Experts from Ural Federal University, working with colleagues from Liaoning University of Technology in China, have developed a new generation of composite bricks. This innovative technology can reduce indoor heat loss by 15% to 25% compared to traditional bricks.
The authors created two hollow brick models: one filled with a phase-change composite material (PCM) and the other unfilled. The filler, hexadecane (paraffin wax), effectively absorbs and releases heat.
In hot climates, incorporating the PCM into walls can increase thermal capacity by 35%. Tests in cold climates showed that the temperature difference between the interior and exterior surfaces of the new bricks was nearly 6°C greater than that of traditional bricks.
Composite bricks are more expensive than traditional bricks. In the laboratory, the cost per brick increased by $0.50, and in industrial production, by $0.20 to $0.30. Interestingly, these bricks have already been used in experimental buildings in China, Japan, and Algeria.
