SE-14-018 -- Analytical Expression for Transient Heat Transfer in Concrete Core Activation PDF

Concrete core activation (CCA) is a large thermal mass which is actively used within a building’s HVAC system. This implies that the building controller should account for theCCA thermal characteristics. For this purpose, an analytical expression for the heat transfer inCCAis derived in this paper. This expression can be used to analyze temperature distribution, heat transfer rate, and accumulated heat in a CCA-slab, both in space and in time. Moreover, this paper shows that a further simplification leads to an explicit expression for time as a function of the transferred or stored heat. This is essential for building controllers which need information on start-up times or, in smart grid applications, on the potential for thermal energy storage through the use of heat pumps or chillers.