Development of affordable hot box calorimeter to determine the U-value of inhomogeneous building material

Abstract

In recent years, the use of three-dimensional printing to create construction components has advanced quickly; it is possible now to simplify construction, increase speed, and lower cost while using natural resources responsibly. It also allows us to use recycled material to produce building envelopes while increasing design flexibility. However, the thermal performance of building materials must be characterized to achieve the necessary energy efficiency of the building envelopes. This study aims to develop, produce, and calibrate a hot box calorimeter at a reasonable price for thermal testing components building envelope. The heat loss through these components using a hot box can be measured in a lab to get an idea of the thermal performance of the building envelopes. In order to evaluate and analyze the thermal performance of various 3D-printed building brick samples made in the labs, this study explains the design and creation of an inexpensive hot box. The hot box can conduct a conventional thermal experiment, which involves monitoring heat flux, surface temperatures, and air temperatures. The testing process, instrumentation, test conditions, and validation of the new metering box are all covered in the article. The U-value of the brand-new lattice-based 3D printed building blocks was afterward determined using the validated new hot box. It was observed that the U-values values of 1.04 W/m2.K and 0.99 W/m2.K, respectively, for small components utilizing developed hot box and larger lattice panels using commercial equipment, with a maximum variance of 5%. It highlights the dependability of the hot box apparatus, which is also made affordable to operate by using less material for specimen preparation and less energy to maintain the temperature in the hot and cold chambers. Its small size also makes setup and thermal testing of construction materials simple.