Design and Simulation of an Electronic Thermal Data Acquisition Device for the Characterization of Building Materials

Abstract

The energy optimisation of buildings relies heavily on an accurate understanding of the thermophysical properties of building materials. However, in many developing countries the characterization of these materials remains limited by the high cost and scarcity of measuring instruments. In this perspective, we first designed, realized and experimentally validated a device for the simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and diffusivity of building materials [1], [2]. With these results, the present study introduces the design and simulation of an autonomous electronic thermal data-acquisition device intended to improve the accuracy and autonomy of the initial system. The proposed device is based on an Arduino Due and integrates a temperature sensor (MCP9600), a real-time clock (DS3231), a 20x4 LCD, and an SD Card storage module. The simulation, performed in Proteus, validated the functional consistency of the circuit and the communication between the different modules via the I2C and SPI interfaces. The results demonstrate stable acquisition and reliable real-time temperature recording. This work aligns with efforts to develop affordable, robust, and reproducible measurement instruments tailored to the specific needs of African energy and materials science research laboratories [6].