Thermo-Mechanical Behaviour of an Innovant Straw Lime Composite for Thermal Insulation Applications

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation on the use of new light-weight construction material, composed of lime, water and cereal straw fiber. Two types of fibers were used: wheat and barley straw. The influence of some parameters such as fiber types, binder types (lime and/ or lime-cement), fiber to binder ratio (F/B) and Water to Binder ratio (W/B) on the mechanical and thermal properties is studied. Compressive strength, thermal conductivity and density of the material were investigated. The results indicated that the thermal conductivity of the straw-lime composites decreased with increasing straw content. The result comparisons also revealed that the composite reinforced by wheat straw fibres has the highest compressive strength.