Computational investigation of heat energy interaction for a residential building with a normal clay brick and sinicon brick

Abstract

Abstract Most of the building energy is mainly contributing to the achievement of thermal comfort. The cooling load on air conditioners will increase with increased heat transfer into the building from the surroundings. The amount of heat transfer into the building mainly depends on building materials used in construction. In this research, an attempt has been made to analyse the self-sufficient homes’ concept by visualizing variation in heat transfer of the building concerning ordinary clay brick and brick with sinicon composition. The temperature distribution of airflow, time lag, decrement factor, and comfort conditions are investigated concerning these materials with computational fluid dynamics. Numerical modeling has been defined by selecting three-dimensional fluid flow governing equations and the k–ε turbulence model. All the fluid flow governing equations have been solved with the finite-volume second-order upwind discretization and SIMPLE algorithm for pressure–velocity coupling. Numerical results have been analysed for both the materials and we identified that the sinicon brick material for the considered wall thickness (9 inches) had registered an increased time lag (∼2 hrs) and a decreased decrement factor (0.05). This research investigation shows that the sinicon-brick wall strongly decreases heat transfer through it compared to the normal-red brick wall. The sinicon brick significantly reduces the air conditioner’s cooling load by decreasing heat energy penetration into the building.