekinbas M.Sc. (FH DO)
M.Sc. Henrik Reißhaus (UNI SI)