Coal fly ash was used as the base material for the formation of thermal insulation materials. The porosity of the produced materials ranged from 86.3-94.5 vol. %. The insulating materials were prepared by ball milling, followed by foaming assisted by the addition of K12, casting and drying, and finally sintering. No harmful chemicals were released to the environment during their preparation. It was found that the thermal conductivity of the samples ...
The authors have presented a review of steady-state and transient measurement techniques for the determination of thermal conductivity, and have introduced a new method for the determination of thermal transport properties in anisotropic building materials, known as the dynamic adiabatic technique. It was found that the technique was functional for a first estimation of thermal properties in a complex structure, but that it required long testing times....
As the world works to combat climate change, focus has turned to reducing energy use. More efficient thermal insulation could drastically reduce the energy use of residential homes. In this paper, the research team focused on reducing the thermal conductivity of polymeric foams. A number of foam samples with varying cell sizes between 90nm and 100um were created, to show that reducing pore size also reduces the thermal conductivity. The ...
In an effort to become more sustainable, the construction industry has been looking for ways to use less new raw materials by making use of waste by-products from industrial applications. In this study, nano-crystalline aluminum sludge was added as a filler to clay bricks. The hope was that this would not only be an environmentally friendly product, but that it would also improve the thermal properties of the bricks. The ...
Autoclaved aerated concrete was studied because it has potential to be used in the design of energy-efficient buildings. Three different samples were tested, each with a unique density. Of particular interest to this work was the thermal conductivity of the samples, as this material would be used as a thermally insulating concrete. The thermal conductivities were measured at various percentages of moisture content, and it was found that increasing moisture ...
