Evaluation of Stresses in a Tile Fixing System Under Thermal Gradients

Abstract

Tile fixing success in external environments as façade, terraces and balconies depends, among several factors, on a correct mechanical, chemical and physical compatibility among all system elements such as support, tile and used mortars. When exposed to a thermal gradient, factors as tile size and color, support type and joint width, will play a special relevance in the stress field intensity. Recently, one study evaluates the stresses resulted in a context of tiling on several supports as mineral render, concrete and external insulation based on EPS panels, presenting results according to different combinations and proving the common demands in real context application. Also, underlines the need to test few cases as experimental approach to validate numerical one. Present work goes towards such objective, proposing an experimental setup to evaluate stresses in a tile fixing system, according to different combinations close to the theoretical model, submitted to a thermal gradient. Finally, comparing results, is possible to identify potential needs to finetune the theoretical model.