A FEM comparative analysis of the thermal efficiency among floors made up of clay, concrete and lightweight concrete hollow blocks

J.J. del Coz Díaz (1) , P.J. García Nieto (2) , J. Domínguez Hernández (3) , F.P. Álvarez Rabanal (1)

1 Department of Construction
2 Department of Mathematics
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering

This paper presents a comparative nonlinear thermal analysis for a total of eighteen different in situ cast floors varying both the constituent materials of the hollow blocks (clay, concrete and lightweight concrete) and the shape and number of recesses (six different block types) using the finite element method (FEM). Based on the non-linear thermal analysis of the different configurations by FEM and considering both upward and downward heat flows, it is possible to choose the best candidate floor from the thermal point of view. Mathematically, the non-linearity is due to the radiation boundary condition inside the recesses of the blocks. The comparative analysis of the floors is carried out from the finite element analysis through the two important parameters: the average mass overall thermal efficiency and the equivalent thermal conductivity. Finally, the results and conclusions reached in this work are exposed.

Mots clés: Hollow block; Finite element modelling; Non-linear complex heat transfer; Energy savings

Domaines: Thermique [physics.class-ph]; Thermique [physics.class-ph]

J.J. del Coz Díaz, P.J. García Nieto, J. Domínguez Hernández, F.P. Álvarez Rabanal. A FEM comparative analysis of the thermal efficiency among floors made up of clay, concrete and lightweight concrete hollow blocks. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2010, 30 (17-18), pp.2822. ⟨10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2010.07.024⟩. ⟨hal-00678804⟩