Thermal study of clay bricks reinforced by three ecological materials in south of morocco

Abstract

An experimental measurement of thermal properties of clay mixed with three ecological materials, date palm fibers (DPF) and olive waste (OW) and straw was carried out by using the transient and steady state hot-plate and flash methods. The experimental methods are applied to measure the thermal properties of the composite materials. The composite samples were prepared with different volume fractions of the additive materials in the mixture. The thermal conductivity and diffusivity decrease from 0.65 W.m-1.K-1 and 4.21×10-7 m2.s-1 to 0.26 W.m-1.K-1 and 2.01×10-7m2.s-1, respectively, according to the variation of the volume fraction of additive materials varying from 0 to 30%. In order to valorize these ecological materials in building efficiency energy, the Taourirt kasbah which is a most important historical building in Ouarzazate, constructed using unfired clay bricks was simulated by Design builder software with the climate data for south Morocco location. The improvement of the thermal performances of simulated traditional buildings can contribute to prove the comfort without heating and cooling demands in order to get energy savings. The results showed the decreasing energy consumption without affecting indoor comfort levels according to outside temperatures.