Analysis of 2D heat transfer of shear wall thermal bridges influencing on the exterior wall

Frame-shear wall structures are widely used in high-rise buildings, and their thermal bridges account for a large portion of the entire exterior wall area. The purpose of this study was to investigate heat transfer of shear wall thermal bridge (SWTB) that influences the exterior wall of a building. A typical 3D COMSOL model of the SWTB junction was built, and indices were used to quantify its thermal characteristics of the SWTB junction. The results showed that the peak values and peak width of the heat flux at the interface of the exterior wall and thermal bridge increased with an increase in the thermal resistance of the SWTB. When the thermal resistance of the SWTB (Rtb) is greater than or equal to the thermal resistance of the exterior wall (Rw), the influencing area ${A_{inf}}$Ainf no longer increases. In addition, the maximum error of replacing K2D with K1D discussed in this paper was 3.56%, which can be neglected in engineering applications in hot summer and cold winter climate zones. Finally, strategies to reduce the heat loss of the SWTB were proposed. The results of this study provide valuable data for engineers to evaluate the thermal characteristics of SWTB in building designs.