Os contêineres metálicos foram desenvolvidos para a utilização no setor de logística e transporte, mas por sua escala adaptável à das edificações e pela mobilidade e praticidade de instalação, tiveram sua utilização apropriada também pelo setor da construção civil. Essas instalações possuem diversas qualidades ambientalmente amigáveis, mas seu aspecto térmico é extremamente insuficiente: sem isolamento térmico, demandam alta carga térmica de refrigeração e aquecimento, no verão e inverno, respectivamente e, consequentemente, um alto consumo energético. Tal característica foi crucial para que se determinassem como objetivos da presente pesquisa investigar o comportamento térmico dessas construções metálicas, avaliar seus parâmetros de desempenho, conforto e estresse térmicos, por meio de uma ampla coleta de dados experimentais. O experimento com duração de um ano - contou com três tipologias de contêiner em escala real, sendo o primeiro em aço Tipo X sem isolamento térmico, o segundo com um isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da condução e o terceiro com isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da radiação. Os diferentes tipos de tratamentos térmicos proporcionaram melhorias à envoltória dos contêineres, chegando a uma diferença nas temperaturas internas de até 9 °C. Constatou-se a extrema necessidade de adequação do tipo de isolamento térmico dos contêineres ao uso a que tais instalações se destinam escritório ou alojamento, no caso dos canteiros de obras para que as características da envoltória minimizem de fato a demanda ou mesmo atinjam a eliminação da necessidade de condicionamento artificial. / Metal containers were developed to logistics and transportation sector, but as a result of their suitable scale to human occupation, and their mobility and installation convenience, their use was adopted by the construction sector. These installations have many environmentally friendly characteristics, but their thermal performance is extremely unsuitable for habitation: without thermal insulation, the containers have high cooling and heating thermal load, in summer and winter, respectively, and consequently, to achieve thermal comfort, a substantial amount of energy is consumed. This feature was important to determine that the researchs objectives were to investigate metallic constructions thermal performance, calculate their thermal performance parameters, thermal comfort and thermal stress through a wide collection of experimental data. The experiment with duration of one year was conducted in three real scale containers: all of them made of steel (called steel Type X): the first one had no thermal insulation, the second one had insulation for thermal conduction, and the third had a thermal barrier for radiation. This different types of thermal treatment provided improvement to the containers envelopes, achieving a difference in internal temperatures about 9 °C. The findings reveal that thermal insulation needs to correctly respond to the containers intended use office or accommodation, in the case of construction sites so that the envelopes characteristics can have an impact on minimizing energy demand or even eliminate the containers need for artificial heating and cooling.

Eight rodent species with fossorial activity differing in a number of characteristics such as ecology, climatic conditions, geographical distribution, or kinship were studied using infrared thermography in order to describe their surface temperature and its patterns. An attempt to describe the relation between surface temperature and varied social organisation in burrowing rodents was made.

Gas hydrate is a naturally occurring crystalline compound formed by water molecules and encapsulated gas molecules. The interest in gas hydrate reflects scientific, energy and safety concerns - climate change, future energy resources and seafloor stability. Gas hydrates form in the pore space of sediments, under high pressure and low temperature conditions. This research focuses on the fundamental understanding of hydrate bearing sediments, with emphasis on mechanical behavior, thermal properties and lens formation. Load-induced cementation and decementation effects are explored with lightly cemented loose and dense soil specimens subjected to ko-loading; the small-strain stiffness evolution inferred from shear wave velocity measurement denounces stiffness loss prior to structural collapse upon loading. Systematic triaxial tests address the intermediate and large strain response of hydrate bearing sediments for different mean particle size, applied pressure and hydrate concentration in the pore space; hydrate concentration determines elastic stiffness and undrained strength when Shyd>45%. A unique sequence of particle-level and macro-scale experiments provide new insight into the role of interparticle contact area, coordination number and pore fluid on heat transfer in particulate materials. Micro-mechanisms and necessary boundary conditions are experimentally analyzed to gain an enhanced understanding of hydrate lens formation in sediments; high specific surface soils and tensile stress fields facilitate lens formation. Finally, a new instrumented high-pressure chamber is designed, constructed and field tested. It permits measuring the mechanical and electrical properties of methane hydrate bearing sediments recovered from pressure cores without losing in situ pressure (~20MPa).

Os contêineres metálicos foram desenvolvidos para a utilização no setor de logística e transporte, mas por sua escala adaptável à das edificações e pela mobilidade e praticidade de instalação, tiveram sua utilização apropriada também pelo setor da construção civil. Essas instalações possuem diversas qualidades ambientalmente amigáveis, mas seu aspecto térmico é extremamente insuficiente: sem isolamento térmico, demandam alta carga térmica de refrigeração e aquecimento, no verão e inverno, respectivamente e, consequentemente, um alto consumo energético. Tal característica foi crucial para que se determinassem como objetivos da presente pesquisa investigar o comportamento térmico dessas construções metálicas, avaliar seus parâmetros de desempenho, conforto e estresse térmicos, por meio de uma ampla coleta de dados experimentais. O experimento com duração de um ano - contou com três tipologias de contêiner em escala real, sendo o primeiro em aço Tipo X sem isolamento térmico, o segundo com um isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da condução e o terceiro com isolamento térmico para o fenômeno da radiação. Os diferentes tipos de tratamentos térmicos proporcionaram melhorias à envoltória dos contêineres, chegando a uma diferença nas temperaturas internas de até 9 °C. Constatou-se a extrema necessidade de adequação do tipo de isolamento térmico dos contêineres ao uso a que tais instalações se destinam escritório ou alojamento, no caso dos canteiros de obras para que as características da envoltória minimizem de fato a demanda ou mesmo atinjam a eliminação da necessidade de condicionamento artificial. / Metal containers were developed to logistics and transportation sector, but as a result of their suitable scale to human occupation, and their mobility and installation convenience, their use was adopted by the construction sector. These installations have many environmentally friendly characteristics, but their thermal performance is extremely unsuitable for habitation: without thermal insulation, the containers have high cooling and heating thermal load, in summer and winter, respectively, and consequently, to achieve thermal comfort, a substantial amount of energy is consumed. This feature was important to determine that the researchs objectives were to investigate metallic constructions thermal performance, calculate their thermal performance parameters, thermal comfort and thermal stress through a wide collection of experimental data. The experiment with duration of one year was conducted in three real scale containers: all of them made of steel (called steel Type X): the first one had no thermal insulation, the second one had insulation for thermal conduction, and the third had a thermal barrier for radiation. This different types of thermal treatment provided improvement to the containers envelopes, achieving a difference in internal temperatures about 9 °C. The findings reveal that thermal insulation needs to correctly respond to the containers intended use office or accommodation, in the case of construction sites so that the envelopes characteristics can have an impact on minimizing energy demand or even eliminate the containers need for artificial heating and cooling.

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) can recover large strains (e.g., up to 8%) by undergoing a temperature-induced phase transformation. This strain recovery can occur against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators. The SMA elements in such actuators integrate both sensory and actuation functions. This is possible because SMAs can inherently sense a change in temperature and actuate by undergoing a shape change, associated with the temperature-induced phase transformation. The objective of this work is to develop an SMA based cryogenic thermal conduction switch for operation between dewars of liquid methane and liquid oxygen in a common bulk head arrangement for NASA. The design of the thermal conduction switch is based on a biased, two-way SMA actuator and utilizes a commercially available NiTi alloy as the SMA element to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. This work describes the design from concept to implementation, addressing methodologies and issues encountered, including: a finite element based thermal analysis, various thermo-mechanical processes carried out on the NiTi SMA elements, and fabrication and testing of a prototype switch. Furthermore, recommendations for improvements and extension to NASA's requirements are presented. Such a switch has potential application in variable thermal sinks to other cryogenic tanks for liquefaction, densification, and zero boil-off systems for advanced spaceport applications. The SMA thermal conduction switch offers the following advantages over the currently used gas gap and liquid gap thermal switches in the cryogenic range: (i) integrates both sensor and actuator elements thereby reducing the overall complexity, (ii) exhibits superior thermal isolation in the open state, and (iii) possesses high heat transfer ratios between the open and closed states. This work was supported by a grant from NASA Kennedy Space Center (NAG10-323) with William U. Notardonato as Technical Officer.

Les chocs thermiques provoquent, en général, l’endommagement et la fissuration des matériaux. Ces phénomènes sont observés, par exemple, dans le revêtement de barrière thermique pour les moteurs des turbines, le traitement des surfaces ou la soudure par laser etc. Plusieurs travaux de recherche ont été réalisés au cours des dernières décennies dans l’objectif d’améliorer les performances thermiques et/ou mécaniques des matériaux sous chargement thermique. L’étude des dommages et de la fissuration des matériaux provoqués par les chocs thermiques, tels que le décollement des interfaces et de décohésion de revêtements, a reçu également une attention considérable par les chercheurs. La majorité de ces travaux utilisent les théories classiques, tels que la loi de Fourier de conduction thermique et l'hypothèse de quasi-statique. Malheureusement ces théories ne sont pas adaptées dans le cas de charges extrêmes provoqués par le choc thermique et dans le cas des matériaux micro-fissurés. En conséquence, les théories conventionnelles doivent être enrichies.L'objectif de la thèse est de montrer le rôle crucial des termes non Fourier et les termes inertiels dans le cas de choc thermique sous conditions sévères et dans le cas où les fissures sont petites. Pour cela nous avons mené des études sur deux structures particulières soumises à des chocs thermiques. Chaque structure contient une fissure parallèle au bord libre de la structure située au voisinage de ce dernier. L’influence de la présence de fissure sur la conductivité thermique est prise en compte. Nous avons utilisé la théorie Hyperbolique de transfert de chaleur par conduction pour les champs thermique et mécanique à la place de la théorie traditionnelle classique de Fourier. Pour mener cette étude, nous avons utilisé les Transformées de Laplace et de Fourier aux équations de mouvement et à l’équation de transfert de chaleur. En s’intéressant en particulier aux champs de contrainte au voisinage de la pointe de fissure et aux facteurs d'intensité de contrainte dynamiques. Le problème se ramène à la résolution d’un système d'équations intégrales singulières dans l'espace de Laplace-Fourier. On utilise une méthode d'intégration numérique pour obtenir les différents champs. Nous résolvons ensuite un système d'équations algébriques linéaires. En effectuant des inversions numériques des transformées, nous obtenons les champs de contrainte de température et les facteurs d'intensité de contrainte dynamiques dans le domaine temporel.Les résultats numériques montrent que la conductivité thermique du milieu est affectée par l’ouverture de la fissure ce qui perturberait fortement le champ de température ainsi que l'amplitude des facteurs d'intensité de contrainte dynamiques. Les amplitudes sont supérieures à celles obtenues à partir de la théorie classique de Fourier ainsi que dans le cadre de l'hypothèse quasi-statique. On constate également qu’elles oscillent au cours du temps. La prise en compte simultanément de l’influence de la fissure sur la conductivité thermique, de l'effet non-Fourier ainsi que les effetsIVd'inertie induit un couplage entre les trois phénomènes qui rendrait le problème de choc thermique très complexe. L'effet de barrière thermique induit par la fissure affecte d’une manière significative les champs de température et des contraintes. Les effets d’inertie, et des termes non-Fourier joueraient également un rôle non négligeable lorsque la longueur de la fissure est petite. Comme dans de nombreux problèmes d'ingénierie, l'initiation et la propagation des micro-fissures sont des mécanismes dont il faut tenir compte dans les prévisions de la rupture des structures. Ces effets non conventionnels ne sont plus négligeables et doivent être inclus dans l'analyse de la fracture des structures soumises à des chocs thermiques. / Thermal shock problems occur in many engineering materials and elements, which are used in high temperature applications such as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), solid propellant of rocket-engine, pulsed-laser processing of materials, and so on. The thermal shock resistance performances and the thermal shock damages of materials, especially the interface debonding and spallation of coatings, have received considerable attention in both analysis and design. Some conventional theories, such as the Fourier’s law of thermal conduction and the quasi-static assumption of the thermoelastic body, may no longer be appropriate because of the extreme loads provoked by the thermal shock. Therefore, these conventional theories need to be enriched or revised.The objective of this thesis is to develop the solutions of the transient temperature field and thermal stresses around a partially insulated crack in a thermoelastic strip under thermal shock loading. The crack lies parallel to the heated traction free surface. The thermal conductivity of the crack gap is taken into account. Hyperbolic heat conduction theory is used in solving the temperature field instead of the traditional Fourier thermal conduction theory. Equations of motion are applied to obtain the stress fields and the dynamic stress intensity factors of the crack. The Laplace and Fourier transforms are applied to solve the thermal-elastic governing equations such that the mixed boundary value problems are reduced to solving a singular integral equations system in Laplace-Fourier space. The numerical integration method is applied to get the temperature field and stress fields, respectively. The problems are then solved numerically by converting the singular integral equations to a linear algebraic equations system. Finally, numerical inversions of the Laplace transform are performed to obtain the temperature field and dynamic stress intensity factors in the time domain.Numerical results show that the thermal conductivity of the crack gap strongly affects the uniformity of the temperature field and consequently, the magnitude of the dynamic stress intensity factors of the crack. The stress intensity factors would have higher amplitude and oscillating feature comparing to those obtained under the conventional Fourier thermal conduction and quasi-static hypotheses. It is also observed that the interactions of the thermal conductivity of the crack gap, the non-Fourier effect and the inertia effects would make the dynamic thermal shock problem more complex. The magnitude of the thermal barrier, non-Fourier and inertia effects is estimated for some practical cases.

Les tapis de nanotubes de carbone verticalement alignés sont des candidats potentiels pour des applications telles que les interconnexions ou les matériaux d'interface thermique. Ce travail de recherche porte sur la synthèse de tapis de nanotubes de carbone alignés selon le procédé de dépôt chimique en phase vapeur (CVD) d'aérosols liquides, sur l'élaboration de nanocomposites constitués de différentes nuances de matrices époxy infiltrées au sein de ces tapis, ainsi que sur l'étude des propriétés mécaniques et thermiques longitudinales et transverses des tapis secs eux-mêmes et des nanocomposites 1D formés. Les conditions de synthèse permettent notamment de faire varier les caractéristiques des tapis telles que leur épaisseur, leur masse volumique, le diamètre externe moyen des nanotubes de carbone (NTC), l'espace intertube et la teneur volumique en NTC, alors que leur structure cristalline peut être modifiée par le biais d'un traitement thermique à haute température. L'objectif principal de ce travail consiste à démontrer et quantifier l'effet de certaines caractéristiques des tapis de nanotubes de carbone sur les propriétés mécaniques et thermiques des différents types de tapis et matériaux composites obtenus. Les deux méthodes d'imprégnation mises en oeuvre, voie liquide et infusion, conduisent à des tapis de NTC alignés denses avec un alignement des NTC conservé et une répartition homogène des NTC au sein du système époxy. La fraction volumique en NTC s'avère être le paramètre-clé permettant d'exacerber, dans la direction longitudinale aux NTC, les propriétés mécaniques et thermiques des nanocomposites. Par ailleurs, les tapis de NTC et les nanocomposites voient leurs propriétés de conduction thermique longitudinale nettement exacerbées lorsque les NTC présentent une amélioration de leur structure cristalline. L'augmentation significative des performances apportées par les tapis de NTC verticalement alignés au sein de ces matériaux nanocomposites anisotropes par rapport aux matrices organiques non chargées est prometteuse et ouvre des pistes de réflexion visant à répondre aux nouvelles exigences de multifonctionnalité des secteurs de l'aéronautique et de l'aérospatial. / Vertically aligned carbon nanotube carpets are potential candidates for applications such as interconnections or thermal interface materials (TIMs). This research work deals with the synthesis of aligned carbon nanotube carpets from the aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD) technique, with the elaboration of nanocomposites made of different grades of epoxy matrix infiltrated within these carpets, as well as the study of both longitudinal and transverse mechanical and thermal properties of dry carpets themselves and 1D-nanocomposites separately. The synthesis conditions notably enable to vary characteristics of the differents carpets such as their thickness, their density, the mean external diameter of the carbon nanotubes (CNT), the intertube space and the CNT volume fraction, whereas their crystalline structure can be modified with a high temperature thermal treatment. The main goal of this work is to prove and quantify the effect of some of the characteristics of the carbon nanotubes carpets on both mechanical and thermal properties of the different kinds of CNT carpets and resulting composite materials. The two impregnation methods used, liquid way and infusion, lead to dense CNT carpets with a preserved alignment of the CNT and an homogeneous distribution of these latest within the epoxy system. The CNT volume content is evidenced as the key-parameter exacerbating the mechanical and thermal properties mainly in the longitudinal direction compared with the alignment axis of the CNTs. Moreover the mechanical and thermal conduction properties of the CNT carpets and the 1D-nanocomposites are clearly increased when the crystalline structure of the CNT is improved. The significant increasing of the properties brought by the vertically aligned CNT within these anisotropic 1D-nanocomposites compared with the only organic matrixes is promising and opens new pathways aiming to meet the latest specifications related to multifunctionnality in fields such as aeronautics and aerospace.

Les machines électriques synchrones à aimants permanents sont susceptibles de rencontrer un disfonctionnement suite à un échauffement non maîtrisé. L’objectif de cette étude est de développer un modèle thermique générique et prédictif pouvant simuler diverses situations d’intérêts: régime permanent, régime transitoire, mode dégradé, entrefer immergé, haute vitesse. Pour cela, la méthode nodale est utilisée pour développer le modèle thermique générique. En parallèle, un banc d’essai et un prototype sont conçus pour valider le modèle. L’étude de sensibilité des résultats du modèle à certains paramètres montrent que certains coefficients de convection, certaines conductances de contact et la conductivité thermique radiale du bobinage ont une influence considérable sur les résultats du modèle. Cependant ces paramètres sont mal connus, car ils sont issus des formules empiriques ou des abaques. Grâce au prototype et au modèle développé, ces paramètres sont identifiés. Trois méthodes d’identification sont testées pour aboutir à une stratégie d’identification: les algorithmes génétiques, la méthode de Gauss-Newton et la méthode de Levenberg-Marquardt. Plusieurs essais sont effectués sur le prototype instrumenté. La mesure des températures à des lieux précis du prototype permet d’identifier les paramètres mal connus et de valider le modèle. / Permanent magnet synchronous machines are likely to break down due to poorly controlled heating. The goal of this study was to develop a generic and predictive thermal model to calculate the temperature of machines during the design phase simulating temperatures at various states. These states include: steady state, transient state, fault mode, axial circulating of a cooling fluid in the air-gap and high speed. The lumped parameter method was used to develop this generic thermal model. Meanwhile, a test bench and a prototype instrumented with thermocouples were manufactured to validate the model at the same time. Sensitivity studies of the results of the model to some parameters demonstrated that some convective coefficients, contact conductances and the thermal conductivity of the winding in the radial direction influenced the model. However, these parameters are poorly known, because empirical formulas or abacus are used to calculate them. Using, the prototype and the developed model, these parameters were identified. Three methods of identification were tested in order to find a strategy for the identification: the genetic algorithms method, the Gauss-Newton method and the Levenberg-Marquardt method. Many tests were done on the prototype. The measure of the temperatures on the specific place allows to identify these parameters and to validate the model.

The first part of the present Phd thesis is devoted to transport investigations in disordered quantum systems. We aim at quantitatively determining transport parameters like conductivity, mean free path, etc., for simple models of spatially disordered and/or percolated quantum systems in the limit of high temperatures and low fillings using linear response theory. We find the transport behavior for some models to be in accord with a Boltzmann equation, i.e., long mean free paths, exponentially decaying currents although there are no band-structures to start from, while this does not apply to other models even though they are also almost completely delocalized. The second part of the present PhD thesis addresses the issue of initial state independence (ISI) in closed quantum system. The relevance of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) for the emergence of ISI equilibration is to some extent addressed. To this end, we investigate the Heisenberg spin-ladder and check the validity of the ETH for the energy difference operator by examining the scaling behavior of the corresponding ETH-fluctuations, which we compute using an innovative numerical method based on typicality related arguments. While, the ETH turns out to hold for the generic non-integrable models and may therefore serve as the key mechanism for ISI for this cases, it does not hold for the integrable Heisenberg-chain. However, close analysis on the dynamic of substantially out-of-equilibrium initial states indicates the occurrence of ISI equillibration in the thermodynamic limit regardless of whether the ETH is violated. Thus, we introduce a new parameter $v$, which we propose as an alternative of the ETH to indicate ISI equillibration in cases, in which the ETH does not strictly apply.

Cette thèse exploratoire pose les bases scientifiques et méthodologiques d’une approche transversale visant à étudier l’énergétique urbaine et le bio-climatisme. Elle fait appel à des concepts et des outils de l’architecture et l’urbanisme, et à la physique du bâtiment et de la ville. Cette thèse étudie les relations entre la morphologie urbaine et les processus aérodynamiques qui se développent dans la canopée urbaine et leurs effets sur la demande énergétique des bâtiments induite par les infiltrations d’air et les échanges thermiques convectifs. Les spécificités de l’aérodynamique et de la physique urbaines sont d’abord synthétisées et la morphologie de tissus urbains réels est analysée. Une typologie générique de bâtiments isolés et une autre d’îlots urbains en sont déduites. Le modèle CFD est ensuite validé par comparaison des prédictions du modèle avec des résultats expérimentaux et numériques, et des expérimentations numériques sont réalisées sur les différents types morphologiques. Les écoulements moyens sont analysés dans leurs rapports avec la morphologie bâtie, et la distribution des coefficients de pression sur les façades des bâtiments est analysée. Ensuite, les échanges thermiques sont couplés aux processus aérodynamiques. L’amélioration des estimations des échanges convectifs des bâtiments grâce à la CFD est vérifiée par comparaison des résultats de simulation avec des données expérimentales et numériques, ainsi qu’avec les valeurs standard. Une adaptation des fonctions de paroi relatives au transfert thermique est proposée sur la base d’études existantes, et la distribution des échanges convectifs sur les façades de bâtiments est analysée. Enfin, la demande énergétique des bâtiments due aux infiltrations d’air et à la transmission de chaleur au travers de leur envelope est estimée pour différents types morphologiques, et comparée avec les valeurs estimées suivant une approche réglementaire. Les résultats de cette thèse mettent en évidence les effets des propriétés topologiques et métriques des bâtiments et ensembles bâtis sur le développement de recirculations d’air dans la canopée urbaine. Celles-ci induisent une distribution et intensité hétérogènes des coefficients de pression et d’échange convectif sur les façades des bâtiments, qui influent sur le comportement thermique des bâtiments non isolés et perméables à l’air. Par ailleurs, l’estimation de leur demande énergétique diffère suivant si celle-ci est basée sur les valeurs simulées ou standard des coefficients de pression et d’échange convectif. Cependant, l’influence relative de la structure bâtie sur la demande énergétique des bâtiments apparaît plus importante pour les bâtiments isolés thermiquement. La différence entre la demande énergétique par unité de surface de plancher, due aux infiltrations d’air et pertes thermiques au travers de l’enveloppe peut varier de 18% à 47% suivant si le bâtiment est isolé ou situé dans un environnement bâti. / This thesis is an exploratory study that lays the scientific and methodological foundations of a transverse approach for studying urban energy and bio-climatic issues. This approach involves concepts and tools of building and urban physics as well as urban planning and architecture. It addresses the relations between urban morphology and aerodynamic processes, and studies their effects on the building energy loads due to infiltration and convective heat losses. This thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part synthesizes the specificities of urban aerodynamics and urban physics, and analyzes existing urban fabrics from a morphological point of view. Generic typologies of isolated buildings and urban blocks for small scale aerodynamic studies are deduced. The second part validates the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model (steady RANS RSM) against detailed experimental and numerical data, and presents the numerical experiments performed on the different morphological types. Mean flow structures that develop according to the construction shape and built environment, as well as pressure distribution on the building outer walls are examined. The last part couples heat and air fluxes to evaluate the contribution of urban air flows on the building energy loads. The improvement brought by CFD to the assessment of building convective heat transfers is verified by comparing numerical results to experimental data, detailed numerical studies and standard correlations. An enhanced temperature wall-function adapted for forced convection problems is adjusted to the model based on existing studies, and the convective heat transfers distribution on building facades is analyzed. Finally, the building energy loads due to air infiltration and heat transmission are estimated for typical constructions and compared to standard values. The results of this thesis show strong effects of the topology and dimensionality of constructions and urban structures on the development of recirculation phenomena within the urban canopy layer. The related aerodynamic conditions yield heterogeneous pressure and convective heat transfer intensities and distributions on building facades, which depend upon the considered built morphology. Their effects on building energy loads are logically particularly important in absolute value for buildings that are neither insulated nor air tight. Nonetheless, the estimates of the building energy needs based on standard or simulated pressure and convective heat transfer coefficients often show substantial deviation. Focusing on the relative contribution of the built structure, the effects of the aerodynamic context appear more influential for insulated buildings. Essentially, switching from an exposed to a sheltered building may decrease the energy needs per surface unit of floor due to air infiltration and heat transmission through outer walls by 18% up to 47% according to simulation.