248 INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURAL SCIENCE

DATA SHEET D.1.1

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

Conductivity Density Specific heat

(W/m K) (kg/m3 ) (J/kg K)

Wall materials
Adobe blocks 1.250 2050 1000
Brickwork, outer leaf 0.840 1700 800
Brickwork, inner leaf 0.620 1700 800
Brick, sand-lime 1.080 1840 840
Brick, silica 0.890 2240 840
Concrete
cast, dense 1.400 2100 840
lightweight 0.380 1200 1000
Concrete block, heavy 1.630 2300 1000
Concrete block, medium 0.510 1400 1000
Concrete block, light 0.190 600 1000
Fibreboard (softboard) 0.060 300 1000
Fibrous cement sheet 0.360 700 1050
Fibrous cement decking 0.580 1500 1050
Glass 1.100 2500 840
Plywood 0.138 620 1300
Sand (dry) 0.300 1500 800
Stone
marble 2.000 2500 900
sandstone 1.300 2000 800
granite 2.300 2600 820
slate 1.530 2950 750
Tile hanging 0.840 1900 800
Plasterboard 0.160 950 840
Timber
softwood 0.130 610 1420
hardwood 0.150 680 1200
Wood chipboard 0.108 660 1300

Surfacing
External rendering 0.500 1300 1000
Plastering
dense 0.500 1300 1000
lightweight 0.160 600 1000
Roof & floor materials
Asphalt, bitum. felt 0.500 1700 1000
Concrete slab, dense 1.130 2000 1000
Concrete slab, aerated 0.160 500 840
Metal deck 50.000 7800 480
Sand/cement screed 0.410 1200 840
Stone chippings 0.960 1800 1000
Tiles 0.840 1900 800
Thatch (straw) 0.070 240 1420
Timber boarding 0.140 640 1200
 DATA SHEETS AND METHOD SHEETS 249

Conductivity Density Specific heat

(W/m K) (kg/m3 ) (J/kg K)

Insulating materials
Cork 0.038 144 1800
EPS (exp. polystyrene) 0.035 25 1400
Glass fibre
quilt 0.040 12 840
batt 0.035 25 1000
Mineral fibre
slab 0.035 35 1000
same, denser 0.044 150 920
Phenolic foam 0.040 30 1400
Polyurethane board 0.025 30 1400
Strawboard 0.037 250 1050
Same compr, paper faced 0.081 320 1450
Wood wool slab 0.100 500 1000
Loose fills
Perlite fill, loose 0.046 65
Cellulose fibre
fireproofed 0.039 42
same, denser 0.047 83
Vermiculite, exfoliated 0.069 128
Metals
Aluminium 236 2700 877
Copper 384 8900 380
Zinc 112 7200 390
Iron 78 7900 437
Steel, mild 47 7800 480
Stainless steel 24 7900 510
Lead 37 11300 126

Note that the above are ‘declared’ conductivity values based

on laboratory tests. Before they could be used for calculating
U-values, they should be corrected by κ factors as shown in
Section 1.1.2.1 and Table 1.2.
250 INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURAL SCIENCE

DATA SHEET D.1.2

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF SURFACES AND CAVITIES

for 6000◦ C solar radiation at 50◦ C

Absorptance Reflectance Absorptance

& emittance & emittance

Radiation properties
Brick
white, glazed 0.25 0.75 0.95
light colours 0.40 0.60 0.90
dark colours 0.80 0.20 0.90
Roofs
asphalt or bitumen 0.90 0.10 0.96
red tiles 0.65 0.35 0.85
white tiles 0.40 0.60 0.50
aluminium, oxidised 0.30 0.80 0.11
bright aluminium, chrome, nickel 0.10 0.90 0.03
bright (new) aluminium foil 0.05
Weathered building surfaces
light 0.50 0.50 0.60
medium 0.80 0.20 0.95
Paint
white 0.30 0.70 0.92
matt black 0.96 0.04 0.96
Generally reflectance = (V × V − 1)/100
where V = Munsell value of the paint
Normal surfaces Low emittance surfaces

Surface resistances (m2 K/W)

Inside
walls 0.12 0.30
ceiling, floor
heat flow up 0.10 0.22
heat flow down 0.14 0.55
45◦ ceiling
heat flow up 0.11 0.24
heat flow down 0.13 0.39
Outside
walls
sheltered 0.08 0.11
normal exposure 0.06 0.07
severe exposure 0.03 0.03
roofs
sheltered 0.07 0.09
normal exposure 0.04 0.05
severe exposure 0.02 0.02