Thermal Conductivity of Earth Blocks

Abstract

Materials for housing construction in developing countries are usually too expensive because most materials must be imported. In the hotter climates, especially of Africa and south Asia, coping with the heat creates another problem for designing functional housing. Construction with blocks and bricks made from a local soil has proved beneficial in the case under investigation. Previous work has shown that firing of earth blocks give the materials high crushing strengths, and the addition of cement, lime, and slag further improves the load‐bearing capacity of the blocks. The potential for enhanced thermal comfort by the addition of these additives is investigated in this paper. Thermal conductivity of plain bricks decreases with increasing firing temperature. Also, the addition of cement, lime, or slag further decreases the thermal conductivity of the bricks. The results further show that minimum thermal conductivity coincides with the condition of maximum crushing strength. Thus, the strength achievable is not compromised to obtain minimum thermal conductivity.