Structural and thermal performance of low-cost house buildings in Maceió, Northeastern Brazil : analysis of construction walls made of blocks using recycled aggregates

Abstract

Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.

An important issue in Brazil nowadays is the lack of appropriate low-cost housing however, construction and demolition residues present appropriated physical and chemical properties in case of employment as construction material. With regard to the quality and performance of dwellings, this paper shows the results of structural and thermal performance evaluation of a building prototype of approximately 40m2 made of concrete blocks which were produced with recycled construction and demolition aggregates, according to government exigencies in Maceió, a tropical humid city in Northeastern Brazil. The blocks were developed in the Federal University of Alagoas Technological Research Center and made in a precast concrete factory called INDARC and their strucktural performance was analyzed after experimental tests. The bedding mortar was produced with recycled aggregates and its influence in the masonry was analyzed. The thermal performance monitoring period was summer time in Maceió. Outdoor and indoor measurements were carried out with HOBO data-loggers and superficial temperatures with infrared thermometers. Final results were compared to outdoor conditions, with regard to daily temperature swings and comfort levels. Some improvements were suggested regarding the thermal performance. Experiments indicate the application viability of that construction system in order to obtain improvement of low-cost housing politics, emphasizing the importance of aspects to be considered in building design, such as user’s well fare and comfort and energy savings. This research can also empower the production, in large scale, of low-cost and sustainable building components.