Thermal comfort in a building constructed of FOAM concrete made in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Thermal comfort is a feeling of well-being in a given environment. In the context of sustainable development, new regulations on thermal insulation in the building sector are leading researchers to design new materials for energy-saving systems and ensuring comfort in the habitat. We highlight the effects induced by the use of Pr. Blanchard's foamed concrete (FC) in construction in order to reduce energy consumption and ensure hygrothermal comfort in the home. This article numerically studies the thermal comfort for buildings constructed with materials such as foamed concrete, cinder block, compressed earth brick (CEB), adobe and cut laterite block (CLB). The comparison of the hygrothermal behavior (temperature and relative humidity) of premises made of different materials was carried out with three typical climates (January: dry and cold period, April: dry and hot period and August: humid period and mild temperature) under climatic conditions of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The results showed that for the months of January, April and August the temperatures of the foamed concrete room (FC-930, thickness: th=17.5 cm) having respectively values of 296 K, 304 K, and 298 K is always lower to other materials. The relative humidity of the foamed concrete cell (FC-930, th=17.5 cm) in the months of January, April and August has values of 19%, 31 % and 63.7 % respectively which are also higher than those of the cells built with several local materials. Thus, a building constructed with foamed concrete has better thermal comfort than those made of concrete block, CEB, adobe and CLB.