This page describes the concrete block part of the two-part heat store described in A two-part heat store with large heat-transfer surface area, large thermal mass, and low resistance to air flow [1]
I spent some time with a CAD program searching for a suitable design for a thermal mass constructed from common concrete building blocks. The thermal mass needed to be highly permeable to air flow vertically and horizontally in any north-south vertical plane, and needed to have a large air-concrete surface area per block. This note presents the best tradeoff I could find between permeability, a large air-concrete surface area, and stability. The block stack described here has an average air-concrete surface area of 3.46 ft2 per 8"x8"x16" concrete block. I found one stacking method that produced 4.5 ft2 per block, but it looked too unstable.
Warning: I am neither a professional engineer, nor do I have professional training in the design of structures. Use this design only after you have consulted a professional engineer about its safety and conformity with your local building code.
A thermal mass having any amount of surface area for heat transfer can be constructed from any suitable material simply by using enough pieces of the material and arranging them in space so that air can circulate around them. The difficulty is to get the required surface area without using too much mass or space, or paying too much for containers and supporting structures. Big pieces of material have a smaller surface area per unit of mass than small pieces. A thermal mass constructed with big pieces of material will require more mass of the material to achieve a given surface area than a thermal mass constructed with small pieces of the material. As pieces of material accumulate, it is usual to get to the needed thermal mass long before getting to the needed heat transfer surface area, unless quite small pieces of material are used.
Although a concrete building block has a much smaller ratio of surface area to mass than a small stone, a concrete block stack has the advantage over a bin of small stones that it provides its own supporting structure. It may be enclosed by insulated walls that need to support no more than themselves and the roof of the enclosure. A bin of stones needs strong walls.
If a stratified heat store is needed, the thermal mass has to admit air easily through at least one of its vertical sides. For my purposes, both the north and south sides have to be highly permeable. The requirement for permeable sides complicates the design of a bin of stones. By comparison, a concrete block stack can easily be made permeable to both horizontal and vertical air movement.
The construction of a concrete block stack uses material handling procedures that are familiar to all builders. Very few builders are familiar with the construction of stone bins.
The thermal mass described here consists mainly of an extremely common concrete building block, the 8"x8"x16" two core stretcher block. (The holes in a concrete building block are called "cores"). Blocks weighing 32 pounds each are assumed here. Less dense, lighter, blocks of the same dimensions are available. They are less desirable for this application. The supplier may deliver light blocks unless the 32 pound weight is specified. Heavier blocks may be available, and may be more desirable if they have the same surface area, and depending on their cost.
Analysis of air-concrete surface area.
A specific design might use one or several stacks like the one described here, or the stacking method described here might be adapted to produce stacks of other sizes.
For the context of this work see references [1], [2],[3], and [4].
[1]
A two-part heat store with large heat-transfer surface area, large
thermal
mass, and low resistance to air flow
http://geocities.com/davidmdelaney/thermal-mass/two-part-heat-store.html
[2] Solar
thermal energy for housing
[3] Thermal
mass of drums of water on top of a stack of concrete blocks
[4] Organizing
the air flow between a thermosyphon solar air heater and a thermal mass
located above it,
http://geocities.com/davidmdelaney/flow-organiser/flow-organiser.html
