Solid Brick Wall Research Articles

Measurement and simulation of brick wall sound reduction index

This paper presents the procedures and results of an experimental, numerical simulation and analytical model of sound reduction index of solid brick wall. The solid brick used has the following dimensions: 22×10×5 cm and density of 1850 kg/m3. The physic-mechanical characteristics: density, resistance, and elasticity modulus were measured using a set of small walls (0.60×0.63 m). One wall of 4.10×3.20×0.10 m (length/height/thickness) was built between two reverberant rooms, with 60 and 63 cubic meters in volume, respectively. Two kinds of junctions were used between the wall and the concrete walls of the reverberant rooms: elastic junction (with a thin layer of rubber, sealed with silicon rubber on both sides and the top of the wall) and rigid junction (using the normal mortar). The sound reduction index was measured according to ISO 140-3 using airborne transmission. The brick characteristics were used as input data for the statistical energy analysis (SEA) model. The results from SEA, analytical, and measured models are compared.

Post-Insulating External Walls: Inside Or Outside?

A project is described in which the Danish Building Research Institute studied the performance of additional insulation applied to the external solid brick walls of old blocks of flats. In one old block the insulation was placed on the interior of walls: in two other blocks different forms of exterior insulation were tested. Both approaches halved the measured energy consumptions but the exterior insulation was found to be technically better, though consequential architectural treatment was entailed and the pay-back time was longer. In all cases, however, more development is thought to be needed in order to improve the economics.

A study of thermal performance of concrete hollow blocks by an electrical analogue method

This paper deals with a study of the thermal performance of hollow blocks of different designs and types of concrete, by a two dimensional R-C network analogue method. Steady and periodic thermal characteristics of solid and concrete hollow blocks, along with those of solid and cavity brick wall sections, are presented. The thermal performance of the concrete hollow block wall sections, exposed to a typical summer sol-air temperature diurnal cycle, has been evaluated both for conditioned and unconditioned situations. The hourly variation of heat flow rates and inside surface temperatures of the hollow block sections were compared with those of the solid and cavity brick walls. This study brings out the fact that the widely used hollow block design with two large air spaces is not thermally efficient under tropical climates. Their thermal performance can, however, be improved considerably and be made acceptable by adopting a design with four air spaces arranged in two rows.

Transmission Loss of Partition Walls

ABSTRACTResults of the measurement on sound insulation of a few partition walls are presented. The sound insulation has been measured in the transmission-reverberation chamber of this Institute. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. A simplified method is adopted to obtain approximate theoretical values of the transmission loss (T.L.).Three types of partition walls, a solid brick wall, brick cavity wall and a double wall plywood panel have been tested. The experimental values of transmission loss of the brick cavity wall is found to be lower than the computed values. This is due to sound transmission through the wire-ties bridging the two panels. The transmission loss of a single thin panel of plywood is too low to meet the insulation requirements. Sound insulation of such panels can be increased by using two panels with a little air space in between. An absorbent material loosely filled in the cavity further improves the transmission loss.