Synthesis of Ceramic Foams, Development of Insulating Panels, and Energy Performance Evaluation for Social Housing Using Thermal Simulation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The growing energy demand in the residential sector, driven by the extensive use of air conditioning systems, poses serious environmental and economic challenges. A sustainable alternative is the use of efficient insulating materials derived from waste resources. This study presents the synthesis of glass–ceramic foams produced from recycled glass (90 wt%), pumice (5 wt%), and limestone (5 wt%), sintered at 800 °C for 10 min. The resulting foams exhibited a low apparent density of 684 kg/m3 and thermal conductivity of 0.09 W/m·K. These were incorporated into composite insulating panels composed of 70 wt% ceramic pellets and 30 wt% Portland cement, achieving a thermal conductivity of 0.18 W/m·K. The panels were evaluated in a 64.8 m2 social housing model located in Chihuahua, Mexico, using TRNSYS v.17 to simulate annual energy performance. Results showed that applying a 1.5-inch ceramic foam panel reduced the annual energy demand by 16.9% and the total energy cost by 14.7%, while increasing the panel thickness to 2 in improved savings to 18.4%. Compared with expanded polystyrene (EPS), which achieved 24.9% savings, the proposed ceramic panels offer advantages in fire resistance, durability, local availability, and environmental sustainability. This work demonstrates an effective, low-cost, and circular-economy-based solution for improving thermal comfort and energy efficiency in social housing.
Source: Ceramics
Authors: Nahyr Michelle Tercero-González, Daniel Lardizábal-Gutiérrez, Jorge Escobedo-Bretado, Ivan Vásquez-Duarte, Ricardo Beltran-Chacon, Caleb Carreño-Gallardo
Institution: Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
OpenAlex ID: W7114803264