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The Effect of Positions of Vertical Glass Fins inside a Double Skin Façade Air
Cavity as Acoustical Barriers and Ventilation Potentials

Article in Procedia Engineering · December 2016

DOI: 10.1016/[Link].2016.04.116

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ScienceDirect
Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899

International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering and Construction

The Effect of Positions of Vertical Glass Fins inside a Double Skin Façade
Air Cavity as Acoustical Barriers and Ventilation Potentials
Jeehwan Leea, Haider Mohameda, and Jae D. Changa
a
University of Kansas, 1465 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045, U.S.A

Abstract

A number of studies state that natural ventilation strategies can contribute to improving indoor air quality (IAQ) and
thermal comfort; however, noise annoyance by urban traffic noise transmission is a significant challenge that leads
to the degradation of the acoustical quality in urban environments. As a solution to meet both needs for natural
ventilation benefits and noise transmission loss via ventilation openings, a Double Skin Façade (DSF) as a case
study was analyzed. Another study demonstrated that vent openings of DSFs allowed a decrease in acoustical
performance of DSF air cavities because airborne noise transmitted via vent openings travels both horizontally and
vertically. Therefore, research scope aims to simulate thermal performance of air cavity by the stack effect and noise
transmission loss by verticals glass fins using FloVENT 9.3 and SoundFlow respectively. The test cases of CFD
simulation study are designed based on different spatial volumes of DSF air cavity partitioned by vertical glass fins,
affecting changes of air temperature and airflow inside air cavities. The CFD simulation data resulted in that DSF
air cavity ratios of length to depth divided by vertical glass fins influence the efficiency of heat dissipation inside
DSF air cavities. It was observed that air temperature in CASE 4, which has the ratio of 8 meters in length to 1
meter in depth of a DSF air cavity, has the higher potential of an overheating problem than that of CASE 1 (1 meter
in length to 1 meter in depth) and CASE 2 (2 meters in length to 1meter in depth). CASE 1 and CASE 2 produced
relatively lower the mean air temperature inside DSF air cavities through the efficient heat dissipation. In addition, it
was found that the thicker the vertical glass fins are, the higher the Sound Transmission Loss (STL) values are
shown.

©©2016
2015TheTheAuthors.
[Link]
Published byby Elsevier
Elsevier [Link].
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
([Link]
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the International Conference on Sustainable Design, Engineering
Peer-review under responsibility
and Construction 2015. of the organizing committee of ICSDEC 2016

Keywords: Natural ventilation, Double skin facade, Noise transmission loss, Vertical glass fins

1877-7058 © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
([Link]
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of ICSDEC 2016
doi:10.1016/[Link].2016.04.116
 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899 893

1. Introduction

1.1 Adverse health effects of noise

As a result of urbanization, transportation noise along with an increase of motor vehicles became the major outdoor
noise source among other environmental noise pollution causing the adverse health effects in urban environments
[1,2]. The 2011 Annual Report by the World Health Organization (WHO) [2,4,5] unveiled that the biggest
environmental stress that has emerged in Europe is traffic-related noise; for instance, 33% of the respondents have
been annoyed because of day time traffic noise, and 20% experienced sleep disturbances due to night time traffic
noise. Waitz et al. stated that a number of people in the United States are exposed to significant levels of highway
noise, followed by rail noise, and then by aviation noise [6]. In regard to this matter, environmental noise greater
than the sound level of 55dB(A) is regarded as a critical environmental problem in the European Union. Table 1
explains the adverse health effect of noise; these symptoms including physical and physiological effects and
annoyance are highly related to Sound Pressure Level (SPL) in dB.

Table 1. The adverse health effects of noise.

Kinds of effect Symptoms
Physical effects Noise-induced hearing loss, hearing impairment, threshold shift
Sleep disturbance Difficulty in falling asleep, alterations in sleep rhythm, awakening
Psychological effects Headaches, fatigue, irritability
Performance effects Task performance, distraction, productivity
Annoyance Feeling of displeasure

A study states that nocturnal awakenings are significantly related to noise levels higher than 55dB(A) [7], and
children exposed to noisy environments showed not only decreased attention spans but also lowered task
performance on cognitive assignments compared to children in quiet environments [8,9]. Another study also
discovered that traffic noise significantly reduces reading and comprehension ability as well as basic mathematical
performance in children [10]. Therefore, the WHO suggests that environmental noise should not exceed 55dB(A)
and 40dB(A) for day time and night time respectively to prevent potential psychosocial effects [2,4,5].

1.2 Benefits of natural ventilation

Natural ventilation is considered one of strategies to reduce the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) related symptoms,
such as skin irritation, coughs, and respiratory disease. According to the 2000 Annual Report by the WHO, the
concentration of indoor pollutants in developed countries is due to a low ventilation rate, and 30 to 40% of
respiratory disease worldwide is caused by particulate air pollution alone [3]. Seppänen and Fisk [11] studied the
relationship between ventilation and performance in office workplaces, and they found typically 1 to 3%
improvement in an average work performance takes place along with an increase of outdoor air ventilation rate.
Natural ventilation strategies are effective in reducing thermal discomfort through passive cooling techniques such
as the heat dissipation. However, Khan et al. [12] indicated that increased wind velocity and complicated wind
patterns due to urban geometry may cause difficulty in utilizing natural ventilation strategies. In addition, external
noise in dense urban areas is another critical reason to deter natural ventilation strategies.

1.3 Double skin facades as a case study

As a sustainable building façade that enables to solve the conflict between natural ventilation and noise transmission
in urban environments, DSFs take advantages of (i) the air cavities and vents to create micro-climate conditions
related to cooling and heating loads, (ii) adjustable s to protect indoor space from direct solar heat gain. In addition,
(iii) DSFs make the use of the air cavity as acoustic barriers and thermal mass, and (iv) their curtain wall glazing
894 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899

systems offer occupants a wide view to the outside [13]. In this study, box-windows DSF air cavities are
investigated as a case study aiming at meeting ventilation potentials and acoustical performance because they are
commonly used in situations where there are high external nose levels, and continuous divisions help diminish noise
transmission.

2. Methodology

A hypothetically designed DSF model utilizes the concept of box-windows DSF air cavities, which are equipped
with vertical shading louvers and vertical glass fins inside. The 40% perforated ventilation grilles are installed on the
top and bottom of a DSF air cavity for the heat dissipation by the stack effect. The total spatial volume of a DSF air
cavity is 16 meters in length, 4 meters in height, and 1 meter in depth as shown in Figure 1a. Vertical glass fins
inside a DSF air cavity are situated at the distances of 4, 5, 6, and 10 meters to make the different spatial volume of
a DSF air cavity as shown in Figure 1b. Monitoring points to measure air temperature and air velocity are designed
at the height of 0.5(P1), 2.0(P2), and 3.5 meters (P3) inside a DSF air cavity as shown in Figure 1b. To examine air
temperature distributions of a DSF air cavity, the Computational Fluid Dynamics’ (CFD) visual analysis planes are
positioned at the distances of 0.1, 0.3, 0.55, 0.7, and 0.9 meters along with a DSF’s depth as shown in Figure 1b and
2.

Figure 1. DSF perspective (a) and air cavity details (1b) for CFD simulation.

The aim of the different cases as shown in Table 2 is to see the changes of air temperature by air cavity volume
ratios and sound transmission loss by glass fin’s thickness because DSFs are weak at overheating inside air cavities
and noise transmission via vent openings during summer periods. The CFD simulation software named Mentor
Graphics’ FloVENT 9.3 is used to simulate air temperature and air velocity inside a DSF air cavity as shown in
Table 3. Due to the limitations of the acoustic simulation software for a DSF, sound transmission loss was simulated
by acoustic software called SoundFlow based on the thickness of vertical glass fins. In acoustic simulation study,
urban geometry, surrounding buildings, outdoor temperature, relative humidity, and actual traffic sound sources are
not considered in this study.

Table 2. CFD and acoustic simulation cases.

Classification TEST CASE

Air temperature, DSF air cavity volume ratio CASE 1 CASE 2 CASE 3 CASE 4
Air velocity [Length (m) : Depth (m)] 1:1 2:1 4:1 8:1
Sound transmission Glass fin thickness CASE 5 CASE 6 CASE 7 CASE 8
loss (mm) 5 10 15 20
 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899 895

Table 3. CFD and acoustic simulation model boundary conditions.

Classification Parameters (unit) FloVENT 9.3 SoundFlow

Air temperature (°C) 29 29
Ambient outdoor conditions
Relative humidity (%) 50 50
External glazing thickness(mm) 10 N/A
Internal glazing thickness(mm) 10 N/A
Size and materials
DSF air cavity depth (mm) 1,000 N/A
Glass fin thickness (mm) 10 See Table 2

3. Results and Discussion

3.1 Air temperature and air velocity

In respect to air temperature distributions along with a DSF’s height as shown in Figure 2a and 2c, the highest air
temperature was observed in CASE 4 particularly with 90 degree tilted shading louvers, which parallel to glazing. It
implies that the heat dissipation by the stack effect inside a DSF air cavity is better in CASE 1 and CASE 2 than
CASE 4 regardless of shading louver orientation, and CASE 4 has the higher potential of an overheating problem
inside a DSF air cavity during summer periods than other cases. Therefore, the ratio of length to depth of a DSF air
cavity for the efficient heat dissipation by the stack effect during summer period is recommended for CASE 1 (1
meter in length to 1 meter in depth) and CASE 2 (2 meters in length to 1 meter in depth) instead of CASE 4 (8
meters in length to 1meter in depth).
896 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899

Figure 2. Air temperature and air velocity at 0 degree angle (a, b) and 90 degree angle (c, d).

In Figure 3a, the mean air temperature at the highest monitoring points, P3 (H: +3.5-meter) of CASE 4 was greater
by 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 degree Fahrenheit) than that of other cases. Regarding the differences of the mean air
temperature at the highest monitoring points, P3 (H: +3.5-meter) between Figure 3a and 3c, it was found that cases
with 90 degree tilted shading louvers produced the higher mean air temperature by 1.1 to 1.5 degree Celsius (2 to
2.7 degree Fahrenheit) than that of cases with 0 degree tilted shading louvers. These results imply that CASE 4
(ratio of 8 meters in length to 1 meter in depth of a DSF air cavity) has the potential of an overheating problem
inside a DSF air cavity during summer period as one of disadvantage of DFSs. In Figure 3b, the highest mean air
velocity of 0 degree tilted shading louvers was observed at the highest monitoring point, P3 (H: +3.5-meter) of the
exterior facing side’s air cavities. In Figure 3d, the mean air velocity of 90 degree tilted shading louvers was higher
at the lowest monitoring point, P1 (H: +0.5-meter) of both interior and exteriors facing side’s air cavities.
 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899 897

Figure 3. Mean air temperature (a, c) and mean air velocity (b, d) at 0 and 90 degree angle.

3.2 Sound transmission loss

Due to the limitations of the acoustic simulation software for a DFS air cavity, SoundFlow as shown in Figure 4
simulated the Sound Transmission Loss (STL) and Sound Transmission Class (STC) based on glass fin thickness.

Figure 4. AFMG SoundFlow interface (Source: AFMG)

The STL is a single number rating for interior building partitions from speech, television, radio, and office
equipment over the frequency range of 125 Hz to 4000 Hz [4]. And the STC is the STL value at 500 Hz on the STC
contour which consists of the three straight line parts with different scope over the frequency range of 125 Hz to
898 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899

4000 Hz. Higher values in STL or STC indicates better acoustical performance against noise transmission as shown
in Table 4.

Table 4. Subjective perception of STC values.

STC Subjective description

30 Most sentences can be clearly understood
40 Speech can be heard with some effort, Individual words and occasional phrases heard.
50 Loud speech can be heard with some effort. Music easily heard.
60 Loud speech essentially inaudible. Music heard faintly; bass not disturbing
70 Loud music heard faintly, which could be a problem if the adjoining space is highly
75 and above Most noises effectively blocked sensitive to sound intrusion such as a recording studio, concert hall, etc.

From the SoundFlow results on STC as shown in Figure 5, it was found that CASE 8 produced a higher STC value
compared to CASE 5, which implies an increase of glass fin thickness are more effective in sound transmission loss
across the entire frequency(Hz) range. However, the difference of STC or sound transmission loss based on four
cases are slight.

CASE CASE 5 (5mm in thickness, STC 30) CASE 6 (10mm in thickness, STC 32)

Graphs

CASE CASE 7 (15mm in thickness, STC 33) CASE 8 (20mm in thickness, STC 34)

Graphs

Figure 5. STC values by glass fin thickness.

4. Conclusions
Even though many studies have demonstrated that natural ventilation strategies are beneficial in decreasing the SBS
symptoms and thermal discomfort, urban traffic noise has become the considerable impact on the degradation of the
 Jeehwan Lee et al. / Procedia Engineering 145 (2016) 892 – 899 899

acoustical quality of urban environments. Therefore, this study aimed at the effects of spatial configurations by glass
fins inside a DSF air cavity to solve the conflict between natural ventilation potentials and noise transmission via
vent openings.
In summary, this study found that spatial configuration of DSF air cavity by vertical glass fins influences air
temperature and air velocity, and glass fin’s thickness is effective in sound transmission loss inside a DSF air cavity.
It was found that CASE 4, which has the ratio of 8 meters in length to 1 meter in depth of a DSF air cavity, has the
higher potential of an overheating problem during summer periods due to the inefficient heat dissipation. It also
implies that CASE 4 can cause higher cooling energy loads and thermal discomfort. In contrast, CASE 1 and CASE
2 with a 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 (length to depth) ratio produced relatively lower the mean air temperature inside DSF air
cavities through the proper heat dissipation by the stack effect.
In regard to the acoustical performance of the vertical glass fins, CASE 8 with 20 millimeters of a glass fin’s
thickness achieved a higher STC value when compared to other cases. Acoustic simulation results show that thicker
glass fins achieve a higher STC value that in turn decrease noise transmission to indoor spaces via ventilation
openings in urban areas. However, the choice of glass fins for the purpose of acoustical barriers should be
considered with their cost estimation and constructability because the difference of STC and sound transmission loss
based on glass fin’s thickness is slight.
Finally, as an extensive study for the future, a series of intermediate orientation of vertical shading louvers based on
outdoor climate conditions will be tested to find the correlations between the heat dissipation and vertical airflows.

References

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in Europe. Copenhagen: World Health Organization.
[6] Waitz, I.A, Bernhard, R.J., and Hanson C.E. (2007). Challenges and promises in mitigating transportation Noise. Noise
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