Abstract
The correct estimation of building energy consumptions is assuming an always increasing importance, and a detailed reproduction of building structures, with all the single components involved, is necessary to achieve this aim. In addition, the current ecological development tries to limit the use of natural raw materials as building components, in favor of alternative (waste) materials, which ensure significant advantages from the economic, energetic and environmental point of views. In this work, dynamic heat and vapor transport in a typical three-dimensional (3D) building structure, involving different types of environmental-friendly concrete mixtures, have been simulated by using finite elements. In particular, the authors propose to substitute part of the aggregates with plastic waste and to use a fly ash based geopolymeric binder for the production of low conductivity concrete, to be employed in eco-efficient buildings. Concrete produced with natural limestone aggregates has been considered as the reference benchmark. The whole characterization of the different types of concrete tested in the present work has been obtained through laboratory experiments. The structure taken into account in the simulations is a 3D thermal bridge, typical of building envelopes. The thermal and hygrometric transient behavior of this structure, employing plastic waste in different percentages and geopolymer concrete, has been analyzed by the authors.
Highlights
The always increasing attention given to the concepts of sustainable development and energy saving makes it necessary to adopt proper solutions to protect the environment and at the same time reduce the overall energy consumption needed for the human activities
The use of a geopolymeric concrete (G) or 30% recycled plastic aggregates (C30) allows one to obtain about a 13% reduction of heat dispersion, with consequent advantages in terms of reduced emissions and cost savings related to building heating
The authors have characterized experimentally six different concrete mixtures and a geopolymeric concrete, in order to use these data within a numerical model that reproduces dynamic conduction heat transfer and vapor diffusion in a typical building structure, characterized by a three-dimensional (3D) field of the quantities of interest
Summary
Reduce the overall energy consumption needed for the human activities. The building process involves high energy consumption and has significant effects on the environment. In the authors’ opinion, the development of new construction materials employing recycled plastics assumes a crucial role in both the construction and the plastic recycling industries These materials could be used for building applications, as structural and non-structural parts of the envelope, ensuring at the same time good thermal, hygrometric and mechanical properties, economic savings and energetic advantages. The values of the following properties are reported in the present paper: density, vapor permeability, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity These experimental data have been used in a numerical simulation code, based on finite elements, in order to reproduce the transient behavior of a typical building structure, characterized by a 3D field of the quantities of interest, defined as thermal bridge.
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