Experimental and theoretical approach to determination of heat evolution in electrically conductive aluminosilicates

Abstract

Design of progressive building materials with increased utility value is the key issue for the development of reliable modern building structures. Compared to the conventional materials, progressive building materials are supposed to exhibit not just adequate mechanical, and thermal properties, but they are also supposed to be applicable in sophisticated solutions, such as in self-sensing, self-heating or magnetic-shielding systems. In terms of electric properties, the most of building materials are electric insulators which is the main limiting factor for their applicability in such sophisticated solutions. However, this deficiency can be solved by the addition of a proper amount of electrically conductive admixtures. Within the paper, electrically conductive alkali-activated aluminosilicate with 8.89 mass.% of carbon black admixture was designed and its materials properties necessary for calculations of heat evolution by the action of an electric source were experimentally determined. The electrical conductivity of such material equal to 5.57?10?2 S m?1 was sufficiently high to ensure self-heating ability. It was observed good agreement of experimentally determined data with those modeled by means of heat equation on sample with dimensions 40 ? 40 ? 10 mm. Finally, one- and two-layered large-scaled heating elements based on materials with experimentally determined properties were designed and calculations were conducted to determine the voltage level necessary for one-hour heating from 268.15 K and 273.15 K to 278.15 K in the middle-top point of the construction.