Activatable concrete-containing composite element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing room temperature control systems, such as cooling ceilings, require significant energy to operate fans for air flow and have limited heat exchange efficiency due to the need for air to be conducted from outside and then re-exchanged, leading to inefficiencies and increased energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
An activatable concrete composite element with a concrete slab and beam structure that allows for direct air flow over the slab, using an air circulation element to absorb or release heat, enabling the entire slab to function as a heat or cold accumulator, and allowing for efficient temperature control without the need for external air flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fans are used to generate air flow in cooling ceilings, then air circulation and heat exchange are improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses natural convection currents to circulate air without mechanical fans. The concrete slab itself serves as the heat exchange medium, absorbing heat from rising warm air and releasing it to incoming air through thermal conduction, eliminating the need for external energy input
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical fan system is replaced with a passive thermal convection system. The invention substitutes mechanical air movement with natural buoyancy-driven air flow, where warm air rises and cool air sinks, creating continuous circulation without moving parts
2Temperature
If air is conducted from outside area into the room and then re-exchanged, then heat exchange can occur, but energy efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The concrete slab acts as an intermediary thermal storage medium between the room air and external air. Instead of directly exchanging air between inside and outside, the system uses the concrete's thermal mass to mediate heat transfer, allowing heat to be absorbed during the day and released at night without requiring air to travel the full distance
3Strength
If cooling or heating pipes are embedded in hollow bodies in concrete ceiling, then thermal expansion is accommodated, but heat transfer efficiency through conduction is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pipes from the concrete structure entirely, eliminating the need for hollow bodies. The system uses the concrete surface itself as the heat exchange interface, with air flowing directly over the concrete to transfer heat, removing the thermal resistance introduced by embedding pipes in hollow spaces
4Temperature
If the surface of concrete ceiling is enlarged for heat exchange, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but dead weight of ceiling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system focuses heat exchange at the concrete surface in contact with room air, rather than requiring increased concrete volume. By optimizing the thermal properties and surface area of the concrete slab itself, the invention achieves high heat exchange efficiency without adding structural weight
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces energy consumption by utilizing the concrete slab for efficient heat transfer and storage, allowing for effective temperature control while minimizing weight and design complexity, and enabling the entire slab to be used for heat or cold storage.
Implementation Method 1
heat can be transferred to the room air by conduction through the duct walls
Implementation Method 2
use the thermal inertia of a concrete ceiling as a heat accumulator
Implementation Method 3
cooling elements in a cooling area located in the ceiling area and the exchange of air between the cooling area and a occupied area below it is effected by free convection. A horizontal air flow is generated in the cooling area by means of fans
Implementation Method 4
The air flow can absorb heat from the concrete slab element or give off heat to the concrete slab element
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A concrete composite element (1) for a ceiling element (11) comprises a concrete slab element (12), a first beam element (3), and a second beam element (4). The concrete slab element (12) rests on the first beam element (3) and the second beam element (4), wherein the concrete slab element (12), the first beam element (3), and the second beam element (4) define a space (13). The space (13) contains an air circulation element (2), wherein an airflow (25) can be generated by the air circulation element (2), which is directed towards the surface (16) of the concrete slab element (12) facing the space (13).