Thermal evaluation of several configurations of insulation and structural materials for some metal stud walls

A series of two- and three-dimensional computer simulations was conducted for several metal stud walls. The Heating 7.2 finite difference computer code, developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was used to model walls and their components. Maps of the temperature distribution in walls, their components, and the areas where walls intersect with other building structures were developed. These maps were used as an aid to estimate the areas of zones affected by existing thermal bridges and to calculate R-values for these areas. These R-values were used to calculate average R-values for whole walls and estimate the thermal effects of wall details. Using simulated R-values, several configurations of wall insulation were examined.