Computer Assisted Experimentation Influence of Straw on Thermal Properties of Clay Bricks for Thermal Comfort in the Building

Abstract

Raw clay is a building element adopted by ancient civilizations known for its durability and its resistance to climatic conditions. In order to improve the energy efficiency of this ecological material, this work tries to develop the thermal properties of raw clay as an insulating material by mixing it with straw, through the determination of the thermal resistance, the thermal diffusivity and the thermal conductivity of compressed clay blocks as a function of the clay content. The calculation of these values is done by the law of Fourier transient and permanent regime. The results taken indicate that the thermal resistance (thermal diffusivity and conductivity) of the blocks respectively increases and (decreases) with the increase of the straw concentration. Moreover, the difference between the results of these two regimes and with the reference does not overpass 6%. Simple teaching materials CAEx has been used to perform the measurements. The method is sufficient for making comparative measurements between the transient and the permanent regime for different samples.