Two-Dimensional Modeling of Heat Transfers in a Ventilated Test Cell Built with Various Local Materials

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to find a material that attenuates heat transfer and provides an acceptable indoor environment in the habitat of countries with a hot and dry climate like Burkina Faso. The absence of thermal regulations in Burkina Faso leads to the development of buildings constructed with materials that do not provide thermal comfort. This study therefore aims to compare the thermal performance of local materials such as BLT, BTC, concrete block and adobe in order to propose a material adapted to the hot climate. In this work, a modelling and simulation is conducted with the COMSOL software. The modelling is done on a building of dimensions 4m×3m×3m, built successively with cut laterite block (BLT), compressed earth block (BTC), hollow concrete block, and adobe. As for the simulation, it concerns the evolution of the internal and external temperature of the building. The heat flows on the Northern and Southern sides are neglected due to the overhang of the roof. The results obtained show that the cell built with BTC allows a 4°C reduction, the one built with BLT a 2°C reduction and the one built with adobe a 1.5°C gain compared to the one built with concrete block. Thus, the material that best meets the criteria is BTC.