Thermo-physical characterizations and simulation study of an energy-efficient building material: Clay stabilized by wood ashes or crushed waste from traditional pottery

Abstract

The current study aims to improve the thermal and energetic performances of building materials used in construction field and especially to meet the heating and cooling needs required by the Moroccan thermal building regulations (RTCM 2015). The study aims to investigate the possibility of incorporating wood ashes or crushed waste from traditional pottery into the formulation of eco-friendly bricks. Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted on different mixtures to determine the optimal dosage that would result in optimal thermal characteristics for the brick blocks. The percentage of wood ashes and crushed pottery waste was varied from 0 to 50% relative to the total mass of the dry mixture. Samples of the clay were used to create brick blocks and cylindrical specimens with dimensions of 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height. The optimal dosage of wood ashes was found to be 5% in combination with the clay. The addition of crushed pottery waste improved the absorption of these blocks, and the highest thermal resistance values were recorded with a dosage of 20% pottery waste. By replacing 5% of the clay with wood ashes or 20% with crushed pottery waste, it was possible to produce eco-friendly blocks with an increase in thermal resistance comparable to that of traditional building materials. In addition, simulations study of the dynamic thermal behaviour of a room with a single thermal zone was investigated in order to determine the effect of the introduced building material on heating and cooling loads in Morocco. Two climate zones are considered: Agadir recognized by its humid climate (zone 1) and Marrakech city recognized by its dry climate (zone 5). The study aims to compare numerically the heating and cooling demands of hollow brick, hollow block as a common construction material and a comparison with using the introduced material as an energy-efficient material. The results found show that the studied composite material meets the requirements of thermal regulation in building of Morocco (RTCM2015).