Thermal analysis of the application of pcm and low emissivity coating in hollow bricks

This paper discusses the possibility of increasing the energy performance of thermal brick through integration with two different technologies: the first is based on the insertion of phase change material (PCM) inside the enclosures of the bricks, while the second involves covering the internal surface of the enclosures with low emissivity coating. PCM was employed to increase the thermal mass while the low emissivity coating reduces the overall heat transfer coefficient value. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the solutions, energy evaluation was carried out on the bricks using both theoretical and experimental analyses. Stationary and dynamic analyses were performed. The investigations were made in accordance with Italian, European, and international standards: theoretical analyses were based on the finite elements method, while the experimental tests were carried out with the heat flow meter method. Finally, a comparison is made between the theoretical and experimental data and the error is estimated. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.