Flowmetric thermal conductivity meters: a prospective study

Abstract

This article addresses the need to reassess the built environment in the face of changes caused by global warming, emphasizing the importance of adopting building materials that improve thermal performance and adapt to local bioclimatic conditions. However, in Brazil, the lack of tests to determine the thermal properties of building materials is a limitation due to the high cost and scarcity of equipment available in private laboratories and universities. This results in inaccurate assessments, using normative values that do not adequately represent the actual thermal behavior of materials. The aim of this study is to investigate the development of thermal conductivity meters based on the flowmetric method, a simpler and more economical alternative compared to the traditional protected hot plate method, used to measure the thermal conductivity of materials. The methodology employed involved a systematic review and search for previous patents, analyzing 20 scientific publications and 70 patent deposits. The results indicated that three scientific publications addressed the development of thermal conductivity meters based on the flowmetric method, obtaining satisfactory results in terms of measurement accuracy. Additionally, two patents related to functional improvements in a flowmetric thermal conductivity meter. It is concluded that the development of equipment aimed at measuring thermal properties, especially those based on the flowmetric method, has a high potential for contributing to scientific studies on the thermal performance of building materials. This area is considered technologically relevant and is on the rise. Therefore, investing in research and development of such equipment can be an important strategy to improve the thermal efficiency of buildings and contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming.