Comprehensive Characterization of Agricultural By-Products for Bio-Aggregate Based Concrete

The valorization of available agricultural by-products is important for the development of bio-aggregate based concretes as eco-friendly solutions for building materials. However, their diversity requires to assess their potential of use in vegetal concretes. This study aims to propose simple and relevant multi-physical characterization methods for plant aggregates. Basic and complementary characterizations were carried out on hemp shiv as a reference plant aggregate, and nine by-products available in the South-West part of France, i.e., oleaginous flax shiv, sunflower pith and bark, coriander straw, wheat straw, wheat chaff, corn shuck, miscanthus stem and vine shoot. The basic characterizations performed were those recommended by the TC-RILEM 236 BBM, i.e., particle size distribution, bulk density, water absorption and thermal conductivity. Complementary characterizations have also been proposed, taking into account the possible environment of the binder and the vegetal concrete manufacturing method. The additional tests developed or adapted from previous research assess the following properties: the content of water-soluble compounds at pH 7 and 12, the dry density of plant aggregates compacted in wet state, the real water absorption after compaction and the compression behavior of these compacted aggregates. This complete characterization highlights the distinct behavior of the different agroresources and allows to correlate these characteristics to the use properties of hardened composites.

Link between Acoustic and Hygrothermal Behavior of Hemp Shiv and Pith Composites

Bio-based materials are an environmentally friendly alternative to classic construction materials, yet their generally low density can lead to poor acoustic properties. The acoustic performance of hemp shiv and sunflower pith composites is therefore analyzed using Kundt’s tube. Although the loose aggregates present an exceptional sound absorbing behavior, it can be notably worsened in the presence of certain binders. The Transmission Loss is nevertheless enhanced by the binders, although it does not exceed 20 dB in most cases. For both properties, the type of binder has been found to be the most influential parameter. Through the Kundt’s tube method, it is also possible to determine the geometrical parameters of the composites’ microstructure, which have been observed to be similar for materials presenting comparable hygrothermal properties and containing the same binder. In a previous work, an experimental correlation was found between the thermal conductivity and the interparticle porosity of the aforementioned composites, which is compared to theoretical thermal conductivity models from literature without finding any apparent correspondence.

Properties of Phragmites australis for Insulating Concrete Application

The common reed, Phragmites australis, is a plant species quite similar to the currently used bio-based aggregates and available on most continents. The purpose of this work is to characterise this common reed and compare its properties to other plants already studied for building use. This study presents the different properties focussing on Phragmites australis chemical composition, hydrophobicity nature and how this character could be explained. To that end, wettability and also water adsorption measurements were carried out on plant flour and aggregates in comparison to miscanthus, wood and hemp shiv properties. Formulations based on reeds of different origins and using different binders (lime and earth) were tested in compression and with thermal conductivity measurements in order to evaluate the behaviour of the reed as a material for building use.

Risk for Mould Growth on Hemp-Lime at Different Relative Humidity

Microbial growth often thrives in humid conditions, at high relative humidity. Moulds are complex organisms; many types of mould are able to survive strong variations in humidity and temperature, such as those on building façades. For some building materials a critical relative humidity is determined, which functions as a theoretical threshold; at this (or lower) relative humidity microbial growth will likely not occur. Hemp-lime is a building material that consists of hemp shiv (the woody core parts of the hemp stem) and building lime. It is a material that can be used for walls, and even though it has been used for more than 20 years, thusfar little is known about its critical moisture levels for microbial growth. The aim of this research was therefore to determine at what relative humidity microbial growth occurs on carbonated hemp-lime material, and to study if there is a protective influence of a carbonated lime binder on the hemp shiv. The objective was to study microbial growth on hemp shiv, hemp-lime and on hemp with a thin layer of lime at three relative humidity (75 %, 85 % and 95 %) and at two different temperatures (15°C and 23°C); conditions that could occur naturally in a hemp-lime façade exposed to high rain loads in a northern European climate. Hemp shiv seems to have a relatively low resistance to microbial growth, similar to that of wood. However, because the hemp is protected by lime it can withstand much higher relative humidity without microbial growth occurring on the material. The critical moisture level for hemp-lime seemed to occur between 75 and 85 % RH, while the material was completely without microbial growth at 75 % RH. The lime had a protective effect on the hemp and acted as a mould inhibitor, both over time and with varying temperature and humidity.

How Reliable is the Thermal Conductivity of Biobased Building Insulating Materials Measured with Hot Disk Device?

Thermal conductivity is of high importance for insulating materials since it strongly influences the thermal performance of the building. Generally, it is recommended to measure this property with steady-state methods like guarded hot plate (GHP) or heat flow meter (HFM). These methods are reliable, but steady-state condition can take a long time to be reached. Therefore, transient methods were developed to speed-up the measurements. For instance, the hot disk transient plane source method is a widely used standard technique (ISO 22007-2) for measuring thermal conductivity of various materials. In the last 20 years, this technique has been applied also to bio-based insulating materials. However, overestimated thermal conductivity (compared to steady state method) are frequently measured. More generally, such differences are also observed for low thermal conductivity materials. The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of numerous factors to explain the origin of these differences. The factors include the experimental setting parameters, the measurement analysis parameter or even the discrepancies between the theoretical model and the real experimental set-up. The analysis is performed for a light-earth biobased concrete made of raw earth and hemp shiv. Recommendations are proposed in conclusion.

Water Sensitivity of Hemp-Foam Concrete

The necessity to build energy-efficient and low environmental impact buildings favors the development of biobased light-weight materials as hemp-foam concretes. In this context, experimental protocols were developed to study the effects of hemp shiv and the production methods on the water sensitivity of bio-based foamed concrete (BBFC). Foam concrete incorporates several materials and compounds: cement, protein-based foaming agent, ground granulated blast–furnace slag, metakaolin as a binder, and hemp shiv as bio-based aggregates. The study investigated first the effect of the incorporation of hemp shiv (from 0 to 15 vol%) and then the elaboration method, comparing direct method versus preformed method on the resulting physical properties, the isotherms sorption-desorption and the capillary water absorption of hemp-foam concretes. We observe an increasing porosity of the concrete with hemp shives content. Additionally, hemp shives increase the adsorption and the capillary absorption of water. Moreover, the preformed method produces concretes more sensitive to water than the direct methods since it increases its porosities.

Compatibility of Plants with a Mineral Binder

Hemp concretes are the most widely used biobased concretes in France. However, their growth is still limited by the lack of knowledge and high variability of the performances of biobased concretes, especially for their mechanical properties. These results are related to interactions between the mineral binder and plant compounds that modify the hydration of the cement. In this work, the interactions between cement and eight types of hemp shiv, and a flax shiv are studied by isothermal calorimetry. The setting delays observed in the presence of plants are interpreted by analyzing the molecules extracted from these plants in water. A link can be observed between the setting delay and the coloration of the extract solutions or their concentration in reducing sugars and in polyphenols. These results constitute a basis in the objective to define an indicator enabling to predict the compatibility between plants and mineral binders.

Implementation on a Preparation and Controlled Compaction Procedure for Waste-Fiber-Reinforced Raw Earth Samples

Earth bricks are a traditional eco-friendly construction material. In this study, harbor-dredged sediments were used along with hemp shiv to develop a brick manufacturing procedure and compaction techniques to produce durable earth bricks for the valorization of waste hemp shiv and dredged sediments. Prismatic specimens of size 4 × 4 × 16 cm3 were manufactured with Dunkirk sediments after analyzing their suitability for earth bricks according to the French standard for flexural strength test to observe the indirect tensile strength and impact of the compaction techniques on the strength of bricks. Crude bricks were manufactured with varying hemp shiv content from 0% to 5% by mass. Compaction techniques such as dynamic compaction, static compaction, and tamping were applied. The effect of hemp shiv content and compaction techniques was evaluated with a flexural strength test and the distribution of fibers in bricks. Grain size analysis of sediments with French and Spanish standards shows that the sediments granulometry is suitable for earth bricks. The flexural strength testing of bricks indicates that bricks with saturated hemp shiv have higher flexural strength. Earth bricks have maximum strength with dynamic compaction with 1% hemp shiv, which satisfies the adobe bricks tensile strength requirements that vary from 0.012 to 0.025 MPa (NZS 4298, 1998; NORMA E.080 (2017).

Novel Dual Walling Cob Building: Dynamic Thermal Performance

This paper emphasizes the experimental and numerical study of new cob mixes used for insulation and load bearing wall elements. The experimental study provides complete datasets of thermal properties of the new walling materials, using cob with density ranging from 1107 kg/m3 to 1583 kg/m3 for structural walls and less than 700 kg m−3 for insulation walls. Various mixes of French soils and fibres (reed, wheat straw, hemp shiv, hemp straw, and flax straw) with different water contents are studied. The lowest average thermal conductivity is obtained for the structural cob mix prepared of 5% wheat straw and 31% of water content. The insulation mix, prepared with 25% reed and 31% water content, has the lowest thermal conductivity. Investigation of diffusivity, density, and heat capacity shows that, when thermal conductivity is lower than 0.4 W m−1 K−1, the decrease in cob density leads to better insulation values and higher heat capacity. Little variation is noticed regarding the density and heat capacity for cob mixes with thermal conductivity higher than 0.4 W m−1 K−1. Furthermore, the non-uniformity of local thermal conductivity and heat losses through the samples is due mainly to the non-uniform distribution of fibres inside the mixes inducing an increase in heat loss up to 50% for structural walls and 25% for insulation walls. Cob thermal properties are used in a comparative simulation case study of a typical house under French and UK climatic conditions. The energy performance of the conventional building is compared to a dual walled cob building, showing remarkable reduction in energy consumption as the cob walls, whilst maintaining comfortable indoor conditions without additional heating.