Comparative study of thermal analysis for glass windows using a heat transfer model and SolidWorks

Abstract

This work aims to perform the analysis and simulation in SolidWorks of heat transfer, both for a single and double window. For the analysis, two climatic situations were evaluated and, in this way, to determine their viability from the design and economic point of view: 1) outdoor temperature of -10°C, which corresponds to very cold climatic conditions (USA) and 2) Outdoor temperature of 3°C, which are generally found in warmer climates (Mexico). The study is carried out considering steady state conditions, there is no heat transfer between the walls and the window, as well as bidirectional heat flow along the window. In addition, the effect of material thickness on temperatures indoor, outdoor and heat transfer in both types of windows is analyzed. The results show that increasing glass thickness reduces heat transfer. When using case 1 and a thickness of 10 mm, the temperature obtained indoor the enclosure for the single window is -1.79°C, while for the double window is 14.38°C, which represents a temperature difference of 16.17°C. For case 2 and a thickness of 10 mm, the temperature obtained inside for the simple and double window is 7.66°C and 16.82°C, respectively, resulting in a temperature difference of 9.16°C, so the best alternative, from the thermal point of view, is to use double-leaf windows to reduce heat transfer.