DEVELOPMENT OF A THERMALLY INSULATING CERAMIC CONSTRUCTION UNIT FOR MASONRY ENVELOPES IN HOT TROPICAL CLIMATES

The new technological development processes for building products must contain a design component that takes responsibility for the energy consumption problems faced by buildings, especially the parts that make up the envelope as responsible for the energy flows between the exterior and the interior of the enclosures; in climates with high solar radiation, where the architectural skin presents surface temperatures above 65°C, the main challenge will be the implementation of thermal insulation strategies to prevent or contain heat transfer to the interior of the built space, reducing the heat energy to be dissipated with active cooling mechanisms. The present research develops a new product under thermo-insulating principles, with characteristics in the internal and external shape of the part capable of passively mitigating unwanted thermal loads; the design process assumes a model with high thermal mass, which in turn interrupts the internal thermal bridges and generates ventilated air chambers in the first layer of the part to contain and dissipate the transferred energy. The efficiency of the results is demonstrated with thermal simulations of temperature distribution and heat flow that allow the determination of the heat energy profiles through the part and the final surface temperatures of heat transferred to the interior of the enclosure. This design process makes it possible to develop new models of thermally efficient ceramic facades for extremely hot climates.