TITLE:
Thermomechanical Characterisation of Compressed Clay Bricks Reinforced by Thatch Fibres for the Optimal Use in Building
AUTHORS:
Madeleine Nitcheu, Pierre Meukam, Jean Claude Damfeu, Donatien Njomo
KEYWORDS:
Thatch Fibres, Clay Bricks, Thermo Mechanical Properties, Transient Method, Mixing Method
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.9 No.12,
November
15,
2018
ABSTRACT: Thatch fibres grow in large quantity in the Adamawa
region of Cameroon. During the long dry season, these fibres cause numerous
fire incidents, which not only devastate large areas of cash crops, but also
contribute to increase emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This
article aims to show how fibres could be used with compressed clay bricks to
manufacture an insulating material used in building. Four fibre contents 1%,
2%, 3% and 4% made up the sample studied.
The asymmetric hot plate methodology was used to determine the thermophysical
properties of these composite materials. The volumetric heat capacity and the
thermal effusivity of these materials were estimated. These two parametres were
used to determine their apparent thermal conductivities. The results obtained
show that the thermal conductivity decreases as the volume of fibres in the
mixture increases. It is 0.689 W·m-1·K-1 for
simple compressed clay bricks and 0.510 W·m-1·K-1 for a
dosage at 3% of thatch fibres. In a bit
to validate the results of the pilot study of the apparent thermal
conductivity, the heat mass capacity of this composite material was achieved
through the use of the dehydration method. The relative difference obtained
with the results of the volumetric heat capacity carried out with these two methods
was good. All results showed that the use of fibres in compressed laterite
brick gives a more insulating composite material that respects
Civil Engineering Norms.