Experimental and numerical study on a new thermal masonry block by comparison with traditional walls

The present work concerns an innovative construction system consisting of brick blocks with micropores and multiple air cavities which confer to the material a very low thermal conductivity combined with a high thermal inertia. The aim of this research is to experimentally compare the performance of these single-layer inertial walls with a traditional super-insulated lightweight wall, characterized by similar and very low steady thermal transmittance. The walls were monitored in the summer season in two adjacent test rooms in a free dynamic regime, i.e. without the use of mechanical cooling systems. The test rooms were built without windows to evaluate only the heat transfer through the opaque surface. The incidence of solar gains, of ventilation and of the dispersing surface area was evaluated by means of numerical analyses using the hourly dynamic method of EN ISO 52016-1. The results demonstrated that the new single-layer blocks with low conductivity and high thermal inertia guarantee excellent performance by substantially limiting the internal air temperature compared to the other solutions. This makes it possible to reduce the summer peak loads and cooling energy consumptions, especially in the case of night ventilation.