Thermal properties of historic rural building materials in Czechia

P. Kic¹* and P. Neuberger²

¹Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Technological Equipment of Buildings, Kamýcká 129, CZ165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
²Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kamýcká 129, CZ165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
*Correspondence: kic@tf.czu.cz

Abstract:

Due to the different natural conditions, various local natural building materials were used for the construction of rural residential and farm buildings in various locations in the Czech Republic. Currently, it is often a requirement for the modernization of relatively old buildings. The buildings were built with different technologies. Very often only locally available material was used. In many cases, the properties of old materials are not available in the literature. However, it is necessary to know the thermal properties of building materials for the preparation of a reconstruction design. Thermal properties of materials are the basis for determination of heat losses of buildings useful for design of heating systems. The aim of this paper is to compare the research results focused on the thermal conductivity of different old construction materials (stones and rocks) and to show examples of preserved historical agricultural buildings. The results presented in this paper are based on the measurements by the portable instrument Isomet 2104. Authors recognised significant differences between tested materials. The mean values of thermal conductivity λm of tested materials: gaize 1.49 W m^-1 K^-1, artificial marble 1.80 W m^-1 K^-1, gneiss 2.36 W m^-1 K^-1, proterozoic shale 2.68 W m^-1 K^-1, granite 3.66 W m^-1 K^-1 and quartz sandstone 6.15 W m^-1 K^-1. Differences between thermal conductivity values of stones and rocks should be respected in calculation of heat balance of new or reconstructed buildings to avoid the problems of the formation of thermal bridges.

Key words:

dynamic method, measurement, rocks, stones, thermal conductivity

The use of unsteady method for determination of thermal conductivity of porous construction materials in real conditions

P. Neuberger¹* and P. Kic²

¹ Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kamýcká 129, CZ165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
² Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Technological Equipment of Buildings, Kamýcká 129, CZ165 21 Prague, Czech Republic
*Correspondence: neuberger@tf.czu.cz

Abstract:

The possibility to determine the thermal conductivity of construction materials outside the laboratory conditions is useful for professional practice mainly for control and inspection activities on real existing buildings. The requirement to determine the thermal conductivity can be useful above all for different thermal insulation materials but for other materials as well, even for compact soils or rocks. This paper describes methods and instrument which can be used for these measurements, as well as the results of measurement of porous building materials. Measurements presented in this paper were carried out by the needle and surface sensor. Four different materials were selected for verification of technical parameters of Isomet 2104. Besides the thermal conductivity there were determined also thermal diffusivity and volume-specific heat capacity of materials. The carried out measurements confirmed the applicability of this device for practical measurements of thermal conductivity in real conditions. For porous materials, there were determined significant differences between the data presented by the manufacturer or in the literature and measured values, in some cases. Differences between the measured values of thermal diffusivity and volume-specific heat capacity of porous materials were always statistically significant. Authors tested different materials including thermal insulation based on agricultural products.

Key words: