Ambient Hot Box: An Instrument for Thermal Characterization of Building Elements and Constructive Materials

Area of Science:

• Building Science
• Materials Science
• Thermal Engineering

Background:

• Accurate thermal performance assessment of building components is vital for energy efficiency.
• Existing methods struggle with novel, non-homogeneous, and biomaterials.
• Need for rapid, accurate, and cost-effective thermal characterization tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce a novel instrument, the ambient hot-box, for thermal property measurement.
• Develop and validate a streamlined methodology for material characterization.
• Enable precise thermal analysis of construction components and heterogeneous mixtures.

Main Methods:

• Development of a streamlined hot-box-based instrument.
• Implementation of specific electronic circuits and measurement techniques.
• Utilizing benchmark samples for instrument calibration and validation.

Main Results:

• The ambient hot-box demonstrated accurate thermal property measurements.
• Transmittance values were obtained with errors below 4% when using benchmark samples.
• The study details the instrument's design, circuits, and measurement procedures.

Conclusions:

• The ambient hot-box is a viable tool for characterizing thermal properties of diverse building materials.
• The developed methodology offers a reliable approach for material thermal analysis.
• This instrument facilitates better energy performance assessment in buildings.