Characterization and analysis of the aging effects of cool concrete tiles for Brazil and Italy

• Grant number: 24/01149-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal Investigator: Kelen Almeida Dornelles
• Grantee: Wellington Souza Silva
• Supervisor: Anna Laura Pisello
• Host Institution: Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Carlos (IAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/09123-7 - Development and thermoenergetic performance assessment of cool concrete tiles for roofing buildings in Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

Much of the national research on cool materials analyzes the thermal and optical properties (mainly solar reflectance) of coatings from the market, leading to a lack of studies on the development of reflective materials, especially tiles. PhD research (FAPESP Grant #2022/09123-7) associated with this Research Internship Abroad (BEPE-DR) aim to fill that gap by producing and assessing a cool concrete tile containing reflective pigments (e.g., titanium dioxide) and/or reflective materials (e.g., limestone filler) for Brazil. The objective of the BEPE-DR proposal is the characterization of the tile´s thermal and optical properties for Brazilian and Italian climatic conditions and their aging effect on those properties. A 10-month Research Internship abroad will be held at the Environmental Applied Physics Laboratory of University of Perugia (Italy), whose staff and infrastructure facilities are aligned with both development and assessment of innovative materials for the built environment. Characterization tests will include spectral reflectance, thermal emittance, surface temperature, color parameters, roughness, thermal conductivity, thermal performance for simulated climatic conditions of Brazil and Italy, natural aging campaign, and accelerated aging tests. The data collected will support the next steps of the PhD research (i.e., thermoenergetic performance and economic analysis) and academic gains are expected (e.g., networking with international researchers). Workshops will be developed after BEPE-DR for disseminating and transferring the knowledge acquired and the findings will be published in scientific papers. Although focused on concrete tiles, the results are expected to be expanded to other cementitious materials (e.g., façade mortars, concrete blocks), since concrete tiles are made up of cement, aggregates, water, and additives.