Abstract
The aim of this work is to set up a procedure for the evaluation of dynamic thermal characteristics starting from experimental data collected by means of a hot box apparatus. The system involved is a calibrated and guarded hot box, available at the Free University of Bolzano, equipped with air cooling and heating systems capable of keeping stable conditions at the boundary of an opaque envelope structure. Since the experimental tests require dynamic boundary conditions (e.g. periodic temperature variations), an upgrade of the apparatus is then necessary. Consequently, a thermo-fluid dynamic model of the hot box apparatus is developed with the purpose of designing an effective improvement in the appliance. In addition, this model is also applied for the simulation of the hot box operation during the dynamic test and the numerical results are validated versus the experimental data. The numerical analysis also enables the correct understanding of the operation of the whole equipment. The paper firstly describes the methodology involved in the implementation of the numerical analysis and in the system design. Following on from this point, the experimental tests carried out on several timber components, subjected to periodic boundary conditions and the model validation, are presented.