MAKING STEEL FRAMING AS THERMALLY EFFICIENT AS WOOD MOST CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS FROM ORNL

摘要

In recent years, a variety of light steel frame technologies have been introduced to the residential building market. Light steel framing has many advantages such as, low weight, dimensional stability resistance to insect damage and almost 100 percent recycleability. However, for various reasons, including concerns about thermal performance, the use of steel as a framing material is still low. Several material configurations have been investigated to increase the thermal effectiveness of light steel frame structures. This paper focuses on the most common options for thermal improvements of steels framed walls. These include: diminishing the contact area between the studs and exterior sheathing materials, reducing the steel stud web area, replacing the steel web with a less conductive material, placing foam insulation in locations where the thermal shorts are most critical. Research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has utilised both hot box testing and computer simulation tools to optimise the thermal design of steel stud walls The aim is to develop energy-efficient technologies that will enable light steel frame walls to beat the performance of traditional 2 X 6 (50 X 150mm) timber stud walls. Several of the most current ORNL developments n light steel framing which effectively match the performance of timber framing are presented in this paper.