Patent Application
20150129184
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building materials, and particularly to a thermal control insert for hollow blocks and a thermal resistant hollow block.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain regions of the world experience high temperatures that can exceed comfort levels for habitability. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf states can experience high ambient temperatures throughout the year. In these countries it can often be necessary for extensive use of air conditioning systems to maintain thermal comfort in buildings. For example, in Saudi Arabia, it is estimated that at least about 70% of the energy available for buildings is consumed by air conditioning alone. The rate of external heat penetrating into buildings, which is the main component of thermal load, can depend on a number of factors, such as the thermal resistance of the building materials.
External heat from an outside environment can penetrate into interiors of buildings in a number of ways. The external heat can penetrate by thermal processes such as conduction through solid joints in the building frame and by convection in the air filled cavities of hollow blocks, such as hollow bricks and cement blocks. The thermal performance and resistance of hollow blocks can depend on a number of factors, such as the number of cavities and the arrangement of the cavities in the hollow blocks, for example. Convection can allow for external heat to enter into the interior of the building because particles of fluid, such as air, located in the cavities can begin to move freely when heated, which can increase the kinetic energy of the fluid. As kinetic energy increases, the thermal resistance of the brick can decrease, thereby typically increasing the amount of heat entering into the interior of the building. Thus, temperature control inside the interior of the building can become harder to maintain, which can result in greater consumption of energy, such as to cool the building.
Current approaches to increase the thermal resistance of hollow blocks include changing the number of cavities or modifying the arrangement of cavities within the hollow block. Another approach is filling in the cavities of the hollow block with a material, such as rubber or polystyrene foam. However, these approaches typically only increase the thermal resistance of the hollow block by about 20% to about 30%. Further, the second approach of filling in the cavities with a material generally does not take into consideration the air within the cavity, since the air within the cavity is usually completely displaced by the filled in material. This can be detrimental because air typically has a lower conductivity value than rubber or polystyrene foam. For example, air has a conductivity value of about one-tenth that of rubber. This means air relatively has a greater thermal resistance R-value and, therefore, can act as a better insulator from external heat. Thus, it would be beneficial for the air to remain inside the cavities to provide for increased thermal resistance.
Therefore, it is desirable for a thermal control insert to increase the thermal resistance of a hollow block and reduce the heat transfer by natural convection inside the cavities of the hollow block and for a thermal resistant block to utilize the air located within its cavities.
Thus, a thermal control insert for hollow blocks and a thermal resistant hollow block addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.
A thermal control insert for a hollow block and a thermal resistant hollow block are provided. The thermal control insert is an elongate member adapted for positioning within a cavity of the hollow block. The elongate member includes a spiral shaped pathway that forms a closed pathway which receives a heated fluid when the elongate member is positioned within the cavity of the hollow block. The heated fluid is transferred by convection through the closed pathway towards a central open area of the elongate member located at an inner end of the closed pathway. As the heated fluid accumulates within the central open area, the heated fluid will lose kinetic energy and become stagnant to provide a relatively high thermal resistance to heat transfer. The thermal resistant block includes a hollow block having at least one cavity and at least one elongate member positioned within the cavity that has a spiral shaped pathway which forms a closed pathway to receive a heated fluid.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Unless otherwise indicated, similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
Referring to
Continuing with reference to
By positioning the outer end 114 of the generally spiral shaped pathway 104 in facing relation to a heated surface Th, the fluid located within the corresponding cavity, such as a corresponding cavity 304, alongside a thermal control insert 100 is warmed by heat from the heated surface Th. As shown in
The heated fluid 118 travels upward into the generally spiral shaped pathway 104 and follows along and through a generally closed pathway 106 in conjunction with the convection currents. The generally closed pathway 106 is formed by the generally spiral shaped pathway 104. The generally closed pathway 106 extends from the outer end 114 of the generally spiral shaped passageway 104 that forms an outer end of the generally closed pathway 106 and leads to a central open area 108 at an inner end 110 of the generally closed pathway 106. The heated fluid 118 moves along the generally closed pathway 106 in a forward direction towards the central open area 108 at the inner end 110 where the heated fluid 118 is eventually stopped.
As the heated fluid 118, such as air, accumulates inside the central open area 108, the heated fluid 118 will lose its kinetic energy and become stagnant. The stagnant fluid can then act as an insulator inside the central open area 108, since the fluid, such as air, typically has a lower conductivity value, thereby increasing the thermal resistance of the hollow block, such as the hollow block 302. By adding thermal control insert 100 to one or more cavities 304 of the hollow block 302, the hollow block 302 forms the thermal resistant block 300 with an increased thermal resistance to heat.
The generally spiral shaped pathway 104 of thermal control insert 100 has a generally circular spiral shaped pathway 112 as seen in
Continuing with reference to
The generally spiral shaped pathway 204 has the outer end 214 that is positioned in facing relation to the heated surface Th. The generally spiral shaped pathway 204 forms a closed pathway 206 for a heated fluid 218 to travel in a forward direction toward a central open area 208 at an inner end 210. Once at the central open area 208, the heated fluid 218 will become stagnant and lose its kinetic energy. Unlike the thermal control insert 100, the thermal control insert 200 does not have a radius of curvature extending from its central point 216 because of its generally rectangular spiral shaped pathway 212.
By positioning the outer end 214 of the generally spiral shaped pathway 204 in facing relation to a heated surface Th, the fluid located within the corresponding cavity, such as a corresponding cavity 404, alongside a thermal control insert 200 is warmed by heat from the heated surface Th. As shown in
The heated fluid 218 travels upward into the generally spiral shaped pathway 204 and follows along and through the generally closed pathway 206. The generally closed pathway 206 is formed by the generally spiral shaped pathway 204. The generally closed pathway 206 extends from the outer end 214 of the generally spiral shaped passageway 204 that forms an outer end of the generally closed pathway 206 and leads to the central open area 208 at the inner end 210 of the generally closed pathway 206. The heated fluid 218 moves along the generally closed pathway 206 in a forward direction towards the central open area 208 at the inner end 210 where the heated fluid 218 is eventually stopped.
As the heated fluid 218, such as air, accumulates inside the central open area 208, the heated fluid 218 will lose its kinetic energy and become stagnant. The stagnant fluid can then act as an insulator inside the central open area 208, since the fluid, such as air, typically has a lower conductivity value, thereby increasing the thermal resistance of the hollow block, such as the hollow block 402. By adding thermal control insert 200 to one or more cavities 404 of the hollow block 402, the hollow block 402 forms the thermal resistant block 400 with an increased thermal resistance to heat.
The thermal control inserts 100 and 200 can be made from a number of different materials, such as paper, plastic, or metal, among others. Further, the thermal control inserts 100 and 200 can be made from a number of thermal insulating materials to provide further thermal insulation. Suitable thermal insulating materials include fiberglass or polyurethane, for example. Hollow blocks 302 and 402 of
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
