Abstract:
Thermal insulating mortars have been widely used in building facades, thus improving the thermal performance of the building envelope. However, reliable data on their long-term thermal performance is still lacking. The aim of this work is to evaluate the long-term thermal conductivity of industrially produced and experimentally designed thermal mortars with EPS, cork and silica aerogel aggregates. The long-term performance of the mortars was assessed prior, during and after exposure to three accelerated ageing tests including elevated temperature, freeze-thaw and high humidity levels. For each test, an empirical model was used to compute the acceleration factor, correlating accelerated and natural ageing. The results show that a maximum increase of thermal conductivity up to 30% can be obtained after ageing.
