Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

Thermal simulation of buildings with double-skin facades

H. Manz *, Th. Frank
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Laboratory for Applied Physics in Building,
Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland

Abstract
Highly glazed commercial buildings with double-skin facades may overheat during summertime due to a coincidence of high outside
temperatures, solar gains and internal heat gains. To optimize thermal comfort and minimize cooling loads, the thermal behaviour of this type
of building, therefore, requires careful investigation at the design stage. However, complex physical phenomenanotably optical,
thermodynamic and fluid dynamic processesare involved and as yet, no single simulation tool is able to handle all these processes
while remaining an efficient design tool. This paper presents a method based on the coupling of three different types of simulation models that
is economical in terms of computing time, and thereby, suitable for design purposes. These models are: spectral optical model, computational
fluid dynamics model and building energy simulation model. Various tools are available at each modelling level. The method is demonstrated
on a commercial building with double-skin facades and additionally, night-time ventilation.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Double-skin facades; Night-time ventilation; Spectral optical model; Computational fluid dynamics; Building energy simulation; Model coupling

1. Introduction
Buildings with double-skin facades, also termed doubleenvelope facades or glass double facades, are complex from
a building physics point of view because issues, such as
thermal and visual comfort, cooling load during summertime, heat loss during wintertime, ventilation, acoustics,
moisture and fire safety require consideration. Various
merits and drawbacks of this type of building envelope are
known to architects and engineers. Although the suitability
of this facade construction for Central European weather
conditions remains questionable [1], it is gaining increasing
popularity, mainly for aesthetic reasons. As buildings with
this type of facade are usually highly glazed, they tend to
overheat during summertime when peak outside air
temperatures coincide with high solar gains. Hence,
susceptibility to overheating is usually considered the main
drawback of this facade construction. To optimize thermal
comfort and minimize cooling loads, the thermal behaviour
of the whole building thus requires careful investigation at
an early design stage. However, with operative room
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 1 823 4790; fax: +41 1 821 6244.
E-mail address: heinrich.manz@empa.ch (H. Manz).
0378-7788/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.06.014

temperatures governed by optical, thermodynamic and fluid

dynamic processes, the physical phenomena involved are
complex. Numerous parameters are in play in such an energy
system.
The double-skin facades built in recent years differ in
geometry and construction due to the specific aesthetic
demands or varying technical solutions chosen in each case.
Poirazis [2] presents a round-up of buildings with doubleskin facades and the literature available on the subject.
Heusler and Compagno [3] classify double-skin facades
according to geometry and ventilation concept (Fig. 1). This
constructional diversity, which may alter thermal behaviour
and the large number of parameters involved, needs to be
factored into models and simulations. Various authors have
investigated the thermal behaviour of double-skin facades,
the comprehensive studies of Faist [4] and Saelens [5] being
of particular note. Also specific aspects, such as the
importance of correct modelling of the inlet temperature [6]
or modelling of plants inside the facade cavities [7] have
been studied. Nevertheless, the thermal design of buildings
with this type of envelope remains a challenging task. As
yet, no single software tool can accommodate all of the
following three modelling levels: optics of layer sequence,
thermodynamics and fluid dynamics of double-skin facade

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

1115

Fig. 1. Classification of double-skin facades according to Heusler and Compagno [3]: (A) window; (B) storey; (C) multiple storeys or building.

and building energy system. This article sets out, firstly, to

discuss modelling approaches for thermal simulation,
secondly, to present a possible modelling option suitable
for design purposes due to its economical use of computing
resources and thirdly, to illustrate the method with reference
to a specific application.

walls that make them particularly susceptible to high solar

gains, west-facing rooms with highly glazed external walls
are often critical. This is due to the fact that peak outside air
temperatures coincide with peak irradiance during the
course of a summer day (Fig. 2), which may lead to
overheating if the heat buffering capacity is used up.
2.2. Level 1: optics of layer sequence

2. Modelling approaches
2.1. What and how do we have to model?
A simulation model is a virtual image of real physical
phenomena and simplification of reality is an inherent
feature of models. In other words, a building has to be
simplified in a suitable way in order to obtain a simulation
model. In the case of a large building with many similar
rooms, for example, a small number of representative rooms
has to be chosen. An examination regarding the possible
overheating of a large building requires analysis of the
internal and external heat gains of the different rooms to
identify those that are potentially critical. These are selected
for modelling and appropriate boundary conditions defined.
Apart from rooms at building corners with two highly glazed

A double-skin facade constitutes an optical system with

several layers. For example, a facade comprising a single
pane, a shading device and an insulating glazing unit has a
total of four layers with intermediate air or gas-filled
cavities. In cases where all layers are plane, parallel to each
other and do not scatter light, the laws of Snell, Fresnel and
Bouguer can be applied in calculating total reflectance and
transmittance as well as absorptance in each layer (see, e.g.
[8]). Reflections occur at each interface between two
different media, such as airglass or glassair. These
multiple reflections at the different interfaces have to be
taken into account by employing either a ray tracing method
(see, e.g. [8]) or the embedding technique [9]. If a venetian
blind is used as a shading device, the geometry of the slat
assembly and reflections on the slat surfaces likewise require

1116

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

Fig. 4. Examples of measured spectral slat reflectances of venetian blinds

with different colours within the wavelength interval of solar radiation.

Fig. 2. Example of outside air temperature and solar irradiances on vertical

surfaces on a sunny day in June (location: Berne, Switzerland).

consideration. A method for calculating the optical properties of a venetian blind layer, assuming plane, non-specular
reflecting slats, is described in Refs. [10,11].
Spectral modelling is necessary where layers have optical
properties heavily dependent on wavelength. To illustrate
this, Fig. 3 shows the selective transmission of radiation
by a commercial sun protection glass measured in a
spectrophotometer at approximately perpendicular incident
radiation and in the wavelength interval of solar radiation
(2502500 nm). Yet, even layers not specially designed
with wavelength-dependent properties may exhibit similar

behaviour. As an example, Fig. 4 and Table 1 show the

reflectances of painted aluminium slats for venetian blinds
measured in the same way. It can be seen that for some
paints, reflectance depends strongly on wavelength, e.g.
dark-green, dark-blue, dark-red, whereas the reflectance of
other paints, such as aluminium or black, is largely
independent of wavelength. Hence, while spectral optical
modelling may not always be necessary, it will prevent
serious errors in many cases. A European Standard [12]
governs the calculation of overall optical properties of
glazing systems based on spectral layer data.
In addition to wavelength dependence, the incidence
angle of solar radiationas dictated by the facade
orientation, building location, date and timealso plays a
role. Fig. 5 shows calculated absorptances in four layers of a
facade as a function of the incidence angle. A 08 incidence
angle denotes perpendicular incident radiation. Where
diffuse radiation accounts for a large share of total
irradiation, it may suffice to use optical properties for
diffuse radiation as a simplifying approach. Fortunately, for
the building engineer, a small number of software products,
such as GLAD [13], developed by EMPA (Switzerland),
WIS, developed by TNO (Netherlands) or Window [14],
Table 1
Slat reflectances of venetian blinds with different colours

Fig. 3. Example of measured spectral optical properties of a sun protection

glass within the wavelength interval of solar radiation.

Colour

Solar

Visible

UV

Yellow VSR-720
White VSR-010
Grey VSR-130
Aluminium VSR-140
Light-beige VSR-240
Beige VSR-110
Light-green 3040-G
Bronze VSR-780
Dark-green VSR-220
Dark-blue VSR-440
Dark-red VSR-330
Black 8505

0.552
0.742
0.392
0.489
0.585
0.327
0.274
0.252
0.185
0.271
0.356
0.064

0.493
0.837
0.461
0.490
0.575
0.342
0.320
0.249
0.097
0.130
0.092
0.065

0.068
0.084
0.079
0.549
0.087
0.081
0.071
0.155
0.068
0.069
0.062
0.063

Data for specified wavelength intervals were calculated according to Ref.

[12] with GLAD Software [13] using measured spectral data (Fig. 4)

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

Fig. 5. Example of incidence angle-dependent solar absorptances in a

double-skin facade with four layers (calculated with WINDOW 4.1 [14]).

developed by LBL (USA), is available for optical modelling

and simulation of multiple layer systems in double-skin
facades. The algorithms implemented in these tools are
based on the above-mentioned physical laws and methods.
2.3. Level 2: thermodynamics and fluid dynamics of
double-skin facade
For a given solar irradiance, the absorptances calculated
by means of an optical model can be used to determine heat
sources in glass panes and on shading devices. The
importance of considering solar absorption on opaque units,
such as facade panels, mainly depends on the surface area
and solar absorptance of the particular element.
The thermal behaviour of double-skin facades, i.e. the
microclimate in the facade, is significantly affected by the
airflows in the facade cavity. In addition to heat sources in
glass panes and on opaque surfaces, the geometry of the
building and specifically, of the facade cavity, the flow
resistances of elements, such as grilles or gratings, any fans
installed in the ventilation system and boundary conditions,
such as ambient temperature, wind, etc. determine the flow
pattern, flow rates and ultimately, the temperature distribution and heat flows. Experimental investigations [15,16]
have shown that airflow patterns in facade cavities can be
rather complex, i.e. with recirculations, vortexes, counterflows, etc. frequently occurring and that actual airflow
patterns may differ substantially from the intended
behaviour. According to Ref. [16], the application of
simplified flow modelling, e.g. by using a piston-flow
assumption [10,11], may lead to serious errors in predicting
the solar gains of a building. A simulation tool has to be able
to reliably model complex airflow patterns and convective
heat transfer to surfaces. In most cases, heat conduction in
solids and surface-to-surface radiation also play a role and
require modelling. As the computational fluid dynamics

1117

(CFD) technique incorporates all these features, it will be the

model of choice where reliable predictions are needed. The
term CFD applies to the numerical solution of a system of
partial differential equations governing a flow field and
derived from the principles of the conservation of mass,
momentum and energy. Temperatures, velocities, etc. are
predicted in all cells of the solution domain. The equation
usually solved is a Reynolds-averaged NavierStokes
equation that predicts average velocities, temperatures,
etc. for turbulent flows. A large number of commercial
(CFX, Flovent, Fluent, Star-CD, Phoenics, etc.) or freeware CFD codes are available today. However, few of these
include features especially suitable for building applications, such as algorithms for the analysis of human thermal
comfort or libraries of HVAC components. Given the
complexity and versatility of many codes, their successful
application in achieving high-quality CFD analyses requires
some experience and adherence to certain rules. Procedures
for the verification, validation and reporting of CFD
simulations for building applications are described by Chen
and Srebic [17]. The required computing time remains a
major drawback of the CFD technique, one that looks set to
limit its practical application for the foreseeable future.
Hence, 3D-simulations of complex geometries, such as
those occurring in many building applications, are often
restricted to steady-state cases or, at least, to the transient
simulation of short periods of time. Models requiring less
computing time are therefore needed to investigate the
transient thermal behaviour of buildings during the summer
months.
2.4. Level 3: building energy system
Building energy simulation models typically employ one
node per zone or room, corresponding to one air temperature
in each room. Quite a large number of codes are available
(EnergyPlus, ESP-r, DOE, IDA, Helios, TRNSYS, etc.). The
theory and application of this type of tool are summarized by
Clarke [18]. Central to any description of the thermal
behaviour of buildings is the transient heat conduction in
solid building materials, which is done by response function
or numerical methods. Also modelled are the convective
heat transfer at surfaces, longwave radiation exchange
between surfaces, airflows between zones, internal heat
gains and solar gains through windows. In many cases, the
energy flows induced by HVAC equipment also have to be
modelled. The integral approach, by which all relevant
energy transport paths are simultaneously processed, makes
building energy simulation codes powerful tools for the
design of energy-efficient buildings, a factor that explains
their growing popularity. The low resolution of the nodal
network method, compared with field models, has the
advantage of substantially reducing computing times.
However, the nodal network method approach is not
suitable for cases where intra-zone air movement plays a
major role, where inter-zone air movement cannot be

1118

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

Fig. 6. Overall concept for modelling and simulation of building with double-skin facades with optional night-time ventilation.

predicted by a simple flow resistance approach or where the

temperature distribution inside a zone is significant. In such
cases, the limitations of the nodal network model can only be
overcome by coupling a building energy simulation tool
with a CFD code.
2.5. Model coupling
As described in the previous sections, models on three
levels are needed for reliable simulation of the thermal
behaviour of buildings with double-skin facades during
summertime. Stand-alone modelling and simulation tools
exist on all three levels. Hence, the main challenge is to
couple the models (Fig. 6).
The first stage of coupling involves use of the
absorptances obtained by the optical modelin combination with solar irradianceto calculate heat sources in glass
panes and on opaque surfaces of shading devices or other
building elements. These volumetric or area heat sources are
subsequently implemented in the CFD model.
The second step entails the coupling of building energy
simulation and CFD, with due allowance for the different
levels of detail in the two models. Fig. 7 shows a building
with a double-skin facade, modelled with different levels of
detail depending on the required local modelling level.
Various authors have carried out work on the coupling of

building energy simulation and CFD, e.g. [1921]. A

summary of coupling methodologiescoupling can be
either static or dynamicis given by Zhai et al. [21]. If
building energy simulation and CFD are iterated several
times at each time-step, the coupling is called dynamic.
While this is obviously the most accurate approach, it is also,
unfortunately, the most demanding in terms of computer
power, making it largely unsuitable for design purposes.

Fig. 7. Building with double-skin facade: Modelling levelzone model or

field modeldepends on location.

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

1119

A different approach was pursued by Somarathne et al.

[22]. To simulate the thermal response of the building fabric,
a transient time-varying grid schedule and a so-called
freeze-flow technique was implemented into a CFD code
in this study. The term freeze-flow technique denotes the
method of pausing the solution of all governing equations of
fluid flow, except temperature, in order to save computing
time.
The work described here entailed one-way static coupling
between CFD and building energy simulation, i.e. the CFD
results were converted to coupling functions for subsequent
implementation in a building energy simulation code
(Fig. 6). A coupling function has to represent, with sufficient
accuracy, the underlying physics and hence, the tremendous
amount of data generated by CFD simulations. Direct
coupling between the optical model and the building
simulation model is needed where solar energy is
transmitted directly into the building through the doubleskin facade or for windows outside the double-skin facade
effecting solar gains. At each modelling level (Fig. 6), input
in the form of geometry, material properties, etc. is needed.
Weather data for the specific building location are also
required, typically in time-steps of 1 h.
Fig. 8. Streamlines visualize the buoyancy flow in a double-skin facade on a
day with high solar irradiance.

3. Application example
The following illustration shows how the method is
applied to a commercial building with a double-skin facade.
The heat sources, calculated on the basis of the optical
properties of the facade with four layers (single glass sheet,
venetian blind and insulating glazing) and by means of Ref.
[13], were implemented in a commercial CFD code [23] that
has been validated in cases with free convection in facade
cavities [24]. Fig. 8 shows the airflow pattern obtained
assuming boundary conditions typical for a summer
afternoon with high solar irradiance. The absorption of
solar radiation causes surface temperatures in the facade to
rise, with a buoyancy flow as the result. Ambient air flows
into the cavity through a grating at the bottom and leavesat
a higher temperaturethrough vertical grilles and an open
sloping glazing unit at the top of the double-skin facade.
The temperature difference between ambient air and air
in the facade cavity, as a function of solar irradiance,
obtained by five CFD simulation runs is shown in Fig. 9.
Two cuboid regions were defined in front of the windows on
the first and second floor and an average temperature within
these regions calculated by the code. The air temperatures
rise in line with solar irradiance, the second floor exhibiting
higher temperatures than the first floor for a given irradiance.
The fit functions displayed in Fig. 9 represent CFD results in
a very compressed form and served as coupling functions
between CFD and building energy simulation, i.e. they were
used in the building energy simulation code to upwardly
adjust the outside air temperatures in front of the rooms on
the first and the second floor.

With regard to daytime natural ventilation and the risk of

overheating, the double-skin facade has obvious drawbacks as
the air temperature inside the facade cavity exceeds the
outside air temperature. Having investigated daytime natural
ventilation in office buildings with double-skin facades,
Gratia and De Herde [25,26] conclude that this ventilation
concept can be problematic in many cases. Mechanical

Fig. 9. Example of coupling functions between CFD and building simulation: calculated air temperature difference between outside and inside of
double-skin facade as a function of solar irradiance.

1120

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

Fig. 12. Examples of cumulative probability distributions of operative

room temperatures based on simulations for a summer period (May
1September 30).

Fig. 10. Example of airflow pattern during night-time ventilation: ground

and first floor rooms are single-side ventilated while second floor room has
cross ventilation.

ventilation during the daytime may be therefore be considered

an option for rooms adjacent to the double-skin facade.
A night-time natural ventilation concept was investigated
for the same building to examine the possibility of

dispensing with mechanical cooling during the summer.

The aim of such a strategy is to cool the building structure by
means of cold ambient air during the night so as to provide a
heat sink during the day. CFD [23] was used to compute the
airflow patterns resulting from a system involving singlesided ventilation for ground and first floor and cross
ventilation for second floor rooms (Fig. 10). The airflow
rates in all rooms were calculated as a function of the
temperature difference between building mass and outside
air (Fig. 11). As in the procedure described above, these
three fit functions were used as coupling functions between
CFD and building energy simulation. These functions were
specifically used in the building energy simulation codes to
compute hourly air exchange rates in each room.
Operative room temperature, defined as the average
between air and mean surface temperature in a room, is often
used in order to decide whether thermal comfort is
acceptable in a room or not. Operative room temperatures
were computed in time-steps of one hour during the summer
by means of a building energy simulation code [27]. Typical
internal loads for offices and weather data of a design
reference year of Berne, Switzerland, were chosen. The
example in Fig. 12 shows the computed cumulative
probability distributions of operative temperatures with
and without night-time ventilation. In the design phase, the
client and building engineer have to define the required level
of thermal comfort. They have to decide whether operative
temperatures over 28 8C are acceptable for short time
periods. A widely used classification of temperature ranges
and thermal comfort quality is also shown in Fig. 12.

4. Discussion

Fig. 11. Example of coupling functions between CFD and building simulation: airflow rates as function of temperature difference between building
mass and outside air.

Previous studies [15,16], including empirical validation

by means of test cell experiments, have shown that CFD is a
reliable tool for modelling single-storey double-skin
facades. CFD was found to be superior to other methods
used today. The purpose of the present work was to show that

H. Manz, T. Frank / Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 11141121

a three level modelling approach is a feasible design method

for whole buildings with double-skin facades if there is static
coupling between CFD and building energy simulation.
These three levels include: firstly, modelling the optics of the
layer sequence of the double-skin facade using a spectral
method, secondly, modelling the thermodynamics and fluid
dynamics of the double-skin facade by means of CFD and
thirdly, modelling the building using a building energy
simulation tool. A number of suitable commercial or
freeware tools are available for each of these three modelling
levels. This work has also demonstrated the applicability of
the described method in investigating night-time ventilation
concepts.
Compared with the simple nodal models often used in
building design today, the proposed method considerably
enhances reliability of prediction. A good trade-off between
cost and reliability is obtained when examining the thermal
behaviour of whole buildings with double-skin facades using
the three-level approach with static coupling. However,
empirical validation on a full scale building has not yet been
performed. Detailed monitoring of buildings with doubleskin facades aimed at generating data suitable for empirical
validation is a challenging and time-consuming task. If
comparisons of simulation results and empirical data show
that the prediction accuracy using the method presented in
this paper is not yet sufficient, approaches involving the full
dynamic coupling of CFD and building energy simulations
will be the next step. However, in the foreseeable future,
there is a lack of both affordable computing resources and
software suitable for design purposes using this method.

Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the
Swiss Federal Office of Energy for the EMPA contribution
to Task 27 of the International Energy Agency.

References
[1] K. Gertis, New facade developmentsdo they make sense from a
building physics point of view? Part 2: glass double facades, Bauphysik 2 (1999) 5466 (in German).
[2] H. Poirazis, Double-Skin Facades for Office BuildingsLiterature
Review, Lund University, Sweden, 2004.
[3] W. Heusler, A. Compagno, Multiple-skin facades, Fassade Facade 1
(1998) 1521 (in German).
[4] A. Faist, Double-skin facades, Report of the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, 1998 (in French).
[5] D. Saelens, Energy performance assessment of single storey multipleskin facades, Ph.D. Thesis, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium,
2002.

1121

[6] D. Saelens, S. Roels, H. Hens, The inlet temperature as a boundary

condition for multiple-skin facade modelling, Energy and Buildings 36
(2004) 825835.
[7] W.J. Stec, A.H.C. van Passen, A. Maziarz, Modelling the double skin
facade with plants, Energy and Buildings 37 (2005) 419427.
[8] A. Goetzberger, V. Wittwer, Solar Energy: Thermal Use, Teubner,
Stuttgart, 1989 (in German).
[9] D.K. Edwards, Solar absorption by each element in an absorbercoverglass array, Solar Energy 19 (1977) 401402.
[10] European Standard prEN 13363-2, Solar protection devices combined
with glazingcalculation of solar and light transmittance. Part 2:
reference method, European Committee for Standardization, Brussels,
Belgium, 2002.
[11] International Standard ISO/DIS 15099 (Draft), Thermal Performance
of Windows, Doors and Shading DevicesDetailed Calculations, ISO
Central Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, 2003.
[12] European Standard EN 410, Glass in BuildingDetermination of
Luminous and Solar Characteristics of Glazing, European Committee
for Standardization, Brussels, Belgium, 1998.
[13] GLAD Software, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and
Research (EMPA), Duebendorf, Switzerland, 2002.
[14] WINDOW 4.1, A PC Program for Analyzing Window Thermal
Performance in Accordance with Standard NFRC Procedures, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), Berkeley, USA, 1994.
[15] H. Manz, Total solar energy transmittance of glass double facades with
free convection, Energy and Buildings 36 (2004) 127136.
[16] H. Manz, A. Schaelin, H. Simmler, Airflow patterns and thermal
behavior of mechanically ventilated glass double facades, Building
and Environment 39 (2004) 10191029.
[17] Q. Chen, J. Srebic, A procedure for verification, validation, and
reporting of indoor environment CFD analysis, HVAC&R Research
8 (2002) 201216.
[18] J.A. Clarke, Energy Simulation in Building Design, ButterworthHeinemann, Oxford, 2001.
[19] C.O.R. Negrao, Integration of computational fluid dynamics with
building thermal and mass flow simulation, Energy and Buildings
27 (1998) 155165.
[20] M. Bartak, I. Beausoleil-Morrison, J.A. Clarke, J. Denev, F. Drkal, M.
Lain, I.A. Macdonald, A. Melikov, Z. Popiolek, P. Stankov, Integrating
CFD and building simulation, Building and Environment 37 (2002)
865871.
[21] Z. Zhai, Q. Chen, P. Haves, J.H. Klems, On approaches to couple
energy simulation and computational fluid dynamics programs, Building and Environment 37 (2002) 857864.
[22] S. Somarathne, M. Seymour, M. Kolokotroni, Transient solution
methods for dynamic thermal modelling within CFD, International
Journal of Ventilation 1 (2002) 141156.
[23] FLOVENT Version 4.2, Manual, Flomerics Ltd., Hampton Court, UK,
2003.
[24] H. Manz, Numerical simulation of heat transfer by natural convection
in cavities of facade elements, Energy and Buildings 33 (2003) 305
311.
[25] E. Gratia, A. De Herde, Is day natural ventilation still possible in office
buildings with a double-skin facade? Building and Environment 39
(2004) 399409.
[26] E. Gratia, A. De Herde, Natural cooling strategies efficiency in an
office building with a double-skin facade, Energy and Buildings 36
(2004) 11391152.
[27] HELIOS, Building Energy Simulation Code, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA), Duebendorf,
Switzerland, 2004.