Abstract:
Readymade garment (RMG) industry is the leading sector of Bangladesh, in promoting country's economic growth. Despite making remarkable contribution to the financial development and poverty alleviation by creating job opportunities for more than four million workers, these labor-intensive factories have been criticized over many years, due to having substandard working conditions. It has been observed that indoor thermal environment of numerous industries is extremely uncomfortable with high air temperature comparing the comfortable range which is one of the major concerns affecting the workers’ health and productivity. The building envelope especially the roof, receives a large amount of direct solar radiation during daytime and have a huge impact on the thermal environment inside the building. The selection of roofing materials and its material compositions in industrial buildings are significant issues to improve the thermal performance of indoor working areas.
The present trend demonstrates that metal sheets is one of the most frequently used roofing materials in the local context. This study aims to investigate indoor thermal performance of various metal roofing sheets with insulations for RMG factories located in Dhaka. For the study, a particular RMG factory’s production space was selected. Then a three-dimensional energy model was developed by EnergyPlusTM and Rhinoceros software to perform thermal simulations and measure different thermal variables for evaluating indoor thermal performance.
According to the findings, the employment of a white colour metal roof in most daylit efficient roof configuration can result in a reduction of indoor temperature by 2°C in comparison to the outdoor temperature. Adding insulation beneath the metal roof can further lower indoor temperature by approximately 2.5°C. However, white color roof and multiple insulations will increase indoor relative humidity by 14%. The evaluation of these results can aid designers in creating efficient metal roofs that will provide thermal comfort in RMG factories.
Keywords: RMG factory, production space, roof, metal sheet, insulation, indoor thermal performance