Energy and Economic Impact on the Application of Low-Cost Lightweight Materials in Economic Housing Located in Dry Climates

Abstract

The building sector is considered a key area for sustainable development, due to the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the numerous economic activities that this sector involves. A low-cost lightweight cementitious composite consisting in perlite mortar was fabricated and evaluated. The thermal conductivity and heat capacity of the proposed composite were tested in the laboratory. The lightweight composite was integrated into a prototypical house and its thermal performance was tested for two different arid climates during a typical meteorological year. A techno-economic analysis of this integration was carried out, which showed the lightweight system integration could reduce the energy demand up to 10.3% due to the decreased use of heating and cooling systems. The CO2 emissions associated with electricity and gas use on cooling and heating systems could be reduced up to 10.9%.

Design and Application of Cellular Concrete on a Mexican Residential Building and Its Influence on Energy Savings in Hot Climates: Projections to 2050

“…The sand was studied using granulometric analysis to determine its properties according to the standard NMX-C-077-ONNCCE-1997 [61]. These analyses showed that the sand has a density of 2560 kg/m 3 and an absorption percentage of 1.5%, a contamination percentage of 5.8%, a fineness modulus of 2.8, and 4.5% loss on washing [62]. The recommended foam density to achieve good mix stability is approximately 60 kg/m 3 .…”

“…Conventional laboratory equipment and tools such as a mixer, molds for samples, basic tools, and test equipment to obtain the mortar characteristics in a fresh state were used for the manufacture and tests of the samples. Initially, the control mixture was fabricated with natural cement-sand mortar in a 1:4 ratio, according to the dosages presented in [62].…”

“…Case 3 represents a highly lightweight filler cellular material. In all cases, the house is constructed with a lightened slab composed of white waterproofing, concrete, lightened slab, and gypsum plaster, with an R-value of 0.8 [62]. Table 2 shows a summary of the performance in the radiation, the average and maximum temperatures for the periods considered.…”

“…Case 3 represents a highly lightweight filler cellular material. In all cases, the house is constructed with a lightened slab composed of white waterproofing, concrete, lightened slab, and gypsum plaster, with an R-value of 0.8 [62]. 3.…”

Fracture Characteristics and Analysis in Dissimilar Cu-Al Alloy Joints Formed via Electromagnetic Pulse Welding

“…In recent years, vehicle lightweighting has played a key part in energy saving and environment protection in the transportation industry [1,2,3,4]. Aluminum alloys, as an important type of lightweight material, have become increasingly popular due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, good formability, machinability and recyclability [5].…”