Abstract :
This paper describes a method for the direct generation of comprehensive numerical room transfer functions with any
derived parameters as output, such as operative temperature or thermal load. Complex conductive, convective and radiant
heat transfer processes, or any derived thermal parameters in buildings can be explicitly and precisely described by a
generalized thermal network. This allows the s-transfer and z-transfer functions to be directly generated, using semisymbolic
analysis techniques, Cayley’s expansion of determinant and Heaviside’s expansion theorem. A simple algorithm is
developed for finding the roots of the denominator in the inverse transform of the s-transfer functions, which ensures that no
single root is missing. The techniques have been applied to generating the transfer functions of a passive solar room with
floor heating. The example calculation demonstrates the high efficiency of the computational method.
2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
