Thermophysical Characterization of Typha’s Concrete for its Integration into Construction

Abstract

Energy consumption in the building sector is constantly increasing and represents more than 44% in the residential and tertiary sectors in many countries [1]. Thus, the building represents a real possibility of energy saving and is the subject of several studies particularly in actual context of experimentation with materials based on plant fibers (hemp, flax, millet wastage, etc.). These biobased materials such as typha have shown real interest in the buildings construction due to their light and porous nature. It’s in this context that we were interested in typha australis mixed with classic aggregates (cement, sand, gravel 3/8) to make typha’s concrete. On this concrete, we carried out experimental measurements in order to better understand its contributions in the building. The interesting results obtained show that typha australis, which is an invasive and harmful grass, can be valued and integrated among local building materials in the form of typha’s concrete in order to improve the energy efficiency of buildings.