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Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2022) | Viewed by 16954

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cinzia Buratti

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, 06125 Perugia, Italy
Interests: thermal, optical, and acoustic properties of opaque and transparent building materials; transparent insulating materials (TIMs); nanomaterials; heat transfer; circular economy; waste materials; environmental sustainability; building energy simulation; life cycle assessment; thermal, lighting, and acoustic comfort; environmental noise analysis; renewable energy, energy conversion of biomass
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Dr. Francesca Merli

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, Perugia 06125, Italy
Interests: thermal, optical, and acoustic properties of opaque and transparent building materials; transparent insulating materials (TIMs); nano-materials; heat transfer; circular economy; waste materials; environmental sustainability; building energy simulation; life cycle assessment; thermal, lighting, and acoustic comfort; environmental noise analysis; renewable energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy efficiency plays a very important role in the design of a building, both in order to improve the interior comfort of the occupants and to fulfill increasing requests for energy saving, as dictated by the increasingly stringent standards at national and international level. The thermal insulation properties of opaque walls and glazing systems have become a fundamental requirement in the building design step: the nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) have the ultimate aim of limiting heat losses and to reduce energy consumption for buildings’ conditioning. However, in a period in which global warming, the lack of non-renewable energy sources, and the greenhouse effect are the main topics, adequate knowledge of environmental issues is required. The energy performance of the building envelope and the reduction of energy consumption in heating and cooling, which can be achieved by introducing innovative eco-sustainable materials and/or raw materials, could play a fundamental role in the control of global warming and climate change. In addition to the thermal aspect, sound insulation properties are a key issue in acoustic comfort, in line with the recent legislation regulating the passive acoustic requirements of buildings. In this context, it is crucial to consider eco-sustainable materials with low environmental impact that allow good thermal and acoustic insulation of the building envelope.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers on thermal and acoustic characterization of innovative materials with low environmental impact and on their performance in buildings, also evaluated through dynamic simulations. Both reviews and innovative research papers related to the above topics are welcome. Review papers should present comprehensive reference information and present the state-of-the-art of the considered subjects. Details of innovative solutions and materials with low environmental impact able to improve the thermal and acoustic performance of buildings are welcome.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subjected to a rigorous peer review procedure, with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Prof. Dr. Cinzia Buratti
Dr. Francesca Merli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

thermal insulation
acoustic performance
sustainable materials
bio-based materials
waste materials
building performance
energy savings
environmental impact
circular economy
dynamic simulations

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

2 pages, 180 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Sustainable Materials for the Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings: An Editorial

by Cinzia Buratti and Francesca Merli

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 4961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14094961 - 20 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1290

Abstract

Climate change and global warming issues are becoming more and more important nowadays: the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has been significantly increasing since the twentieth century, mainly due to energy use and anthropogenic activities [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

20 pages, 3291 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Design Optimization of Three-Layered Metamaterial Acoustic Absorbers Based on PVC Reused Membrane and Metal Washers

by Giuseppe Ciaburro, Rosaria Parente, Gino Iannace and Virginia Puyana-Romero

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4218; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14074218 - 01 Apr 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2329

Abstract

Waste management represents a critical issue that industrialized countries must necessarily deal with. Sustainable architecture involves the reuse of materials with the aim of significantly reducing the amount of waste produced. In this study, a new layered membrane metamaterial was developed based on three layers of a reused PVC membrane and reused metal washers attached. The membranes were fixed to a rigid support, leaving a cavity between the stacked layers. The samples were used to measure the sound absorption coefficient with an impedance tube. Different configurations were analyzed, changing the number of masses attached to each layer and the geometry of their position. These measurements were subsequently used to train a model based on artificial neural networks for the prediction of the sound absorption coefficient. This model was then used to identify the metamaterial configuration that returns the best absorption performance. The designed metamaterial behaves like an acoustic absorber even at low frequencies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

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18 pages, 6908 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aesthetic Aerogel Window Design for Sustainable Buildings

by Mary K. Carroll, Ann M. Anderson, Sri Teja Mangu, Zineb Hajjaj and Margeaux Capron

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2887; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052887 - 02 Mar 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3382

Abstract

Transport of heat through windows accounts for more than 25% of heating and cooling losses in residential buildings. Silica-based aerogels are translucent with extremely low thermal conductivity, which make them attractive for incorporation into the interspaces of glazing units. Widespread incorporation of monolithic-silica-aerogel-based windows could result in significant energy savings associated with the heating and cooling of buildings. However, monolithic silica aerogels do not have the optical clarity of vision glass, due to light scattering by the solid matrix, and often have surface imperfections, both of which render these materials less appealing for glazing applications. Here, we demonstrate a variety of approaches to preparing aesthetically pleasing monolithic silica aerogel by a rapid supercritical extraction method for incorporation into glazing units, including: (1) process improvements that result in monoliths with higher visible light transmission; (2) innovative mold design for the preparation of uniform aerogel monoliths; (3) glazing designs that use thinner monoliths; and (4) the incorporation of artistic effects using dyes and laser etching to prepare glazing units with mosaic- or stained-glass-like patterns in which surface imperfections are perceived as features of the design rather than flaws. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

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12 pages, 4784 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Vegetal Fiber Additives in Mortars: Experimental Characterization of Thermal and Acoustic Properties

by Chiara Quintaliani, Francesca Merli, Costanza Vittoria Fiorini, Marco Corradi, Emanuela Speranzini and Cinzia Buratti

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14031260 - 23 Jan 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2798

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of adding vegetal fibers on thermal and acoustic performance based on natural hydraulic lime. Mortar samples with 10% weight of vegetal fibers were fabricated adding water to obtain easily workable mortars with good consistency; their performance was compared to mortar samples without vegetal fibers. The fibers were of different types (rice husk, spelt bran, and Khorasan (turanicum) wheat chaff) and size (as-found and ground form). Thermal performance was measured with the Small Hot Box experimental apparatus. Thermal conductivity was reduced in the 1–11% range (with Khorasan wheat chaff and rice husk); no significant reduction was found with spelled bran in the mixture. When ground, fibers were characterized by both good thermal and acoustic absorption performance; a reduction of 6–22% in thermal conductivity λ was achieved with spelled bran (λ = 0.64 W/mK) and rice husks (λ = 0.53 W/mK), whereas the Khorasan wheat chaff had the highest sound absorption average index (0.38). However, the addition of fibers reduced sound insulation properties due to their low weight densities. This reduction was limited for rice husks (transmission loss value was only 2 dB lower than the reference). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

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20 pages, 5335 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of an Innovative Solution for the Interruption of 3-D Point Thermal Bridges in Buildings on Sustainability

by Rastislav Ingeli, Jozef Gašparík and Lucia Paulovičová

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11561; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132111561 - 20 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1533

Abstract

During the design of the external cladding, it is possible to use different materials and compositions. One of these possibilities is also a ventilated facade, which consists of a supporting structure, a thermal insulation, a supporting grid, an air gap for ventilation and a cladding layer. The construction of the supporting grid in the ventilated facade must be mechanically anchored into the supporting structure of the external cladding. This mechanical anchoring causes 3-D point thermal bridges in the external cladding itself. Therefore, the aim of this work is to assess and analyze the influence of these 3-D point thermal bridges on transmission heat losses through the external cladding. A Finite Element Mesh analysis has been used for this analysis. Different types of external cladding compositions were modeled in the simulation program, and the effect on the heat transfer coefficient was determined. In addition to the analysis of the existing anchoring systems, an innovative solution has been suggested that is more economical and easier to implement. The results show that the application of anchors and their number impacts significantly on the thermal properties of the envelope. The difference between the anchoring element with a thermal insulation pad and the patented method is minimal. This is a 1.29% difference. The last variant was a proposal (patent) that the anchoring element is only plastic-coated and thus its thermal engineering properties are improved, which is manifested mainly in heat conduction but also from the radiant point of view, as plasticizing the emissivity changes. Compared to the perimeter cladding without the ap-plication of an anchoring element, the heat loss increases by 29.37%. In addition to the energy savings, there are also financial savings. While the plastic pads costs about EUR 0.3, the plastic coating (patent) represents a price of around EUR 0.03. If we had a building with 10,000 m² of wall area where 6 pieces of anchors per 1 m² are applied, the savings would be EUR 16,200. Such savings are already significant. The conclusion of this work is that these point thermal bridges have a significant impact on the overall transmission heat loss coefficient and therefore they have overall heat demand and energy demand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

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Graphical abstract

27 pages, 6358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness of a Cool Bed Linen for Thermal Comfort and Sleep Quality in Air-Conditioned Bedroom under Hot-Humid Climate

by Sheikh Ahmad Zaki, Mohamad Faizal Rosli, Hom Bahadur Rijal, Farah Nurhanis Hassan Sadzli, Aya Hagishima and Fitri Yakub

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9099; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169099 - 13 Aug 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3739

Abstract

Comfort temperature and sleep quality involving 20 participants were determined in two cases: Case A (arbitrary, controlled air-conditioner setting) and Case B (adjustment of 3 °C higher than the setting of Case A with cool bed linen). Data of indoor thermal comfort and electricity consumption were collected every night throughout the measurement period. Questionnaires on thermal comfort and sleep quality were distributed twice a night for a duration of three nights for each case; the first night was for respondents’ adaptation and the following two nights were for measurement. The sleep quality of the respondents was objectively measured using a commercially available activity tracker. Results found that most respondents were thermally comfortable in both cases, with 39% lower energy consumption reported for Case B compared to Case A. The thermal conditions of Case B were found to be more tolerable than those of Case A. Most respondents reported to have a calm and satisfied sleep for both cases. Comfort temperature and Sleep Efficiency Index (SEI) were found to be maintained in both cases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Thermal and Noise Insulation of Buildings)

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