Abstract
The study considers applications for natural fiber composites for affordable housing projects located in the two districts of Gujarat, India and Gorkha, Nepal with the goal of addressing issues of thermal comfort and lateral loading from seismic activity. To help alleviate some of these issues, the team worked with the Hunnarshala Foundation, in Bhuj, Gujarat, India, to develop a fiber cement composite that could be applied to the interior or exterior of a home and provide both insulative and structural improvements. Thermal conductivity of the composites were measured using a heat flux machine and experimental results of 0.16 W/m•K to 0.19 W/m•K showed an improvement in thermal conductivity compared to current wall cladding materials ranging from 1.60 - 1.88 W/m•K. Modeling of the building envelope was completed using the EnergyPlus™ tool and show that homes using the fiber cement composites would have an overall reduction in heating requirement of Nepalese homes by 14% and a reduction of 11% for homes in North India. The study used coconut husk fibers (referred to as coconut coir), rattan, and pine wood fibers in addition to Portland cement, fly ash, and hydrated lime in the fabrication of fiber cement composite samples. Flexural strength of these fiber samples were 70% stronger than comparison specimens, suggesting possible application for wall cladding to reduce out-of-plane failure during seismic events. Field tests conducted in Gujarat validated lab results as well qualitative perceptions of the material. Continued work with local partners presents several possible applications of coconut coir fiber cement composites for the retrofit existing housing and construction of new buildings.
Highlights
Summer temperatures regularly reach 45◦C in Gujarat, India, while in Gorkha, Nepal, the winter months of January and February experience a low of −2◦C (Figure 1)
The fabrication of samples and the assembly of wall prototypes with the Hunnarshala team provided a number of additional insights into methods of production not originally conceived in the project
When used in a wood batten cladding system, results showed a reduction in indoor overheating by 30% and a decrease in max indoor temperature by 5◦C
Summary
Summer temperatures regularly reach 45◦C in Gujarat, India, while in Gorkha, Nepal, the winter months of January and February experience a low of −2◦C (Figure 1). In 2001 and 2015, the two districts of Gujarat and Gorkha both experienced destructive earthquakes measuring 7.1 and 7.8 on the Richter scale, respectively. More than 20,000 were killed in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake (Phalkey et al, 2011), and more than 8,000 in the 2015 Nepal earthquake (World Health Organization, 2015). Heat waves are the deadliest weather phenomenon in the world, accounting for 128,885 deaths worldwide between 2000 and 2015. Coping with these heat waves is significantly harder for poorer
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