PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New project to design building skins to retrofit energy-inefficient structures

Researchers will develop prototype modular panels and test for energy savings, resistance to weathering and market feasibility

New project to design building skins to retrofit energy-inefficient structures
2023-05-15
(Press-News.org) Older buildings tend to leak heat through their walls, requiring much more energy to maintain a comfortable temperature in summer or winter. Those constructed prior to the late 1970s rarely meet today’s more rigorous energy standards. And yet they account for large proportion of the buildings standing today.  In the US, about 44% of the residential building stock was built before 1970  and about half of the commercial buildings that exist today were built before the 1980s, which creates a significant need for energy retrofitting to reduce environmental impact. A new industry-academic collaboration between Jefferson and Lightweight Manufacturing will tackle this problem over the coming year by designing textile-based modular “skins” that can easily and inexpensively cover a building’s façade to improve insulation and energy efficiency.

“The concept of using stretched fabrics as spatial cover is an old one,” says associate professor of architecture, Dr. Kihong Ku, who’s leading this new partnership to develop what’s called a building overclad. “Teepees and yurts are historical examples of utilizing the tensile strength of fabrics for their lightweight protective properties. We are trying to take advantage of the scientific and engineering developments in functional textiles to bring more sustainable solutions to an urgent architectural problem.”

Overclad approaches have challenges. For example, Exterior Insulation and Finishing Systems (EIFS), or insulated metal panels, can offer reliable thermal insulation over existing masonry or concrete walls. However, when working with these systems, issues such as condensation may require more extensive recladding which ends up being costly and disruptive to daily building use and operations.

Together with Lightweight Manufacturing, Dr. Ku’s team plans to develop fabric-based overclad panels that can be applied to a building’s exterior. The system would help improve the building’s thermal insulation, while retaining light transmission and airflow. “We are looking at functional textiles with all of these properties so that the building envelope can be sealed,” says Dr. Ku. “However, because we plan to create modular panels, it’s also possible to have portions that leave windows uncovered, or covered with transparent foil material such as ETFE, a sort of translucent plastic sheeting used as an exterior wall.”  The panels, designed for mid- and high-rise buildings, would use existing structures as support and be fixed using minimally invasive approaches to avoid compromising the existing waterproofing layer.

Dr. Brian George, director of engineering programs at Jefferson, will lend textile engineering expertise to the project, along with an architecture graduate student, and two undergraduate students who will engage in research and development of the system and its market analysis.

The project won funding through a $69,000 Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development grant, which aims to connect PA industry and manufacturing with local universities for their research expertise and brain trust.

“We are excited to be able to support this research project with Thomas Jefferson University, which aims to utilize tensioned fabric facade systems to make existing buildings more energy efficient and extend their useful life,” says Dirk Cos, president of Lightweight Manufacturing.

By the end of the year, the group hopes to have the prototype fabric and frame system ready to test for resistance to wind and weathering, as well as energy performance. The team will work with fabric producers to identify fabrics that can withstand high levels of sun, wind, rain and general weathering in order to hopefully last twenty or more years.  "We may need to get creative to create something that can last as long as roof shingles," says Dr. George.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
New project to design building skins to retrofit energy-inefficient structures

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Heat-loving marine bacteria can help detoxify asbestos

2023-05-15
Asbestos materials were once widely used in homes, buildings, automobile brakes and many other built materials due to their strength and resistance to heat and fire, as well as to their low electrical conductivity. Unfortunately, asbestos exposure through inhalation of small fiber particles has been shown to be highly carcinogenic.  Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have shown that extremophilic bacteria from high temperature marine environments can be used to reduce asbestos’ toxicity. The research is published in ...

First-in-human trial of oral drug to remove radioactive contamination begins

First-in-human trial of oral drug to remove radioactive contamination begins
2023-05-15
WHAT: A first-in-human clinical trial of an experimental oral drug for removing radioactive contaminants from inside the body has begun. The trial is testing the safety, tolerability and processing in the body of escalating doses of the investigational drug product HOPO 14-1 in healthy adults. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the Phase 1 trial, which is sponsored and conducted by SRI International of Menlo Park, California.   Internal radioactive contamination occurs when radioactive ...

Crushed clams, roaming rays: acoustic tags reveal predator interactions

Crushed clams, roaming rays: acoustic tags reveal predator interactions
2023-05-15
Clam leases are designated underwater locations used to produce hard clams of all sizes from littlenecks to chowders. Clam production or aquaculture can be a risky business due in part to unwanted marine intruders. Among them, stealthy and highly mobile rays. The Indian River Lagoon is one key location used for hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) aquaculture operations along Florida’s Atlantic coast. Clam fishermen have anecdotally reported seeing rays in clam leases and suspect that their interactions could result in damaged aquaculture gear and crushed clams. After all, ...

EPA's new PFAS rules don’t account for major source of drinking water contamination

EPAs new PFAS rules don’t account for major source of drinking water contamination
2023-05-15
CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS – Earlier this year, the US Environmental Protection Agency proposed maximum allowable levels in drinking water for six PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) – so-called forever chemicals. But the draft standards do not account for half of the PFAS at contaminated sites across the country. The findings are from a team led by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and are published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. PFAS are present in fire retardant foams ...

Communities of color disproportionately exposed to PFAS pollution in drinking water

2023-05-15
Embargoed for release: Monday, May 15, 2023, 8:00 AM ET Boston, MA – People who live in communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents are more likely to be exposed to harmful levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their water supplies than people living in other communities, according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers link this finding to the disproportionate siting of sources of PFAS pollution—such ...

WFIRM bioprinting research makes history when it soars to the ISS

WFIRM bioprinting research makes history when it soars to the ISS
2023-05-15
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – MAY 15, 2023 – The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) will make history this month when the first bioprinted solid tissue constructs soar to the International Space Station (ISS) on board the next all private astronaut mission by commercial space leader Axiom Space. The Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launch by Houston-based Axiom Space is launching from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The crew will conduct extensive scientific research experiments including WFIRM’s vascularized tissue research – which won first place in the NASA Vascular Tissue Challenge in 2021. Liver ...

Smartphone use goes up in city parks, but down in forests

2023-05-15
While a visit to the great outdoors is a common prescription for reducing screen use, a pioneering new study finds that time outdoors doesn’t always reduce smartphone screentime. The new research, which tracked smartphone activity of 700 study participants for two years, reveals that participants’ smartphone activity actually increased during visits to city parks and other urban green spaces. With smartphone use rising worldwide, the study clearly identifies a powerful way to reduce screen time: participants who visited nature reserves or forests saw significant declines in screentime over the first three hours, ...

New study finds the placenta, not only the brain, plays a central role in genetic risk of schizophrenia

2023-05-15
BALTIMORE, Md. (May 15, 2023) – More than 100 genes linked to the risk of schizophrenia seem to cause illness because of their role in the placenta rather than in the developing brain, according to a new study led by the Lieber Institute for Brain Development. Scientists had generally assumed for over a century that genes for schizophrenia risk were principally, if not exclusively, about the brain. But the latest research, just published in Nature Communications, found that the placenta plays a much more significant role in developing illness than previously known. “The secret of the genetics of schizophrenia has been hiding in plain ...

Wide-ranging strategies needed to eliminate racial and ethnic inequities in stroke care

2023-05-15
Statement Highlights: In a review of the latest research, few stroke studies addressed racist policies, such as residential segregation, or social determinants of health, such as neighborhood deprivation, walkability or security; food availability; economic stability; education quality; or employment and health insurance, all of which play a role in stroke incidence, care and outcomes. The statement summarizes research on interventions to address racial and ethnic disparities in stroke care and outcomes. Additional research is needed to determine ...

Coastal lights trick coral reefs into spawning earlier than they should

Coastal lights trick coral reefs into spawning earlier than they should
2023-05-15
The light pollution caused by coastal cities can trick coral reefs into spawning outside of the optimum times when they would normally reproduce, a new study has found. Coral broadcast spawning events – in which lunar cycles trigger the release of eggs on certain nights of the year – are critical to the maintenance and recovery of reefs following mass bleaching and other similar events. However, using a combination of light pollution data and spawning observations, researchers were able to show for the first time that ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

[Press-News.org] New project to design building skins to retrofit energy-inefficient structures
Researchers will develop prototype modular panels and test for energy savings, resistance to weathering and market feasibility