Project Team
Student(s)
Travis Peters
Chemical Engineering
Penn State University
Mentor(s)
Penn State Harrisburg
Penn State Harrisburg
Penn State University Park
Project Video
Project Abstract
Investigating the Heat Transfer through a Crumb Rubber Green Roof Media
Green roofs use vegetation and a media layer to reduce the heat transfer from solar radiation to the building envelope. These result in energy savings for any building when constructed correctly. Soil and vegetation are the top layers that decrease summertime heat from entering the building, thus reducing energy consumption for cooling. However, the media itself i.e., the crumb rubber in this study, can be equally as important to reducing the heat transferred into the building. The effect of using crumb rubber on heat transfer through a green roof is studied in this work for the first time. Previously recorded temperature data at different depths of crumb rubber was used alongside thermal conductivity equations to model crumb rubber’s conductivity. The simulation program, EnergyPlus, was also used to attempt simulations of a green roof setting using crumb rubber to directly examine its effects on energy savings from lowering heat transfer into the building. Future research will expand simulations in EnergyPlus to investigate the exact performance of crumb rubber in green roofs in different weather and building types for reducing energy usage. The conclusion of crumb rubbers effects on green roof’s efficiency will directly help create better green roofs with energy consumption decreasing as well as benefits towards carbon reduction and solutions to the urban heat island effect.