IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i6p2657-d1094984.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermal Impact of 5G Antenna Systems in Sandwich Walls

Author

Listed:
  • Tao Lu

    (Department of Electrical Engineering and Energy Technology, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland)

  • Lauri Vähä-Savo

    (Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FIN-00076 Espoo, Finland)

  • Xiaoshu Lü

    (Department of Electrical Engineering and Energy Technology, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, FIN-65101 Vaasa, Finland
    Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, 02150 Espoo, Finland)

  • Katsuyuki Haneda

    (Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FIN-00076 Espoo, Finland)

Abstract

The 5th generation (5G) cellular networks offer high speeds, low latency, and greater capacity, but they face greater penetration loss through buildings than 4G due to their higher frequency bands. To reduce this loss in energy-efficient buildings, a passive antenna system was developed and integrated into sandwich walls. However, the thermal effects of this system, which includes highly thermally conductive metals, require further study. In this research, three-dimensional heat transfer simulations were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics to determine the thermal transmittances (U-values) of 5G antenna walls. The results revealed that, using stainless steel as the connector material (current design), the U-value rose from 0.1496 (for the wall without antenna) to 0.156 W/m 2 K, leading to an additional heating loss per year of only 0.545 KWh/m 2 in Helsinki. In contrast, with the previous design that used copper as the connector material, the U-value increased dramatically to 0.3 W/m 2 K, exceeding the National Building Code of Finland’s limit of 0.17 W/m 2 K and causing 12.8 KWh/m 2 additional heat loss (23.5 times more than the current design). The current design significantly reduces thermal bridging effects. Additionally, three analytical methods were used to calculate antenna wall U-values: parallel paths, isothermal planes, and ISO 6946 combined. The isothermal planes method was found to be more accurate and reliable. The study also found that a wall unit cell with a single developed 5G antenna and a wall consisting of nine such cells arranged in a 3 × 3 grid pattern had the same U-values. Furthermore, areas affected by thermal bridging were typically smaller than the dimensions of a wall unit cell (150 mm × 150 mm).

Suggested Citation

  • Tao Lu & Lauri Vähä-Savo & Xiaoshu Lü & Katsuyuki Haneda, 2023. "Thermal Impact of 5G Antenna Systems in Sandwich Walls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:6:p:2657-:d:1094984
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/6/2657/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/6/2657/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paulo Santos & Gabriela Lemes & Diogo Mateus, 2020. "Analytical Methods to Estimate the Thermal Transmittance of LSF Walls: Calculation Procedures Review and Accuracy Comparison," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaolei Wang & Xiaoshu Lü & Lauri Vähä-Savo & Katsuyuki Haneda, 2023. "A Novel AI-Based Thermal Conductivity Predictor in the Insulation Performance Analysis of Signal-Transmissive Wall," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-16, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Domagoj Tkalčić & Bojan Milovanović & Mergim Gaši & Marija Jelčić Rukavina & Ivana Banjad Pečur, 2023. "Optimization of Thermal Bridges Effect of Composite Lightweight Panels with Integrated Steel Load-Bearing Structure," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-24, September.
    2. Victor Lohmann & Paulo Santos, 2020. "Trombe Wall Thermal Behavior and Energy Efficiency of a Light Steel Frame Compartment: Experimental and Numerical Assessments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Paulo Santos & Keerthan Poologanathan, 2021. "The Importance of Stud Flanges Size and Shape on the Thermal Performance of Lightweight Steel Framed Walls," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Paulo Santos & Paulo Lopes & David Abrantes, 2022. "Thermal Performance of Load-Bearing, Lightweight, Steel-Framed Partition Walls Using Thermal Break Strips: A Parametric Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Paulo Santos & Diogo Mateus & Daniel Ferrandez & Amparo Verdu, 2022. "Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Thermal Break Strips’ Improvement in Facade LSF Walls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Paulo Santos & Paulo Lopes & David Abrantes, 2023. "Thermal Performance of Lightweight Steel Framed Facade Walls Using Thermal Break Strips and ETICS: A Parametric Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:6:p:2657-:d:1094984. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.