Journal of Korean Institute of Architectural Sustainable Environment and Building Systems ISSN:1976-6483(Print) 2586-0666(Online) 한국건축친환경설비학회논문집

In Korean apartments, the window fastening unit which fixes the window to the outer wall structure becomes a point thermal bridge due to the high thermal conductivity of metal components. The indoor surface temperature of the outer wall adjacent to the window fastening unit is locally lowered, and defects such as condensation may occur. The aim of this study is to suggest efficient measures to reduce thermal bridging effects in the window fastening areas. Seven alternatives were evaluated using three-dimensional steady state heat transfer simulation. The lowest indoor surface temperature adjacent to the window fastening unit and the heat loss through the entire simulated area were compared for each of the alternatives. As results, it was found that the heat loss was not significantly different between alternatives and covering the end of steel bracket with urethane foam was the most efficient way to increase the lowest indoor surface temperature.