sustainability & materials research week 5 - project development

Today I will be researching materials and sustainability for my project. Some materials I already thought of are double-glazing glass for all the big glass/window parts of the towers. thermal bricks for the rest of the walls that will provide extra thermal insulation, which is also an energy-saver. 

Double-glazing glass: 

Double-glazing glass is used in glass installations and is used to keep the heat and cold from transferring in or out of spaces.  It is 2 panes of glass in place in the same frame with a thin layer of air or inner gas, "argon", that separates the two. It reduces heat loss by limiting the amount of heat that can get out of a space "through conduction and convection". Heat is transferred through a material by conduction, the heat hits the glass and then it goes through the panel outside.

The origin of doubling glass started in 1870 in Scotland. It was discovered by people who stayed in extremely cold places in the winter, by adding extra layers of glass onto their windows they noticed their spaces getting a bit warmer.  

However, the current double-glazing we know was invented by C D Haven in 1930. He used two layers of glass that were the same size and thickness, again combined in one frame but at that time they needed it to have "perfect uniformity" which cost too much. That's why in 1941 Haven partnered with a company that could help him produce the product. It went into production in 1952 and now it's one of the most popular products in the market. 

Double-glazing glass offers a lot more benefits than just thermal insulation. It also provides:

Acoustic insolation by keeping most of the sounds out because of the additional materials and the "vacuum" in between the layers of glass. 

Increased Security, it adds extra security to a space with the extra layers of glass being tougher than a single glazed layer. 

Reduces built of condensation, it reduces condensation that builds up on surfaces because of the cold. Having double-glazing glass installed will create heat loss reduction which will make the inner panel not cold so the condensation is gone. 

There are a few different types of double-glazing glass that work all the same way but the materials used to create them are different. These are:

Low E glass, which means "low emissivity" glass, it is made out of a thin metal "low e" coating which is applied to one side of the glass and helps with the insulating effect. 

Float glass, which is floating molten glass on molten metal, it creates a flat finish.  

Laminated glass, is made out of 2 layers of glass but there are connected together which will remain stuck together instead of shattering into pieces if it breaks. It also provides better security. 

Toughed glass, is glass that is strengthened with "heating tempering processes" that makes the glass shatter into tiny pieces instead of big sharp pieces if it breaks.

It is an efficient material that saves energy and money too from being able to withhold from using and paying for electricity to heat the space. 

I thought of this material for my project, to use on all the big glass/window parts of the towers. It will be useful and needed since the buildings are commercial and offices, all the spaces will be the right temperature and more secure. To make it extra efficient it would be better to add two 8-millimeter layers of extra thick double-glazing glass.

Thermal bricks: 

A thermal brick is a ceramic material made out of pumice or clay created to resist high temperatures while also having a "low thermal conductivity" which helps save energy. It can be used to line furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. 

Thermal bricks are denser than normal bricks, they are manufactured the same way but a thermal brick is fired at a higher temperature. The primary material in thermal bricks is often "chamotte' with other materials and contains 30-40% alumina, increasing the alumina increases the maximum service temperature, 80% and above alumina can be secured for klin bricks. 

Because they are more dense, they can be used in applications to mechanical, chemical, or thermal pressures. It absorbs heat but it doesn't spread it out to its surrounding materials, because of its high thermal mass it can store the heat it radiates after the heat source is extinguished like in a furnace or a brick oven. 

There are high-temperature applications and lower-temperature applications, basic thermal bricks are used in steel-making furnaces and "non-ferrous metallurgical" processes to dissolve "acidic silica" bricks. Magnesium oxide, silica bricks, alumina bricks, silicon carbide, red clay bricks, and other materials are used as firebricks for lower-temperature applications. 

It is efficient since it helps save energy and it is why I was thinking of these materials as well for my project building. The thermal bricks would be installed in the perimeter walls for extra insulation. 

References: 

- Everest (2020) (online) available from: https://www.everest.co.uk/double-glazing-windows/how-does-double-glazing-work/ (accessed 8 February) 

- Fenster glazing (2021) (online) available from: https://fensterglazing.com/what-is-double-glazing-and-how-does-it-work/ (accessed 7 February) 

- Robinson (2019) (online) available from: https://www.robinsonquarry.co.uk/concrete-block-lightweight-thermal-brick.php#:~:text=Manufactured%20from%20pumice%20to%20offer,foundations%20are%20not%20always%20available. (accessed 8 February)

- Vitcas ( 2023) (online) available from: https://www.vitcas.com/refractory-fire-bricks#:~:text=A%20fire%20brick%20is%20a,thermal%20conductivity%20to%20save%20energy.