Experimental Investigation of Thermal Conductivity from Insulation Based on Rice Hulks: Guarded and Calibrated Hot Box Method

Abstract

In developing countries, large quantities of agricultural residues associated with harvests are generated, given that agriculture is one of the most important economic activities. The valorization of these residues for the construction sector could contribute to the improvement of energy efficiency in buildings. Through passive techniques, the construction of insulating thermal-acoustics panels, blocks, and aggregate for reinforced concrete can improve the energy efficiency. In this study, an experiment was performed to measure thermal conductivity of the Agricultural-Thermal Insulation Panel (ATIP) based on rice hulks. These Agricultural-Thermal Insulation Panels were elaborated follow a standard process to compaction of the rice hulks to be employed as insulation material with a panel dimension of 200x200x34.5(mm3). A “Hot Box” configuration was used to obtain the thermal conductivity of the panels, using different temperature gradients between hot and cold chambers.