Thermal and acoustic performances of porcelain stoneware tiles

Nowadays there is a growing trend in using the radiant floor heating system for domestic applications, being one of the more widely used heating system. Floating tile systems are currently used also in domestic environment in order to reduce walking noise or vibration. Both for thermal and acoustic performances computer simulations about the effect of several design parameters on the floor heating system and on the floating tile system have concluded that the most important factors are the floor material type and thickness. In the present work, thermal and acoustic properties of four commercial porcelain stoneware tiles having different composition and/or different thickness were analyzed in terms of thermal conductivity and reduction of walking noise. Results showed that noise reduction is strongly influenced by the type of fixing (adhesive or floating tiling) and by the materials coupled with the tiles. Thermal conductivity is directly dependent on the total porosity of the samples.