Experimental Testing of Cellular Construction Materials Containing Flax Particles

Abstract

The feasibility of a sustainable non-autoclaved cellular concrete, based on flax vegetable co-products, for the production of usable specimen in the lightweight construction field, has been investigated experimentally. The produced specimen, containing various volume ratios of flax particles with respect to preformulatd Tradical PF70 lime binder of 0, 1, and 2, were lightened by creating a porous structure in the matrix through the addition of 0.3% wt. Aluminium powder (able to react with calcium hydroxide from the binder and result in microscopic air-bubbles). Fresh and hardened specimen properties, including hydration, fresh density, porosity, hardened density, compressive and flexural strengths, toughness energy, and dry thermal conductivity at different temperatures, were assessed for varying flax-to-binder ratios. Results have shown that the addition of Aluminum powder leads to restrain the setting time delay of binder-based lime. Moreover, the hardened material displays a significant decrease in specimen density, thereby resulting in a compressive strength level compatible with that required in the cellular construction materials sector. Results also highlighted the ability of added flax to induce a change in the specimen from brittle to ductile behavior. Moreover, a high degree of thermal insulation can be achieved, which makes the cellular specimen based on flax particle suitable as insulated-bearing walls material.