Minimizing thermal bridging through window systems in buildings of hot regions Abdullatif E. Ben-Nakhi * College of Technological Studies––Kuwait, P.O. Box 3665, 22037 Salmiya, Kuwait Received 1 August 2001; accepted 16 November 2001 Abstract This paper is concerned with minimizing thermal bridging through typical window systems in buildings of hot regions. The present approach is based on an integrated 3D dynamic simulation. The theoretical background of the adopted approach is presented. The reliability of this approach in evaluating thermal bridges as well as its applicability to different geometric shapes is proved. It is found that the thermal bridging through typical window systems is significant and should be taken into account in buildings de- sign. Applicable construction for window systems are proposed to minimize thermal bridging in the buildings of hot regions. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Thermal bridging; Numerical modeling; Integrated building simulation; Window design 1. Introduction In general, the heat flow through a building construction is considered to be of the one- dimensional (1D) type [1], i.e., it is assumed to be in the direction perpendicular to the wall. This is because the thermal conductance and temperature differential in this direction are much greater than that in the lateral directions. However, localized multi-dimensional heat conduction through the building envelope is common. The thermal bridge is the part of the building envelope through which heat conduction is multi-dimensional. Therefore, in recent studies, the problem of heat conduction in the building construction has been treated as a multi-dimensional. The multi-dimensional character of heat conduction affects the local temperature distribution and heat flow rate. In other words, thermal bridging will bring the internal surface temperature Applied Thermal Engineering 22 (2002) 989–998 www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng * Fax: +965-561-8866. E-mail address: abdnakhi@paaet.edu.kw (A.E. Ben-Nakhi). 1359-4311/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S1359-4311(01)00121-1