Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Thermal resistances of local building materials and their effect upon the
interior temperatures case of a building located in Ghardaïa region
S.M.A. Bekkouche a,⇑, T. Benouaz b, M.K. Cherier a, M. Hamdani a, N. Benamrane a, M.R. Yaiche c
a
Unité de Recherche Appliquée en Energies Renouvelables, URAER, Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, 47133 Ghardaïa, Algeria
b
University of Tlemcen, Laboratory of Automatic, BP. 119, R.p. 13000 Tlemcen, Algeria
c
Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, BP 62 Route de l’Observatoire, Bouzaréah, 16340 Algiers, Algeria

h i g h l i g h t s

 The heat gain through the walls is the main cause of overheating during warm period.
 Air cavities are bounded by a thin reflective material layer.
 An optimized building envelope takes into account thermal properties and building materials.
 Hollow bricks provide the best compromise of thermal comfort.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In desert regions, the heat gain through the walls is the main cause of overheating during warm period. In
Received 4 January 2011 the present work, we carry out a study on the influence of the buildings envelop on the internal temper-
Received in revised form 10 October 2013 ature by using local building materials. The main objective is to determine the temperatures of the men-
Accepted 31 October 2013
tioned building with various exterior wall configurations. This study aims at assessing also the Grashof
Available online 30 November 2013
number Gr of air layer which is arises throught the study of situations involving natural convection, pro-
viding a variety of results.
Keywords:
As a result, this work proves that an optimized building envelope takes into account thermal properties
Temperature
Hollow brick
and building materials. The major concept of the thermal rehabilitation is based on the wall composition
Cinderblock especially on the calculation of the walls thermal resistances. In the literature, values of thermal resis-
Stone tance of air spaces are very different. In this regard, other factors must be taken into consideration in
Thermal resistance these measurements such as the mobility of air in all wall elements which contributes as an insulating
Thermal insulation effect. Indeed, the numerical simulation save a great deal of time and effort in computational terms
and showed that the horizontal position of the hollow brick gives the best results. In this sens, a building
envelope, as a passive source of energy, is a critical factor. In conclusion, to achieve a better thermal com-
fort in arid and semi arid regions, a new configuration of the wall has been proposed, it allows to enhance
the thermal insulation of the envelop while eliminating thermal bridges.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
With environmental protection posing as the number one
global problem, man has no choice but to reduce his energy con-
sumption. One way to accomplish this is to resort to passive and
low-energy systems to maintain thermal comfort in buildings [1].
The Ecology of Building Materials explores key questions sur-
rounding sustainability of building materials. Bjorn Berge [2] pro-
vides technical data to enable design and building professionals
to choose the most appropriate materials for a project: those that
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: URAER & B.P. 88, ZI, Gart Taam Ghardaïa 47000,
Algeria. Tel.: +213 661 31 76 29; fax: +213 29 87 01 52.
E-mail address: smabekkouche@yahoo.fr (S.M.A. Bekkouche).
are least polluting, most energy efficient, and from sustainable
sources. Progress may be enabled by the deployment of materials
which are adapted to the local climate within buildings, and the
adoption of building-integrated renewable energy conversion
technologies.
JA Clarke et al. describe the integration of cooperating passive
and active renewable technologies within a major building refur-
bishment in Glasgow [3]. In Ref. [4], Enrico Fabrizio et al. show that
increasing interest is currently being addressed to multi-energy
systems in buildings. These systems integrate different techniques
and energy sources, in order to cover the thermal and electrical
loads of a building. However, the design and operation of such sys-
tems are very complicated; it is of the foremost importance to pro-
vide tools to select the best system configuration. The conclusions

0950-0618/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.10.052
60 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70
Nomenclature
qair air density (kg m3)
Cair the specific heat of air, it is assumed constant and esti-
mated at 1008 (m2 s2 K1, J kg1 K1)
Vair air volume (m3)
Tair air temperature (K)
TSurf air temperature walls inner surfaces (K)
S surface (m2)
QGain direct solar gain due to openings (W)
QSurf thermal power due to exchange between the air and, (i)
walls inner surfaces and (ii) windows and doors (W)
QHeating thermal power provided by heating equipment (W)
QCooling thermal power provided by cooling equipment (W)
QInf thermal power gain due to air infiltration (W)
QVent thermal power gain due to air ventilation (W)
mInf the air flow due to infiltration (kg/s)
Tout air temperature outside the building (K)
in Ref. [5] stress the importance of creating common patterns of
design for a better performances achieving of buildings, owing to
the fact that traditional models have been inherited and already
exist as valid references. In [6] the purpose is to appraise alterna-
tive building materials and technologies for wall and roof construc-
tion. The replacement of a conventional technology with an
alternative material must be measured against the cost of the
building as a whole. However, some simple experiments were car-
ried out at the Building Physics Laboratory of the Engineering Fac-
ulty of Porto University FEUP. A sensibility study was performed
with LFC’s equipment to evaluate how measurements are influ-
enced by emissivity, environmental conditions, color and reflectiv-
ity [7]. For the selection of construction materials and taking into
account the thermal aspect, the chemical analysis of building
materials such as gas concrete, cement, sand, marble, brick, roofing
tile, lime and gypsum used in Turkey were carried out to assess the
chemical components of these samples [8].
On the other hand, predictive numerical models have been
widely used. The accomplished task in the current paper has as
goal on one hand to develop an energy balance model and on the
other hand to contribute to the creation of corresponding simula-
tion tools. A developed model consisting of an elaborated comput-
ing program appropriate to the current application was proposed.
This paper discusses and analyses some walls configuration, that
propose energy savings and the use of local material revalidating
the envelop of the Saharan construction. In Ghardaïa region, stone
cinderblock and hollow brick are the most used construction mate-
rials due to their availability. A typical most commonly used con-
struction in the region had been chosen.
2. Location, climate and descriptive of typical house plan
Ghardaïa region (32.4°N, 3.8°E) is located 600 km from the
coast, at an altitude of 450 m above sea level. It is influenced by
a dry climate, characterized by very low precipitations (160 mm/
year), very high temperatures in summer and low temperatures
in winter (frosty from December to mid-February). The climate is
hot and dry in the summer with temperatures variation between
a maximum of around 45 °C and a minimum of 20 °C, thus giving
a large diurnal temperature swing. Winter temperatures vary be-
tween a maximum of 24 °C and a minimum of 0 °C. Its normal tem-
perature in January is 10.4 °C; it is 36.3 °C in July. The average
annual range is about 12.2° amplitudes of monthly average tem-
peratures. They are more moderate in winter than in summer
Cp specific heat (J kg1 K1)
TVent,out air temperature at the ventilation outlet (K)
TVent,int air temperature at the inlet ventilation (K)
i tilt angle (degrees)
Gr Grashof number
hConv the convective transfer coefficient (W m2 K1)
q density (kg/m3)
g acceleration due to Earth’s gravity (m/s2)
b volumetric thermal expansion coefficient (equal to
approximately 1/T, for ideal fluids, where T is absolute
temperature)
L length (m)
Dh the temperature difference between surface and fluid
(K)
l dynamic viscosity (Pa s)
(average 11° in winter cons 13.5° in summer). The monthly maxi-
mum amplitudes are larger in summer than in winter fluctuates
around 20 °C. Solar radiation is intense throughout the year with
a maximum of 700 W m2 in winter and 1000 W m2 in summer,
measured on the horizontal surface. This Saharan climate result
that insulation is necessary, some requirements have been identi-
fied by Fezzioui et al. [9]. Chelghoum et al. [10] paper discusses
adaptation for climate change through a local adaptation strategy
at a variety of scales, showing how to manage high temperatures.
In Ghardaïa region, stones are the most used construction mate-
rials. It is has been used for centuries (since the foundation of the
town at 1200 J) due to their availability and also due the lack of
other construction materials such as wood (Vegetation are low
due to the climate). A typical most commonly used construction
in the region had been chosen. Fig. 1 is a schematic outline of real
apartment building situated whether at the ground or at the first
floor of two storey building. The house has an area of 88 m2; wall
heights are equal to 2.8 m while the other dimensions are shown in
detail in Fig. 1. This apartment includes the following elements:
 Building envelops or outer wall consisting of a heavy structure
generally constituted of stones (40 cm thick) jointed and sur-
rounded by two layers having thickness of 1.5 cm of mortar
cement. The most inner face is coated with 1 cm thick plaster
layer.
 The inner walls (or splitting walls) whose sides are in contact
only with the internal ambient are considered to be of heavy
structure constructed of stones of 15 cm width jointed and sur-
rounded by two mortar cement layer of 1.5 cm thick and two
layers of 1 cm thick of plaster.
 The flooring is placed on plan ground to lodge the ground floor.
The concrete of the flooring is directly poured on the ground
thus minimizing losses. Floor tiles are inter-imposed, it is an
end coating resisting to corrosion and chemical agents.
 The roof is composed of cement slabs and concrete slab made so
that it handles the load and be economical. A roof sloping of 5°
allows water evacuation through several openings. Until now
the flat roofs are considered as nest infiltration and as architec-
tural solution.
 Windows and doors contribute significantly to the energetic
balance. Their contribution however depends on several param-
eters as: local climate, orientation, frame, relative surface (win-
dow-flooring), and concealment performance during night and
sunny days. In this case focus is made particularly on windows
and doors dimensions and all are made of woods.
 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70
Fig. 1. Descriptive plane: southern orientation, dimensions are given by m.
Windows and doors have significant impacts on a building’s en-
ergy usage, as they contribute to a building’s heating and cooling
loads as well as lighting if daylighting sensors and controls are de-
ployed. Windows shall be designed to limit air leakage. The air
infiltration rate shall not exceed 2.8 m3/h per linear meter of sash
crack when tested under a pressure differential of 75 Pa, the used
characteristics are given in Table 1.
If we consider that the habitat is poorly insulated, we use the
U-value in the first case for glazing, and if the thermal insulation
is reinforced, we use the values of the second case.
For our study, we consider that the window composition com-
prises in addition to the configuration given in Table 1, wood blinds
usually separated from the previous configuration by an air gap of
2 cm. We assume that the heat transfers through windows are only
by conduction. However, the doors are made of wood with a thick-
ness of 2 cm: k = 0.14 W m1 K1, q = 500 kg m3 and Cp = 2500
J kg1 K1, k, q and Cp are respectively thermal conductivity, den-
sity and specific heat). Some thermal properties of the materials
are the usual values found in Ref. [11–13].
3. Incident solar beam
The incident solar radiation for a vertical plane facing north,
east, south, and west was determined using numerical models.
We will be forced to choose an efficient numerical model to esti-
mate the incident global irradiation on the walls. The chosen meth-
od is the theoretical approach of Perrin Brichambaut that utilizes
the atmospheric Linke turbidity factor in order to compute direct
and diffuse components of solar irradiation. Absorption and
diffusion caused by atmospherical particles are expressed in terms
Table 1
Glass thermal transmittance values (glass only).
Glass type
Flat glass Single pane, clear
Case 1: without
thermal insulation
For all windows
Insulating glass Double pane, clear, 12.5 mm air
Case 2: with space
thermal insulation
For WC and bathroom
Double pane, with low emittance
coating e = 0.20
For rooms 1 and 2, kitchen and
sitting room
61
of the Linke turbidity factors. From these factors direct and diffuse
irradiation are determined in case of clear sky model [14–18].
In this regard, solar maps of Algeria for a totally clear sky have
been made by the Liu and Jordan model [19]. The objective is to
have an idea on the received energy by each façade to control
the incident solar flux following the season and the orientation
building. Solar maps of Algeria provide the sum of all daily global
solar radiation on a vertical south plane, respectively, in the two
seasons, winter and summer. From these maps [19], we notice that
the sum of the daily global solar radiation on a vertical south plane
exceeds the value of 19 kW h/m2 in winter season. In other hand,
this value is less than 11 kW h/m2 in summer in Ghardaïa zone.
Similarly, we can appreciate the incident solar energy on other faç-
ade. It is legitimate to find that the energy intercepted by the north
facade is clearly the least important. The results indicate that in
winter the obtained value intercepted by the north façade is be-
tween 0.94 and 0.99 kW h/m2, but in summer season this value
is between 3 and 4 kW h/m2. With regard to the sum of daily global
solar radiation on a vertical east and west plane, the results indi-
cate that in winter the obtained value is between 9 and 10 kW h/
m2. But in summer season this value exceeds 11 kW h/m2. How-
ever, the sum of the daily global solar radiation on a horizontal
plane exceeds the value of 16 kW h/m2 in winter season. But, this
value is estimated at 22 kW h/m2 in summer in Ghardaïa zone.
Whereas Fig. 2 represents instantaneous variation of solar irra-
diation under clear sky incident upon different surfaces of the flat
for 09 July with the following orientations: South, West, East and
North. This day was selected to perform a comparative study be-
tween different building materials.
The solar radiation received on a surface depends on the orien-
tation of the surface. A normal surface facing east will receive di-
rect solar radiation at sunrise, while a vertical surface facing west
only receives direct radiation after noon (when the sun passes its
U-value zenith). A horizontal surface can receive solar radiation during the
whole day when no shadowing from the surrounding area ap-
5.91
pears. As can be seen in Fig. 2, a horizontal surface will receive
the most radiation on a sunny day. An east facing (and also a west
facing) vertical surface receives more radiation than a south fac-
3.18 ing vertical surface. As a result the highest surface temperatures
can be expected for horizontal surfaces. Consequently, solar radi-
ation intensity on a major part of the Algerian territory requires
2.21 most of the time the use of installations of air conditioning, to im-
prove the internal conditions of comfort. The collected data indi-
cate that Ghardaïa has a strong potential for solar energy
applications.
62 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70
Fig. 2. Incident solar irradiation on walls, July 09.
4. Mathematical model and experimental validation
For an envelope’s wall, we suppose that we have two tempera-
tures as conditions to a surface’s limits. In the hypothesis of mono-
dimensional conductive transfers, the study’s frame is then divided
into a determined number of elements supposed in each moment
of a uniform temperature. The transposition of the thermal prob-
lem of conduction into an electrical problem is called thermoelec-
trical analogy. Working this analogy, the nodal method leads to the
setting up of an electrical network. The nodes, which in an electri-
cal meaning symbolize equipotentials, correspond to isotherm
lines.
We developed in Refs. [20–23] mathematical models based on
thermodynamic first principle were elaborated to obtain different
air temperatures of the inside parts. The building energy balance
for a zone is a balance model with one air node per zone. The build-
ing power balance for a zone is shown as Eq. (1) representing the
variation of the power energy of the air in the zone in the time
interval dt:
dT air
qair C air V air ¼ Q Gain þ Q Surf þ Q Heating þ Q Cooling þ Q Inf
dt
þ Q Vent
With thermal powers are algebraic values. The boundary conditions
of the system include the nodes of the inner surface for all surfaces
of the zone, including radiative energy flows. We also note that the
energy of an active layer and the energy stored in the walls are not
part of this energy balance, but they are part of detailed balance for
surfaces. The transfer rates of thermal energy of infiltration and
ventilation air flow are respectively calculated by
Q Inf ¼ mInf C air ðT air  T out Þ
Q Vent ¼ mVent C p ðT Vent;out  T Vent;int Þ
Thermal energy due to exchange between the air and walls in-
ner surfaces are calculated by
Q Surf ¼ S hConv ðT Surf  T air Þ
We interest also to the determination of the temperature of any
node inside a wall. The equations governing the energy balance
and the detailed explanation of the calculation procedure can be
found in articles referenced by [20–23].
The building is exposed on all sides (the four walls and roof) to
the wind and sun. These cases took into account only thermal ex-
changes thus air stratification, whereas wind influence on air infil-
tration and water diffusion into walls body was not considered.
Also states changes are not considered therefore storage of latent
heat and moisture effects were neglected.
It is essential to implement numerical methods that compute
these temperatures. Designed to solve such problems, Runge-Kutta
fourth order numerical method was used to apprehend thermal
behavior of walls and air subjected to varied solicitations. The elab-
orated interactive programs allowed a better understanding heat
transfer phenomenon of walls and air under dynamic regime. Win-
dows and black-out curtains remained closed all over the period.
The instantaneous temperatures of air and wall surfaces were cal-
culated by entering the measured meteorological data.
In order to accomplish the measurement phase, a data acquisi-
tion unit of type Fluke Hydra Series II which in spite of its high
accuracy, it accumulates some errors, not really considerable. Cal-
ibrated type-K thermocouples were used to measure temperatures,
their measuring principle is based on Seebeck effect. For recording
the temperatures of south and north walls, five thermocouples
were placed in different locations of walls. Also, the temperatures
of the internal ambient air were registered by placing other five
thermocouples in different points. The plotted temperatures
experimental values are those corresponding to the average of
the registered ones. We introduced the thermocouples so that:
 First is located in the center of the sitting room.
 The second and the third are placed on the middle axis of the
horizontal plane at 1.4 m in height so that each thermocouple
is at 20 cm of the southern wall and the Northern wall.
 The others thermocouples were inserted into the normal line
which passes through the first thermocouple, they were
implanted in such way the distance between the thermocouples
and the walls (the roof and floor) will be about 10 cm.
Indeed, we judged that five thermocouples are largely sufficient
because the temperature gradients are not really significant.
According to the measurements in summer and for any position
of the vertical plane, the maximum difference between air temper-
ature at a point near the roof and another point on the same nor-
mal and at proximity to the ground does not exceed the value of
0.85 °C. Similarly, for any height, the maximum variation in tem-
perature is about 1 °C between two points, one near the southern
wall and the other near the northern wall, which lie along the same
ð1Þ axis and same horizontal plane.
Then to measure the temperatures of the walls, we introduced
the five thermocouples on surfaces of the walls by respecting the
same distances. The first will be at the center, the second and the
third will be on the vertical line which passes by the center and
the last thermocouples will be on the horizontal line which passes
by the center. The data were collected at 30 min intervals.
We are interested in determining the incident irradiation on the
roof (horizontal) and the vertical surface of external walls. Solar
radiation distributions on the exterior façades of the zone, as in
ð2Þ
20 min time steps for January and July are shown in Fig. 3 under
clear sky condition.
ð3Þ
As seen, south façades receive the greatest total annual irradia-
tion; they do not receive the maximum in summer, because the
sun is too high in the sky. During winter the sun is at a much lower
altitude and it is then they receive the maximum radiation. The
ð4Þ
two peaks in the morning and evening at respectively eastern
and western walls are due to the influence of direct gain during
these hours; the dome in between represents exclusively the dif-
fuse radiation that occurs at these times. At the east, high direct
gain occurs in the morning hours and only diffuses radiation in
the afternoon. The direct solar beam drops down at solar noon.
At the south, diffuse and direct radiations coexist with a peak at so-
lar noon.
This summer period was characterized by sunny days with high
solar irradiance. The outdoor air temperature oscillated between
30.55 °C and 46.75 °C, with a mean value around 37.98 °C
 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70 63

Fig. 3. Solar radiation at the exterior zone façades: the 21 of July (a) and 21 of January (b).

(Fig. 4). The results, i.e., the simulation and the experimental tem-
peratures for the air temperature profile are presented in Fig. 5 for
the type-1 walls.
The sitting room air temperature reaches its calculated maxi-
mum value of 37.54 °C and its measured maximum value of
37.74 °C around 23:00, and reaches its calculated minimum value
of 36.1 °C and its measured minimum value of 35.58 °C around
11:00. The mean thermal amplitude was 3 °C on the temperature
for calculated values and 2.79 °C on the temperature for measured
values.
One of the main problems with most buildings in Ghardaïa, is
that the envelope is not designed to cope with the extreme sum-
mer climate. The hot summer outside air penetrates into the build-
ing and increases the cooling load. The external walls also readily
conduct solar gains to the inner wall surface, which then warm
and radiate into the room.
Indeed, this new numerical model for this building was also ap-
plied to the days of the winter season. Fig. 6 shows the measured Fig. 5. Measured and simulated temperature of sitting room.
temperatures and those predicted by the identified model; repre-
sents temperatures curves of the internal air. All time traces shown
are for the 54 h time period mentioned above, the inputs used for
these simulations are obtained from measured data during mid-
night of January 10, 2009 to 06:00 of January 13, 2009, which is
part of the validation data set. The calculation result is compared
with the measurement result. These days correspond to a clear
sky and an ambient temperature between 6 °C and 14.5 °C, wind

Fig. 6. Measured and simulated temperature of sitting room.

speed varies randomly between 3 m/s and 5 m/s in time. Running

the program for several solicitations allows us to obtain this figure.
The found results show that the measured temperatures of the
sitting room were found to be between 17.7 °C and 19.3 °C and be-
Fig. 4. Outdoor air temperatures, July 20-21, 2008. tween 17.55 °C and 19.2 °C for the simulated temperatures. The
64 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70

comparison proves as a whole acceptable, with a mean difference The paper is based also on some results from a study of the ther-
which not exceeds the order of 0.8 °C for air temperature. The mar- mal insulation performance of air cavities bounded by thin reflec-
gin of error is greater in this period compared to the summer. This tive material layer. Aluminum foil is used as the facing material;
margin is justified by the weather which is not stable: wind speed reflective thermal insulation can stop 97% of radiant heat transfer
varies greatly in very complex. The input data, i.e., ambient tem- [24].
perature and wind speed were included in the program by deter-
mining an interpolation function (polishing polynomial) that
identifies each parameter to ensure the execution speed of the pro- 6. Dimensions and equivalent circuit of a cinderblock
gram designed. In this situation, randomized evaluation of these
parameters does not establish the exact functions that properly The cinderblock is a molded masonry unit which has a facing on
approaching the experimental values. each of two opposite sides of a wall. This is the case of a real mate-
The prediction of air temperatures from this model of a whole rial consisting of several layers. Fig. 7 gives a detailed sizing to cal-
building is a step forward in the simulation process that helps culate the equivalent thermal resistance of a cinderblock.
the comprehension of the building behavior, the improvement of We have subsequently the equivalent circuit in Fig. 8.
the building envelope, and the estimation of the comfort levels in- To calculate Rth2, we must calculate the convective transfer
side it. This simplified method is good approach to the understand- coefficient h in the cinderblock. From previous Eqs. (5)–(7), this
ing of the thermal behavior of air in a real building. coefficient depends entirely on the Grashof number Gr. For this
reason, the Nusselt number was chosen according to the value of
Gr. The following graphs show the variation of the Grashof number
5. Thermal resistance calculation
if the air temperature is between 0 and 60 °C. Fig. 9 proves that the
first case corresponds to Dh 6 0.0083.
Thermal resistance R is the reciprocal of thermal conductance. It
To study of the second case, we will choose the extreme case,
is a measure of the resistance to heat transmission across a mate-
i.e., as shown in Fig. 10, beyond this value, one can pass to the sec-
rial, or a structure. Thermal resistance measurements of simple
ond case for a value of Dh > 0.018. Thus, one can conclude that the
walls (it composes only the studied building material) were con-
interval delimited by 0.0083 and 0.018 corresponds to an overlap
ducted using the Kirchhoff’s law. But, the walls are not isotropic,
of the first and second case.
that is the case most commonly encountered in reality. So, assum-
As shown in Fig. 11, the maximum value of Dh to be still in the
ing that the transfer is unidirectional and perpendicular and taking
second case corresponds to the condition Dh < 0.1078. Beyond this
into account the axis of symmetry, one can calculate the flow and
limit (Dh > 0.1078), we can be located in an interval which is a mix-
the equivalent thermal resistance R through walls. Like electricity,
ing between the second and third cases.
if the thermal resistances are in series, the equivalent resistance is
equal to the sum of the resistances. And if the thermal resistances
are in parallel, the inverse of the equivalent resistance is equal to
the sum of inverses of the individual resistances.
Knowing that: kStone = 2.8 W/K m, kAir = 0.026 W/K m,
kCinderblock = 1.1 W/K m and kHollow Brick = 0.5 W/K m. The tempera-
ture appears as a thermal potential and terms e/kS and 1/hS appear
respectively as thermal resistances of an air layer and a plane wall
of thickness e, thermal conductivity k and surface S.h is the ex-
change coefficient by convection (W/m2 K) between the cavity of
air and the vertical surface, it is calculated using equations given
in Ref. [24].

k Nu
h¼ ð5Þ
b

If Gr 6 1700 þ 47:8i Nu ¼ 1:013 First case

If Gr P 80000 Nu ¼ 2:5 þ 0:0133ð90  iÞ Third case
Else Nu ¼ ð0:06 þ 3  104 ð90  iÞÞGr0:33 Second case
ð6Þ
In natural convection, the fluid flows due to the variation in its
volume mass, resulting from heat exchange between fluid wall
sides. The fluid is made to flow under the influence of Archimed
force because its volume mass is a function of its temperature.
Grashof number is a dimensionless number which approximates
the ratio of the buoyancy to viscous force acting on a fluid; it is fre-
quently used in the case of natural convection. It is named after the
German engineer Franz Grashof.

L3 q2 g b Dh
Gr ¼ ð7Þ
l2
Thus, from Eqs. (5) and (6), the choice of the Nusselt number is
deduced according to the value of the Grashof number. However,
according to expression 7, Grashof number Gr depends on air tem-
perature T and especially the temperature difference Dh. Fig. 7. Dimensions of a cinderblock (in centimeters).
 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70 65

Fig. 8. Equivalent circuit of a cinderblock.

Fig. 10. The variation of Grashof number as fonction of T and Dh, second case:
Dh > 0.018.

Fig. 9. The variation of Grashof number as fonction of T and Dh, first case:
Dh 6 0.0083.

However, if we take the case where we have Dh > 0.131, the se- Fig. 11. The variation of Grashof number as fonction of T and Dh, second case:
lected equations correspond to the third case shown in Fig. 12. Dh < 0.1078.
In summary, we can draw below a simplified diagram to de-
scribe succinctly the variation of the Grashof number, and which
will serve for the choice and proper use of the heat transfer  Rcinderblock = 3.7922 K m2 W1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e., T 30.1100 °C
coefficient. and Dh 0.0597 °C)

Taking into account these considerations and applying Kirchhoff’s  Rcinderblock = 3.7481 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000.
law, we find the values of thermal resistances for a cinderblock.

 Rth1 = 0.3247 K m2 W1

7. Dimensions and equivalent circuit of a hollow brick
 Rth2 = 257.3602 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
 Rth2 = 131.6194 K m2 W-1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e., T  30.1100 °C
The hollow brick is used as building material and it is a rectan-
and Dh 0.0597 °C)
gular parallelepiped of sun-dried or baked raw clay. The clay is of-
 Rth2 = 104.2824 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000
ten mixed with sand. Therefore, environmental and structural
 Rth3 = 14.8423 K m2 W1
performances may be different in elements constructed of hollow
 Rth4 = 13.6364 K m2 W1
brick from those constructed of structural cinderblock or solid
brick. To complete our studies, we will choose the two most com-
Consequently, the equivalent resistances of the cinderblock are
monly used dispositions; the horizontal and vertical positions.
given by the following values:
The dimensions and the equivalent circuit diagram of a verti-
cally disposed hollow brick are given below respectively in Figs. 13
 Rcinderblock = 3.8760 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
and 14 below.
66 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70
In order to determine the coefficient of convective transfer, we
will follow the same method for the case of a cinderblock which
provides the following diagram.
The obtained values of thermal resistances for a vertically dis-
posed hollow brick are given by:
 Rth1 = 0.3333 K m2 W1
 Rth2 = 105.8333 K m2 W1
 Rth3 = 126.5695 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
 Rth3 = 64.7249 K m2 W1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e., T 30.11 °C and
Dh 5 °C)
 Rth3 = 51.2821 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000
 Rth4 = 1.3333 K m2 W1
Consequently, the equivalent resistances in this case are given
by the following values:
 Rhollow brick = 17.9976 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
 Rhollow brick = 15.4814 K m2 W1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e.,
30.11 °C and Dh 5 °C)
 Rhollow brick = 14.4029 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000.
The same steps are followed to calculate the equivalent thermal
resistance of a horizontal hollow brick. Therefore, the characteristic
dimensions remain the same but the equivalent circuit changes
completely. The dimensions are indicated in Fig. 15 as well as
the equivalent electrical circuit is illustrated in Fig. 16.
Like cases of a cinderblock and a vertical hollow brick, the ob-
tained diagram will be presented by the following scheme.
The calculated values of thermal resistances for a horizontal
disposed hollow brick are given by:
 Rth1 = 133.3333 K m2 W1
 Rth2 = 1.4415 K m2 W1
 Rth3 = 126.5667 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
Fig. 12. The variation of Grashof number as fonction of T and Dh, third case:
Dh > 0.131.
 Rth3 = 64.7245 K m2 W1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e., T 30.11 °C and
Dh 6.3175 °C)
 Rth3 = 51.2808 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000
 Rth4 = 166.6667 K m2 W1
Consequently, the equivalent resistances in this case are given
by the following values:
 Rhollow brick = 30.4878 K m2 W1 if Gr < 6002
 Rhollow brick = 26.1097 K m2 W1 if Gr = 40000 (i.e., T
30.11 °C and Dh 6.3175 °C)
 Rhollow brick = 24.3309 K m2 W1 if Gr > 80000.
8. Thermal resistance of walls
The calculation of equivalent thermal resistances leads to de-
T duce immediately the values of thermal resistances of walls. It will
be respected to acomply with Ohm’s law but with a thermal anal-
ogy. The corresponding circuits have been designed according to
this principle; the voltage can be replaced by temperature, the cur-
rent can be replaced by the thermal power (heat flux) and the elec-
trical resistance can be replaced by the thermal resistance. The
application of these concepts based on arrangements of layers
and materials relative to the direction of the heat flow. The calcu-
lation of equivalent thermal resistance leads to deduce immedi-
ately the values of thermal resistance of walls. These values were
calculated according to this method and are summarized in Table 2
for different building materials. The equivalent thermal resistance
of any wall is calculated by considering that the thermal resistance
of each cinderblock (respectively for hollow brick) is parallel to an-
other of the cinderblock (hollow brick) wall. To be logic, we will do
the calculations by placing it in the third case for the cinderblock
building and in both the first and second case for the hollow brick
building.
According to the recorded values of Table 1, we can guarantee
that a hollow brick house is better insulated from a stone or cinder-
block house.
In this work, the layers of ceiling do not undergo changes. It will
therefore be limited to changes exposed walls because heat losses
at this level represent generally almost half of energy consump-
tion. From these considerations, the purpose in the next section
is to calculate the different temperatures using the values of ther-
mal resistances recorded in Table 1 by the proposed and validated
mathematical model.
9. Simulation of temperatures for several configurations
It was demonstrated in several experimental studies and com-
puter simulations [19–23,25–29] that the use of an envelope of
high thermal resistance material can considerably improve indoor
air temperature of individual buildings. Fig. 17 as example shows
the immerging behavior and represents temperatures curves of
 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70 67

Fig. 15. Dimensions of a hollow brick (in centimeters), horizontal position.

exposed to sun represents about 30% of the heat exchange in a

house according the reference [30]. It is seen also from this figure
that the convective heat exchange increases with the increase of
Grashof number, as a result, this leads to increase of temperature
gradients Dh, i.e., the flow becomes more active and convection be-
comes more dominant. However, we know that in a layer of thin
air, the convective heat transport vanishes and only conduction
dominates the heat transfer. Beyond a certain thickness, convective
effects are manifested and thermal resistance no longer increases.
In this figure, these aspects have been observed in hollow bricks.
The increase of internal temperatures of the room 2 is not really
Fig. 13. Dimensions of a hollow brick (in centimeters), vertical position.
important because the thickness of the cavities is not great enough.
For this reason, the influence of Gr on indoor temperatures is not
significant.
Consequently, to make the house heat proof, thermal insulation
is a good choice. An insulated home is more comfortable as the
temperature remains consistent over weather changes. It is very
useful to keep the temperature of the house independent from out-
side temperature. Therefore, proper use of thermal insulation in
buildings enhances thermal comfort at less operating cost. How-
ever, the magnitude of energy savings as a result of using thermal
insulation vary according to the building type, the climate condi-
tions at which the building is located as well as the type, thickness,
and location of the insulating material used.
The next step is devoted to present a proposed configuration
model. The computer program takes into account constituents of
the envelope. Simulations of Indoor temperatures of the building
can give the solution for achieve the best thermal comfort condi-
Fig. 14. Equivalent circuit of a hollow brick, vertical position.
tions. The sun-facing walls are composed of two layers of hollow
brick arranged horizontally, an air gap of 1 cm and 6 cm layer of
polystyrene (k = 0.041 W/m K). So the equivalent thermal resis-
the internal air of room 2 in different cases. The external tempera-
tance of walls equals to the sum of thermal resistances of layers.
tures in this very hot period (July 09–10, 2009) are generally be-
The following diagram in Fig. 18 shows the proposed configuration.
tween 31.5 °C and 45 °C.
For a totally clear sky and low wind speed and even with tem-
peratures that vary in a way that approach the periodic form, we
expect forms that resemble the periodic form for obtained curves
representing the resulting temperature of the indoor air. In our
model, we respected these three quoted conditions (totally clear
sky, low wind speed and ambient temperatures that approach
the periodic form); it is for this reason that we found temperatures
which strongly approach with the periodic form. The results are in
good agreement with the calculated thermal resistances recorded
in Table 2. In this regard, they show that the temperature of the in-
door environment is lower in a horizontal hollow brick building,
but this is still insufficient. The stronger reason is that the roof Fig. 16. Equivalent circuit of a hollow brick, horizontal position.
68 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70

Table 2
Equivalent thermal resistances of all interior and exterior walls of the habitat.

Construction material Walls Stone Cinderblock Hollow brick, vertical position Hollow brick, horizontal position
4
Gr < 6002 Gr = 4  10 Gr < 6002 Gr = 4  104
East and West, room 2 0.0104 0.0219 0.0787 0.0677 0.0980 0.0839
East and West, room 1 + West, kitchen 0.0142 0.0297 0.1071 0.0922 0.1334 0.1142
South, room 3 0.0170 0.0357 0.1286 0.1106 0.1601 0.1371
East, room 3 0.0128 0.0268 0.0964 0.0829 0.1200 0.1028
East and North, bathroom 0.0269 0.0564 0.2030 0.1746 0.2527 0.2164
West, bathroom 0.0101 0.0564 0.2030 0.1746 0.2527 0.2164
East, WC 0.0137 0.0765 0.2755 0.2370 0.3430 0.2937
West, WC 0.0364 0.0765 0.2755 0.2370 0.3430 0.2937
North, WC 0.0510 0.1071 0.3857 0.3317 0.4802 0.4112
West, room 3 0.0156 0.0328 0.1183 0.1017 0.1472 0.1261
North, room 2 0.0258 0.0541 0.1949 0.1677 0.2427 0.2078
South (room 1 + room 2) + North (room 3 + kitchen) 0.0213 0.0446 0.1607 0.1382 0.2001 0.1713
North, room 1 0.0226 0.0473 0.1705 0.1467 0.2123 0.1818
South, bathroom 0.0154 0.0863 0.3110 0.2675 0.3872 0.3316
South, WC 0.0563 0.3149 1.1343 0.9757 1.4123 1.2095
South, kitchen 0.0082 0.0458 0.1648 0.1418 0.2052 0.1757
East, kitchen 0.0178 0.0374 0.1348 0.1159 0.1678 0.1437

Fig. 17. Air temperatures of the room 2, July 09–10, 2009.

Fig. 18. Identification of layers for outer walls.

The used equations for calculating the Nusselt number are those
given in reference [31]. The general law which gives the equation
of natural convection is given by:
Nu ¼ C ðGr PrÞ n ¼ C Ran
Ra is the Rayleigh number,
 If 103 < Ra < 5  102, C = 1.18 and n = 1/8,
 If 5  102 < Ra < 2  107, C = 0.54 and n = 1/4,
 If 2  107 < Ra < 1013, C = 0.135 and n = 1/3,
Assuming that Pr = 0.7 and from Fig. 19, we find that the Ray-
leigh number Ra is between 0.2  109 and 13  109 for a tempera-
ture varying from 103 to 60 °C and Dh between 0 and 6 °C.
Depending on the range of variation of Ra, we deduced that the
use of the third condition is most justified. So it will have a mini-
ð8Þ
mum, a maximum and mean value the Rayleigh number to calcu-
late the convective thermal resistance. Table 3 below summarizes
the calculated values of the convective thermal resistance of air
space for all walls of the envelope.
These values are inserted in the program and simulate the in-
door temperatures. Fig. 20 shows the internal temperatures of
 S.M.A. Bekkouche et al. / Construction and Building Materials 52 (2014) 59–70 69

10. Conclusion

Mathematical models for the simulation of the thermal perfor-

mance of buildings have been in existence for many decades.
Although these programs save a great deal of time and effort in
computational terms they still rely on designer’s intuition and
experience to achieve optimum solutions for a design problem. A
building envelope’s materials are more than a visual application.
They influence the environment and the people that occupy the
building. A building envelope exists to keep various elements such
as wind, and temperature fluctuations out of the building. An opti-
mized building envelope takes into account local conditions, ther-
mal properties and environmental responsibility. It is concluded
that models offer a valuable decision support system for designers
at an early design state for the optimization of the passive thermal
performance achieving optimum thermal comfort and savings in
heating and cooling energy in Saharan region.
Fig. 19. The variation of Rayleigh number as fonction of T and Dh for an air space of
2.6 m in height. Heat gains through the walls are certainly the main cause of
overheating in these habitat types. But the sun protection should
cover all the outer walls of housing: roof, walls and windows. This
Table 3 is an important step in bioclimatic design. Consequently, the
Values of the convective thermal resistance of an air layer of 1 cm of sun-facing walls. achievement of effective sun protection is the second phase of
Rcv Rcv Rcv the fundamental design of thermally and energy efficient homes.
(Grmin) (Grmean) (Grmax) With regard to the arid region, hollow bricks provide the best
West, room 2 0.0994 0.0310 0.0247 compromise of thermal comfort from the heavy stone and cinder-
East, room 1 + West, kitchen 0.1353 0.0422 0.0337 block. It must be strengthening thermal insulation of the exterior
South (room 1 + room 2) + North (room 0.2030 0.0633 0.0505 envelope; thermal insulation is an important element of energy
3 + kitchen)
conservation. Properly installed, thermal insulation lowers utility
South, room 3 0.1624 0.0506 0.0404
North, bathroom 0.2564 0.0799 0.0638 costs and cuts energy consumption. Thermal insulation improves
East, room 3 0.1218 0.0380 0.0303 energy efficiency, which reduces greenhouse gases as an effect
North, WC 0.4872 0.1519 0.1212 contribution reducing the climate change. With increasing envi-
ronmental awareness, more emphasis is now being placed on ways
to save energy in any building, domestic or commercial. It is esti-
mated that only 1% spent on the cost of a building can reduce en-
ergy consumption by 30–40%.

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