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Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499

International Conference on Sustainable Synergies from Buildings to the Urban Scale, SBE16

Numerical Analysis and Modelling of Heat Transfer Processes

through Perforated Clay Brick Masonry Walls
G. Kanellopoulosa, V.G. Koutsomarkosa, K.J. Kontoleona,*, K. Georgiadis-Filikasa
a
Laboratory of Building Construction & Building Physics (LBCP), Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (A.U.Th.), Thessaloniki, Gr-54124, Greece

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyse the thermal behaviour of walls corresponding to perforated clay brick masonry layers. The
complexity of this work relies on the effect of all heat transfer mechanisms simultaneously; therefore, apart from conduction
through the solid material, the propagation of heat depends on convection and radiation mechanisms in the region of the air
cavities (pattern of small holes). Evidently, the geometry of perforated bricks and mortar joints of the brickwork, as well as the
thermophysical properties of building materials, can modify significantly the evolution of the heat wave under specific boundary
conditions at both external/internal sides of the examined layer (ambience). Furthermore, the dynamics of the actual heat flow are
affected by the values of thermal-emissivity at the exposed surfaces of the brick holes. In this study, several of these issues are
analysed in order to expose their influence on the thermal response of perforated clay brick masonry walls. The transient thermal
analysis was carried out by employing the finite element method and by adopting a well-known CFD program focused on heat
transfer processes. Secondly, the investigation has been extended to determine the corresponding thermophysical properties of an
analogous solid layer (same thickness) that can produce an equivalent heat wave excitation at its interior surface. The resulting
values can be useful to promote the building design and diminish the uncertainties regarding the heat flows through building
envelopes; besides, assessing precisely the thermal behaviour of building configurations is essential, since the calculation of
energy requirements through buildings has become of increasing importance lately.
© 2017The
© 2017 TheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier B.V.B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16.
Keywords: Transient thermal analysis; numerical simulation; masonry (brickwork layer); perforated clay bricks; thermal-emissivity coefficient.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +30-2310-995772; fax: +30-2310-995772.

E-mail address: kontoleon@civil.auth.gr

1878-0296 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of SBE16.
doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2017.03.112
 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499 493

Nomenclature

A, d surface area [m2] and layer thickness [m]

λ thermal conductivity, heat transfer coefficient due to conduction [W/(m·K)]
ρ bulk density [kg/m3]
Cp specific heat capacity at constant pressure [MJ/(kg·K)]
ρ·Cp volumetric heat capacity [J/(m3·K)]
σ the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, where σ = 5.6703 10-8 [W/(m2·K4)]
ε thermal-emissivity coefficient [-]
h e, h i exterior and interior surface heat transfer coefficients due to combined convection and radiation [W/m2∙K]
T temperature [oC]
t, Δt elapsed time [s] and time step [s]
ω angular frequency, rotational velocity [rad/s]
v, P ordinary frequency [cycles/s] and day period, where P = 86400 [s]
u the fluid velocity field
QG the heat source [W]
q heat transfer per unit time, defined by the selected time step [W]
I the total arriving radiative heat flux, entitled as irradiation [W]
n the normal vector of a boundary

1. Introduction

The adoption of energy conscious design with regard to the use of building materials, has lately acquired a
significant acknowledgment. To preserve an adequate indoor environment for the inhabitants of buildings, a serious
consideration should be given to issues that concern the thermal properties of building materials. Evidently, the use
of solid elements leads to a straightforward way to assess the exact thermal response of building elements, since
conduction is the dominant heat transfer mechanism. On the other hand, the thermal analysis of building assemblies
that consist of air cavities, such as masonry walls (i.e. cavity walls, perforated brick masonry walls et al.), involves
convection and radiation within the region of air gaps, apart from conduction through the solid parts of the examined
structure. Considering heat transfer processes through the air cavities is necessary to determine accurately the
thermal behaviour of building elements, when exposed to dynamic environmental conditions; resolving these
problems involves the use of reliable computational fluid dynamics models. This approach has the advantage that it
is a purely numerical approach independent of experimental efforts; but to be done precisely it can be somewhat
computationally demanding due to the time-consuming tuning processes that ensure the success of the algorithms
(calculation of non-linear parameters). As a result, in most cases these models are ignored and rational assumptions
are considered to assess the effect of air cavities.
Several studies dealing with heat transfer through air cavities have been reported over the last years; in particular,
there are many numerical studies dealing with the thermal resistances of air in cavity walls and their effect on the
propagation of heat. For instance, in an earlier study1 the optimum thickness in cavity walls has been determined
under steady conditions; the heat transfer has been calculated according to ISO 15099:2003, while the thermal-
emissivity of the closed air cavities has been taken into account. In another study2, the heat transfer in the vertical
direction of a hollow brick masonry has been studied by means of a CFD analysis. Furthermore, in a numerical
analysis3 a CFD model was developed to study the thermal performance of hollow autoclaved aerated concrete
blocks in wall constructions of buildings under hot summer conditions. The main goal of this study was to determine
the size and distribution of cavities that reduce heat flow through the walls and thereby lead to energy savings. In a
recent study4, the evaluation of the thermal performance of hollow clay bricks and blocks with low emissivity on the
internal cavity surfaces has been examined. The numerical analysis was conducted to assess the rise in the thermal
resistance provided by low-ε coatings on the void surfaces of brick. Results have shown how coating the internal
494 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499

surface of the cavity provides a reduction in the thermal conductivity of the block (between 26% and 45%, for a
surface emissivity of 0.10).
In this study special attention is given to perforated clay brick masonry walls, which are a common practice for
buildings across Europe. The thermal analysis is carried out for masonry walls with a specific geometry (perforated
bricks and mortar joints of the brickwork), while the thermophysical properties of the building materials are assumed
to be fixed (representative values). In addition, varying values of the thermal-emissivity have been considered to
assess the effect of long-wave radiation between the cavity sides of the brick holes. To this effect, computer results
are provided for brickworks with a thermal-emissivity varying from 0 to 1 (in steps of 0.25). The dynamic thermal
analysis is carried out by employing the finite element method and by adopting a state-of-the-art CFD simulation
software aiming to resolve thermal problems. Based on the above characteristics of the masonry wall and by
assuming specific environmental conditions (forcing functions) at both sides of the wall, it is possible to determine
the temperature profiles at the interior surface of the wall at each time point. These temperature profiles are
necessary to estimate the heat exchanges through the wall configuration (heat flows). However, this approach can be
computationally demanding and time-consuming since the model is very complex. To overcome any inconvenience
that can be apprehended by using such models it is possible to determine the corresponding thermophysical
properties of an equivalent homogenous solid layer (having the same thickness with the actual brickwork) that leads
to an identical temperature footprint at its interior surface. The designation of this new layer can be extremely
valuable to delineate precisely the thermal performance of building envelopes by employing a one-dimensional
thermal model instead of using the previous multifaceted model; in fact, convection and radiation are ignored by this
lumped model, while transverse heat flows are negligible.

2. Transient thermal analysis

An essential part of an efficient building design is the determination of the thermal response of the components
that constitute the building envelope. The evolution of a heat wave from one side to another of a homogenous solid
layer (one-dimensional heat flow) is depicted in Fig. 1. As it can be seen, the forcing functions at both sides of this
layer can affect the temperature variations at each point in the x-axis of the assumed structure. The fundamentals of
this transient process in the time domain rely on the geometrical characteristics and thermophysical properties of the
material layer (d, λ, ρ and Cp). The above mentioned attributes define the thermal resistance and capacitance of this
heat flow; in this instance, the transfer of heat through the layer corresponds to conduction, while the thermal mass
causes a time shift of the resulted temperature variations (time delay due to heat storage procedures and thermal
inertia).

Fig. 1. Evolution of heat wave through a homogenous solid layer in the x-axis.

The heat flow rate in the x direction for a homogenous solid layer of thickness d is subject to Fourier’s law. More
specifically, the heat conduction governing equation at each point of the layer in the time domain is described by5-6:
 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499 495

w 2T wT
O˜ U ˜ Cp ˜ (1)
wx 2 wt

In order to resolve Eq. (1), an initial condition and two boundary conditions are required. As an initial condition,
the steady-state solution of the problem at t = 0 s can be considered. Furthermore, on both sides of a wall, Newton’s
law defines the boundary conditions due to combined convection and radiation. These boundary conditions at the
exterior and interior surfaces of a layer are respectively5-6:

wT (0, t )
O˜ he ˜ (Te  Tse ) (2)
wx

wT (d , t )
O˜ hi ˜ (Tsi  Ti ) (3)
wx

where he and hi are the heat transfer coefficient at the exterior and interior surfaces, Tse (x = 0) and Tsi (x = d) are the
temperatures at the exterior and interior surfaces and Te and Ti are the temperature conditions at the outdoor and
indoor environment, respectively. In this study the combined heat transfer coefficient values7,8 at the exterior and
interior surfaces are assumed to be he = 16.67 W/(m2∙K) and hi = 8.33 W/(m2∙K).
As it is clear, the process by which heat transfer takes place within a solid material layer is conduction, while at
both boundaries combined convection and radiation appears. However, for non-solid layers (layers that consist of air
cavities) under the influence of varying environmental conditions, the heat transfer processes are quite more
complex. Therefore, embedded air cavities within the layer affect significantly the propagation of the heat wave
through their volume (apart from the thermophysical properties of the solid and fluid sections). It is a given fact that
the actual processes by which heat transfer takes place within a layer with air cavities are:

x Heat flow due to conduction through the solid sections of the layer.
x Laminar natural convective heat flow within the air cavities of the layer.
x Long-wave radiation heat transmission between the sides forming the air cavities of the layer.

In the following subsections the brickwork layers under study, the imposed environmental conditions, the
analytical background of heat transfer processes through the layers and the formulation of the numerical problem
(modelling and transient thermal analysis), are specified.

2.1. – Geometry and thermophysical properties of analysed brickwork layers

In general, masonry walls provide an energy-saving benefit since they can absorb energy progressively and retain
it for much longer periods of time than other less massive materials. Thermal mass is valuable in improving building
comfort under extensive daily temperature fluctuations in an annual basis. Therefore, massive walls attenuate indoor
temperature fluctuations and cause a delay of the appearing temperature peaks; they can also shift heat flows at
periods of the day when utility rates are lower.
The building assemblies analysed in this study correspond to perforated clay brick masonry walls that are mostly
used as the “heavy” elements in vertical building envelope components (commonplace regarding the construction of
buildings across Europe). It has to be mentioned that the actual thermal performance of a non-solid layer depends
principally by the geometry of its cross-sectional area A (shape for internal voids in the x-y plane). Therefore, the
current investigation takes into account the exact geometry of the non-insulated brickwork layer.
In Fig. 2(a) and (b) the dimensions of the perforated clay brick are specified; thus, it is a brick of common
dimensions 250 mm x 140 mm x 330 mm suitable for covering the building envelope (vertical surfaces of building
shell). As it can be seen, its pattern of holes’ geometry is designed to be relatively complicated, in order to diminish
the effect of the heat flows (thermal buffering zone against the heat wave propagation). Furthermore, in Fig. 2(c) the
496 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499

studied masonry layers are clarified; the brickwork arrangements consist of the perforated clay bricks and the joints’
cement mortar (approximately 10 mm thick). The thermophysical properties9 of the involved materials (clay brick
and cement mortar) and air within the distinct arrangement of internal holes (air cavities) are specified in Table 1.
Aiming to determine the impact of radiation within the holes of the brickwork layer different values of the thermal-
emissivity of the closed air cavities have been assumed. To this effect, the thermal-emissivity coefficient ε is
considered to be varying from 0 to 1, in steps of 0.25. Evidently, the outcomes of this study can be useful to modify
the design of perforated clay bricks based on their thermal behaviour under specific environmental constraints.

250 mm

140 mm
140 mm

10 mm
140 mm
330 mm

10 mm
(a)

140 mm
34.7 [mm]
8
10 34.7

250 mm
(b) 26 8 26 10 [mm] (c)

Fig. 2. (a) Perforated clay brick of this analysis, (b) cross section of perforated clay brick and (c) cross section of brickwork layer.

Table 1. Thermophysical properties of brickwork layer.

Thermophysical property Clay brick Cement mortar Air
Thermal conductivity λ [W/(m·K)] 0.78 1.40 0.02551
Bulk density ρ [kg/m3] 1900 1900 1.184
Specific heat capacity Cp [J/(kg·K)] 1000 1100 1007
Thermal-emissivity coefficient ε [-] varying value 0.89 -

2.2. Environmental conditions at the boundaries of the brickwork layers

The acting forcing functions (environmental conditions) at both outdoor and indoor boundaries of the brickwork
layers are specified in Fig. 3. As shown in this graph the outdoor ambient temperature Te is suitably assumed to
present a sinusoidal periodic variation (inner periodic boundary condition). These conditions are representative for
 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499 497

building assemblies exposed to periodic cold conditions (winter profile in the southern Mediterranean region); more
specifically, the temperatures are assumed to vary from Te,min = 0 oC to Te,max = 10 oC by following a sinusoidal
fluctuation5-8. Thus, the periodic excitation is defined by the following equation:

(Te , m ax  Te , m in ) S
Te Te, mean  ˜ sin(Z ˜ t  ) (4)
2 2

with ω = 2·π·v the angular frequency (where ν = 1 / P = 1 / 86400 s) and Tmean the mean temperature (Tmean = Tmin +
(Tmax - Tmin) / 2). On the other hand, the indoor temperature Ti is presumed to be steady in the time domain (outer
normal boundary condition); its value is taken 25 oC, which refers to a typical condition for the indoor environment.

Fig. 3. Temperature variations at the outdoor and indoor environment of the examined brickwork layers.

2.3. Heat transfer processes through the brickwork layers and numerical formulation of the problem

As depicted in Fig. 4(a), the actual processes by which heat transfer takes place through the considered masonry
layers are conduction, convection and radiation; as far as the brickwork setup is concerned, it is apparent that three
rows of bricks are assumed to be modelled and analysed (geometry of transient thermal analysis).
In this study, the analytical equations that are used by the CFD simulation program (FEM method, Fig. 4(b)) to
resolve this dynamic problem are as follows.

x Regarding the heat transfer mechanism due to conduction through the solid sections of the brickwork layer it is:

wT
U ˜ Cp ˜  U ˜ C p ˜ u ˜ ’T ’ ˜ (O ˜ ’T )  QG (5)
wt

x As regards the heat transfer mechanism through the air cavities of the brickwork layer, both laminar natural
convection and long-wave radiation (amongst each cavity’s surfaces), appear. In this region a complete model
should couple laminar natural convective heat flow with long-wave radiation between the cavity surfaces
(conjugate modelling approach). However, the effect of convection in the air cavities of the brick holes,
compared to radiation, was shown to be negligible, since the air (fluid) was almost still. In view of that,
convection in the air cavities was excluded from the final model; such an approach, that can adequately lower the
computational resource demands, is also adopted in similar works 10 and the references quoted therein. Thus, it is:

q H ˜ (I  V ˜T 4 ) (6)
498 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499

x Besides, at the external and internal sides of the brickwork layers the performing constraints (boundary
conditions), due to combined convective and radiative heat flux, are derived by:

 n ˜ (O ˜ ’T ) he ˜ (Te  Tse ) and  n ˜ ( O ˜ ’T ) hi ˜ (Tsi  Ti ) (7)

It is essential to point out that for the purpose of eliminating the initial effect of the transient heat processes the
analysis is pre-conducted for a period of 5-days, after which a steady periodic-state is utterly attained. Furthermore,
the time step for the thermal analyses was assumed to be at least Δt = 300 s.

Conduction

Conduction

Convection + Radiation

Convection + Radiation

(a) (b)

Fig. 4. (a) Heat transfer processes through the brickwork layer and (b) geometry of quadrilateral finite elements defining the problem formulation
(modelling and numerical analysis of the assumed transient thermal approach).

3. Results

Based on the earlier mentioned problem formulation it is possible to carry out thermal analyses for the assumed
brickwork layers, in aspect of their thermal-emissivity coefficient ε (from 0 to 1 in steps of 0.25). Initially, this study
aims to determine the evolution of temperatures at the internal side of the layers (average values at the interior
surface of the layers), since their values delineate the overall heat flows through the masonry; due to the complexity
of the dominant heat transfer processes this approach is exceedingly computationally demanding and time-
consuming.
To overcome this difficulty, the effort of this work concerns the definition of analogous homogenous solid layers
(with a same thickness of 250 mm) that results to an equivalent thermal response (identical temperature footprint
under the same environmental excitation forcing functions described previously). In order to assess the proper
thermophysical properties (thermal conductivity λ and volumetric heat capacity ρ·Cp) of the corresponding layers a
one-dimensional thermal model is utilized, instead of employing the complex model (exact brickwork layer
configuration). To determine these values, several successive trial simulations are carried out to diminish the error
(deviations regarding the actual temperature footprint); these equivalent values of λ and ρ·Cp, in relationship with
the thermal-emissivity coefficient ε, are illustrated in Fig. 5(a) and (b), respectively.
 G. Kanellopoulos et al. / Procedia Environmental Sciences 38 (2017) 492 – 499 499

Fig. 5 Relationship between thermal conductivity λ (a) and volumetric heat capacity ρ·Cp (b), with thermal-emissivity coefficient ε.

As illustrated in Fig. 5(a) an increase of the thermal emissivity coefficient ε leads to deterioration of the
equivalent thermal conductivity values λ. Thus, an increase on λ values from 0.30 to 0.43 is shown. On the other
hand, the interrelation of the equivalent volumetric capacity ρ·Cp with the thermal emissivity coefficient ε is
revealed in Fig 5(b). As seen the trend of variation is more complex. Thus, the ρ·Cp values have shown to increase
initially for values of ε up to 0.50; furthermore, the ρ·Cp values have shown to increase for a second time after an
initial decrease.

4. Conclusions

In this work a rational methodology to determine precisely the dynamic thermal response of perforated clay brick
masonry walls was presented. As it was stated, the effect of heat transfer due to convection, within the region of the
perforated clay bricks air cavities, is negligible compared to radiation. Accordingly, the assumed model to define the
thermal behaviour of masonry can ignore this mechanism with an acceptable accuracy; this trend agrees with those
reported in similar studies. Therefore, the impact of radiation for this type of layers is fundamental; evidently,
considering the thermal emissivity coefficient is essential for problems involving air cavities. A further analysis was
carried out to assess the relationship between thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity with emissivity, on
behalf of equivalent solid layers that emulate the thermal processes through actual brickwork layers.

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