AnTherm 2D max. 10.000 cells

AnTherm (Thermal Heat Bridges)

AnTherm (Analysis of Thermal behavior of Building Construction Heat Bridges) is a powerful package of programs used for heat flow calculation in building construction elements - the thermal bridges.

The program AnTherm allows calculation of:

• 2D - two dimensional heat flow
• computing of Conductance Matrix Values (Leitwerte)
• stationary (and soon instationary (periodic)) heat flow
• due point on the surface and inside of the construction

AnTherm is a powerful program package for the calculation of temperature distributions and heat flows in building structures - particularly such with thermal bridges. For the technically qualified designer, AnTherm is a reliable, indispensable tool in meeting the demands of the current European standards (EN) for evaluating thermal performance thoroughly and precisely.

The website http://www.kornicki.de/antherm/EN/AnTherm.htm is fully dedicated to that program.

AnTherm analyses temperature conditions in building components in which heat flows not just in one direction, but in two-dimensional patterns. This is of critical interest when evaluating the thermal performance - an important design criteria - of so-called thermal bridges, that is, regions of a building construction through which local peaks of heat loss can cause surface temperatures to drop below the dewpoint. Thermal bridges are characterised by multi-dimensional heat flow, and therefore by the fact that they cannot be adequately approximated by the one-dimensional models of calculation typically used in norms and standards for the thermal performance of buildings (U-values).

Surface moisture due to condensation (typically occurring in such regions as floor-wall connections, window installations, etc.) as well as mould growth in humid environments can also be effectively prevented by means of multi-dimensional evaluation during planning and detail design.

European Standards (EN) pertaining to such aspects of thermal performance of building constructions are already available . The ramifications of the adoption of these European Standards is apparent: they describe the substance of new tasks for designers, manufacturers, and builders, as well as their significance for quality control in the field of energy conservation.

The purpose of the standard EN "Thermal Bridges - Calculation of Surface Temperatures and Heat flows" is explicitly stated as:

•  the calculation of minimum surface temperature in order to assess the risk of surface condensation and
•  the calculation of heat flows (for the constant flow case) in order to predict overall heat loss from a building.

Furthermore, "high precision" methods of calculation are demanded, whereby precision criteria which must be satisfied by the method chosen are defined in the standard.

The program AnTherm meets the demands of the European Standards with respect to input data and - more importantly - output data requirements (evaluation results).

With respect to input data, AnTherm

•  facilitates the generation of geometrical models by supporting a graphic input display of building structures, as well as by providing an entirely independent, fully automatic method of fine subdivision (which can also be influenced by the user through manual manipulation of parameters).
•  delivers complete input model documentation (geometry of material elements, thermal design values of materials, spaces, heat sources...) upon request.
•  allows the precision of numerical solutions to be influenced and controlled by the user (definition of calculation parameters).

Evaluation results yielded by AnTherm include

•  generally applicable results in the form of g-values and conductance matrices. These conform to the temperature weighting factors and "thermal coupling coefficients" defined in the European Standards, including the required information on calculation precision.
•  specific results, applicable to particular air temperature conditions in spaces thermally coupled by the building components analysed, in the form of surface temperature minima and maxima as well as respective dewpoints.
•  graphic plots and prints of isotherms, surface temperatures or temperatures along an edge, as well as heat flow diagrams.

Furthermore, fully automatic execution of calculation with AnTherm is given even in the event of poorly conditioned calculation cases. The maximum quantity of balancable cells is nearly unlimited (many millions), thus making the thorough analysis of large, three-dimensional models feasible. Complex cases are given, for example, by

•  components or spaces in contact with ground.
•  entire spatial envelopes or groups of spaces.
•  detailed modelling of complicated assemblies (window frame and installation details, steel structures, etc.).

The maximum quantity of balancable cells is qualified by the license type to some limitted maximum number of cells

The thermal performance of building assemblies with overall dimensions of up to app. 100 m can be simulated with AnTherm. Limitations to the scope of evaluation depend on the PC hardware implemented.

Visit the AnTherm Website which is fully dedicated to that application.

Platforms supported:
Windows XP