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Parametric Investigation of Three Types of Brick Bonds for Thermal

Performance in a Hot Arid Climate Zone

Conference Paper · June 2017

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Parametric Investigation of Three Types of Brick Bonds for Thermal
Performance in a Hot Arid Climate Zone

Khaled Tarabieh1, Sherif Abdelmohsen1,2, Yomna Elghazi3, Rana El-Dabaa3, Asmaa Hassan4
and Mariam Amer1

1 Building Sciences Lab, Department of Architecture, School of Sciences and Engineering,

American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt, ktarabieh@aucegypt.edu
2 Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt,

sherifmorad@eng.asu.edu.eg
3 Department of Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design, College of Engineering

and Technology, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Cairo,
Egypt, rana.bahaa@aast.edu
4 Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Future

University in Egypt, Cairo, Egypt, asmaa.gamal@fue.edu.eg

Abstract: Bricks are significant building elements that are heavily utilized, whether for structural or ornamental
purposes. Nevertheless, little has been published on the relationship between brick bonding, shape, and
extrusion, and the impact on energy performance. This paper investigates the impact of different brick bond
types and projections on building energy using a custom algorithm. This investigation was conducted in two
phases on 24 cases for a south façade. The first phase investigated three different brick bonds for their thermal
performance: Running, English and Flemish bonds. The second phase involves parametric simulations to
evaluate energy consumptions for three extrusion values [baseline “no extrusion”, ¼ brick extrusion, and ½ brick
extrusion] and four different extrusion percentages (ranging from 15% to 60%). The first phase results show no
significant differences in energy performance for the base case. The second phase results show that the
performance achieved was 26% less than the base case. This was accomplished using the Flemish bond with
either 30% wall area extruded with half brick length, or 60% bricks extruded with quarter brick length. The
preliminary findings indicate a relationship between extrusion and energy performance. Further studies should
include in-situ testing and investigation of patterns under different climatic zones.

Keywords: Brick patterns, façade design, energy simulation, parametric tools

Introduction
Bricks were historically utilized as an exterior envelope material in buildings as well as
a paving material in landscape applications. In exterior walls, bricks are often left to define
the colour of the façade in addition to its structural role in the skin. Bricks may be painted or
covered with plaster or cladding of different materials depending on the type of bricks or
façade design intent. The source of brick manufacturing can vary by mix and additives with
the intent to improve strength, aesthetic colour and look. Using bricks as an ornamental
feature of the exterior wall appears in a number of architectural styles. Little is mentioned in
the literature on the role of brick bond types, projections and ornaments and few discuss the
role of brick formations and bonds in the thermal performance of the wall. The goal of this
paper is to provide an exploratory investigation of the impact of different brick bond types
and variation in the associated brick projections on building energy use. The research
objective is to utilize parametric and thermal analysis tools to develop wall configurations
that are sensitive in their look and form to solar radiation; and thus a performance driven
design for the determination of wall design thickness and thermal mass to impact the overall
building energy use intensity.

Literature Review
To approach the research goal, we conducted a literature review in three primary
related areas: (1) Traditional Brick Properties & Patterns, (2) Performance and Energy Analysis
of Brickwork, and (3) Potentials and Limitations of Parametric Techniques in Brick Wall Design.
A number of studies discuss traditional brick properties and patterns. Among the recent
studies, Asdrubali et al. (2014) clarified the importance of material thermal flux to evaluate
the in situ thermal transmittance of a material to determine actual wall performance. Lucchi
(2017) explored the different thermal properties of brick masonry though a comparative
analysis and in situ experiment on industrial bricks used today in Italy versus historic brick
masonry. The regular measures taken simulators to examine the thermo-physical behaviour
of traditional masonries were presented. The base of the evaluation was built on conventional
research of brick masonry geometrical survey, VI, IRT, and hot-disk techniques.

Several studies evaluated the thermal performance and energy analysis of brick work in
exterior walls, but generally with traditional and static brick configurations. Rhee-Duverne
and Baker (2013) examined the experimentation procedures and modelling software used in
testing the thermal performance of various types of traditional solid brick walls. Few studies
took into consideration the different brick bonding arrangements to achieve indoor thermal
comfort. The Brick Industry Association (B.I.A., 2016) demonstrated some of the significant
parameters influencing building envelope performance, including mass, wall thickness, and
thermal resistance, and highlights the importance of modelling and simulation to conduct
thermal analysis especially for complex buildings.

Several approaches have been adopted to demonstrate the potential and limitations of
parametric techniques, mainly in the use of generative and parametric modelling in the design,
configuration, and construction of brickwork. Cavieres et al. (2011) used generative rules and
functions to inform the construction of load bearing concrete masonry during conceptual and
design development phases. The work of Al-Haddad et al. (2012) investigates the link
between the structural representation of complex brickwork and its physical construction
using parametric modelling. Gentry (2013) explored the prospects of reaching a middle
ground between brickwork design flexibility and allowing for design reasoning and material
logic exploration.

As for performance based approaches, most of the research is directed to exploring the
relation between brickwork configurations and daylighting analysis. Several techniques have
been adopted in that regard, especially using genetic algorithms. Little has been done to
explore the potential of optimizing thermal transmittance in unconventional brickwork
configurations. Genetic algorithms have been widely discussed and adopted in this context
for form generation, daylight analysis and structural performance evaluation. According to
Omidfar (2015), these approaches allow designers to examine the details of different façade
variables using shading systems with decorative patterns. Based on the previous review, a
gap in current research is evident in the exploitation of parametric and generative modelling
techniques in the reduction and optimization of thermal transmittance in typical brick wall
configurations.

Approach
The overall research approach follows the framework shown in Figure 1 in three parts; a)
Descriptive, b) Analytical using simulation software and in situ measurements, and c)
Comparative approach between simulation results and in situ measurements. The descriptive
part addresses building typology and characterization. The analytical part uses parametric
simulations and in situ measurements to identify optimum wall characteristics, and the
comparative part aims to compare between the simulation results and in situ measurements
to recommend and validate best cases and explore the impacts of promoting or optimizing a
specific bonding and projection type. The overall approach is shown in Figure 1, however, the
main scope of this paper is the investigation of the thermal performance simulation part, as
highlighted below.

Figure 1. Research Approach

Evaluation method
The evaluation method takes the form of an input-output I/O model as in Figure 2, comprised
of four steps; 1) determination of inputs, 2) thermal performance simulation, 3) performance
evaluation using analytical tools, and finally 4) tabulation of the outputs.

Figure 2. Research Methodology

Preliminary study
The research integrates energy consumption and solar radiation with solar parametric
optimization algorithms using Grasshopper and DIVA-for-Grasshopper respectively to
conduct multiple thermal simulations. Annual thermal simulations were conducted on a
residential space with different brick configurations and extrusion values. A south oriented
enclosure was modelled using Grasshopper to test the thermal performance of different brick
bonds in a hot arid climate zone. The brick wall was positioned as the southern facade. A brick
size of (20cm x 10cm x 6cm) is used in the construction of all wall types. The detailed
parameters are shown in Figure 3 and Table 1.

Figure 3: Different area percentages of extruded bricks and values of extrusion for the tested cases

A script in Grasshopper was developed to generate brick wall design variations based
on three types of brick bonds; Running, Flemish and English bonds. The three types of bonds
that represent the baseline case (zero brick extrusion) are shown in Table 2. The script
initiates a basic brick unit with a number of runs and iterations. 24 cases of different brick
wall types and different projections were simulated. The figure below shows a matrix
relationship of bond type denoting the extent of projection (quarter or half brick size) and the
percentage of wall extruded (15%, 30%, 40% or 60%). Later in the paper we will refer to a
specific selection as bond type (x brick size, y %).

Table 1. Simulation Parameters

Space Parameters
Climate Zone Hot Arid
Floor level Ground floor
Orientation South

HVAC set points

Heating set point 22° C
Cooling set point 26° C

Space thermal properties and material reflectance

External wall U-Value Custom 3-layered material: (brick, mortar & brick) with
35% reflectance

Internal walls /Ceiling /Floor Adiabatic

Table 2. Extrusion values in the three types of bonds

Procedure
The brick configurations were based on two main sets of variables: (a) area percentage of
extruded bricks, and (b) extrusion distance. Four cases were tested for the area percentage
of extruded bricks: 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% respectively. The extrusion value was represented
by two steps: ¼ brick and ½ brick extrusion, as shown in Table 3. The simulations were
conducted in two phases. First, a set of base case simulations were conducted for three
different brick wall bond types: Running Bonds, English Bonds and Flemish Bonds. Second,
the annual energy consumptions were calculated for the three extrusion values (baseline, ¼
brick and ½ brick extrusion) and the different percentage of the extruded bricks on the facade
(from 15% to 60%).

Figure 4: The comprehensive parametric definition in Grasshopper

A closed parametric loop was developed using Grasshopper and DIVA to evaluate the
thermal performance of the three brick configurations (Running, English and Flemish bonds)
with different brick extrusion values (baseline, ¼ brick and ½ brick extrusion) and different
percentages of the extruded bricks’ area from the facade (15% to 60%). A large number of
simulations was conducted to reach the optimum bond case and optimum percentage of
extruded bricks. Subsequently, an annual energy simulation was conducted for a south
oriented residential space with different brick configurations.

Output results
The results were classified into three cases: ¼ brick extrusion, ½ brick extrusion, and
base case (without any extrusion value) for each bond (Running, English and Flemish), as
shown in Table 3. The best performing types resulted from the Flemish bond configuration,
with 60% of the wall area made of (¼ brick extrusion) and with 30% of the wall area made of
(½ brick extrusion) with a lowest energy consumption of 97 kWh/m2, as highlighted in Table
3. The worst case however with the highest energy consumption rate at 133.14 KWh/m2 was
the English bond with 15% ¼ brick extrusion. Table 3 reveals that the ½ brick extrusion in the
Flemish bond achieved the best energy consumption with extrusions ranging from 15% to
60%.

This is confirmed as the highest thermal mass wall of the ½ brick extrusion Flemish bond
achieves the best energy consumption results. By looking closely at each bond type, it is
obvious that the Flemish bond case achieved are the best performing, followed by the English
and the Running bonds. The extrusion percentage seems to play a significant role in the
results of the English and the Running bonds. For example, the ¼ brick English bond results
all performed better than the Running bond, except for the 15% extrusion in the English bond.
 Table 3. Results of normalized energy use intensity (EUI) for each case in Kwh/m 2
Bond Type Percentage of wall 15% 30% 45% 60%
Extrusion of brick

Base Case 133.53

Running Bond Quarter Brick Extrusion 115.75 112.78 107.01 101.82

Half Brick Extrusion 109.97 105.17 102.60 128.64

Base Case 133.43

English Bond Quarter Brick Extrusion 133.14 108.33 104.04 100.90

Half Brick Extrusion 129.27 102.15 103.29 100.17

Base Case 131.90

Flemish Bond Quarter Brick Extrusion 107.46 100.29 99.19 97.46

Half Brick Extrusion 103.45 97.90 99.02 100.55

As shown in Figure 5, the lowest energy consumption rate is achieved at the 15%
extrusion of the wall area in all cases except for the ¼ brick extrusion in the Running bond.
Also, the 60% extrusion seemed to give the best energy consumption rates in most cases, as
it increases the thermal mass of the wall, except for the ½ brick extrusion in the Flemish bond
and the ¼ brick extrusion in the Running bond.

Figure 5. Graph comparing between the energy consumption in each case

Conclusion
It is evident that a relationship can be observed between the brick bond types, their
brick projection and the percentage of both this projection and the volume of this projection
for the tested cases. The increase in the thermal mass resulting from brick projection has an
obvious impact on the thermal performance of the wall. It is also worth noting that the work
presented is theoretical in nature, future development of this work may include in-situ field
testing for the nominated wall types under the specific conditions relevant to the hot arid
climate zone, and investigation of the different patterns that can be generated in relation to
different orientations and climatic zones.
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