Operational Energy Comparison of Concrete and Foamed Geopolymer Based Housing Envelopes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luís Villalba ◽  
José Macías ◽  
Haci Baykara ◽  
Nestor Ulloa ◽  
Guillermo Soriano

The present article provides an operational energy comparison of modern concrete and foamed geopolymers as envelope materials for single unit housing in Ecuador. The study is performed by replacing the concrete material used in the walls and roof elements with foamed geopolymer components. Residential building sector requires around 35.6% of the total energy demand in Ecuador. For this reason, efforts on building practices improvement are relevant for the Ecuadorian society. The foamed geopolymers are a mixture of aluminosilicate material obtained from Ecuadorian natural zeolite, group of alkaline activators and the foamed agent that when mixing the raw materials and obtain the geopolymer. To assess the potential use of foamed geopolymers as construction material, the annual energy demand for a social interest dwelling was obtained through simulation with EnergyPlus. Prefabricated Insulated Concrete Forms was established as the construction practice for the building model. Annual energy simulations were performed considering two Ecuadorian representative weathers, to Guayaquil and Quito locations. Material properties of foamed geopolymers ware acquired by own experimental facilities. Thermal conductivity was obtained with the use of the hot plate method, while specific heat by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. This analysis uses foamed geopolymers obtained from two procedures. Thus, these proposed materials presented low density, low thermal conductivity, and acceptable compressive strength values. Finally, an assessment of natural geopolymers as a concrete replacement is presented, including a thermal characterization, and a sustainable construction evaluation. The findings affirm the key role of material selection in construction practices. Reductions around 4.0% in annual electricity demand was achieved for Guayaquil case, while energy consumption decreases around 1.3% for Quito.

Author(s):  
H. Harter ◽  
B. Willenborg ◽  
W. Lang ◽  
T. H. Kolbe

Abstract. Reducing the demand for non-renewable resources and the resulting environmental impact is an objective of sustainable development, to which buildings contribute significantly. In order to realize the goal of reaching a climate-neutral building stock, it must first be analyzed and evaluated in order to develop optimization strategies. The life cycle based consideration and assessment of buildings plays a key role in this process. Approaches and tools already exist for this purpose, but they mainly take the operational energy demand of buildings and not a life cycle based approach into account, especially when assessing technical building services (TBS). Therefore, this paper presents and applies a methodical approach for the life cycle based assessment of the TBS of large residential building stocks, based on semantic 3D city models (CityGML). The methodical approach developed for this purpose describes the procedure for calculating the operational energy demand (already validated) and the heating load of the building, the dimensioning of the TBS components and the calculation of the life cycle assessment. The application of the methodology is illustrated in a case study with over 115,000 residential buildings from Munich, Germany. The study shows that the methodology calculates reliable results and that a significant reduction of the life cycle based energy demand can be achieved by refurbishment measures/scenarios. Nevertheless, the goal of achieving a climate-neutral building stock is a challenge from a life cycle perspective.


2016 ◽  
Vol 824 ◽  
pp. 188-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radim Smolka ◽  
Jan Plachý ◽  
Petr Kacálek ◽  
Tomáš Petříček

During decreasing of the energy demand is within the framework of the idea of sustainable construction not only required to decrease the total energy demand of the buildings, search and solve the critical spots in the building jacketing, but also to use the secondary raw materials as full-value substitutions for commonly used products from the primary raw materials. Recycled materials put into production represent possibilities how to decrease number of acquired virgin materials, need of primary energy and how to decrease risks connected to the waste disposal.


2012 ◽  
Vol 535-537 ◽  
pp. 239-242
Author(s):  
Alena Kalužová ◽  
Jan Pěnčík ◽  
Libor Matějka ◽  
Libor Matějka ◽  
Tomáš Pospíšil ◽  
...  

Recycling of materials is an important point of sustainable construction. The aim is to find a compromise between energy saving, economy and ecology. The contribution discusses the production of thermal insulation composite material made of polymers. Uniform dispersion of grains of foamy glass waste (filler) in polymer filling from recycled thermoplastics induces formation of particle composite. The production supports usage of secondary raw materials. Decisive properties in choosing the materials to be applied include mainly the coefficient of thermal conductivity, density, compressive strength and water absorption.


2018 ◽  
Vol 276 ◽  
pp. 276-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Zach ◽  
Martin Sedlmajer ◽  
Zdenek Dufek ◽  
Jan Bubenik

The use of material based on by-products and easily renewable materials in modern building structures is today’s preferred route for long-term sustainable construction and this method of construction also respects the principles of key documents, such as the Kyoto Protocol/ Paris Climate Agreements, Agenda 20-20-20, etc. In the field of light concrete (LC), the long-term effort is to effectively reduce the bulk density to a level where the concrete will still exhibit sufficient mechanical properties, so it would be possible to use it as construction material in building structure and at the same time will exhibit a sufficiently low thermal conductivity for the construction to fulfil strict requirements in the field of thermal protection of building without the need for additional thermal insulation layers. The paper describes the results of the research in the utilization of light-weight aggregate based on foam glass in conjunction with by-product based fibers for the development of light-weight porous concrete with very low density and thermal conductivity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ouakarrouch ◽  
Najma Laaroussi ◽  
Mohammed Garoum

The building materials used in Morocco characterized by a low thermal resistance which generates a huge expense in terms of energy consumption. Promoting new sustainable construction and insulation materials become a necessity. This research study aimed to develop the thermal proprieties of plaster building material by mixing it with waste chicken feathers (WCF) in order to be used as wall exterior rendering. For the purpose of determining the thermal properties of the biocomposite material Plaster-WCF, several experimental measurements of thermophysical proprieties had been performed in order to determine apparent density, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity using the hot plate method in steady-state regime and the Flash method, respectively. The results showed that the addition of waste chicken feathers leads to a remarkable reduction in apparent density of about 12.3%, the thermal conductivity and diffusivity have been reduced by about 30.2% and 18%, respectively, which shows the interest of using this biocomposite material in the construction buildings in order to ensure thermal comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2).


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2255
Author(s):  
Alejandra Vidales-Barriguete ◽  
Jaime Santa-Cruz-Astorqui ◽  
Carolina Piña-Ramírez ◽  
Marta Kosior-Kazberuk ◽  
Katarzyna Kalinowska-Wichrowska ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to analyze the physico-mechanical properties of gypsum boards including plastic waste aggregates from cable recycling. The plastic cable waste is incorporated into the gypsum matrix without going through any type of selection and/or treatment, as it is obtained after the cable recycling process. In the experimental process, gypsum boards of different dimensions were manufactured and tested for their Young’s modulus, shock-impact resistance, flexural strength, thermal conductivity, and thermal comfort. The results obtained show a significant increase in the elasticity of the boards with plastic waste (limited cracking), compliance with the minimum value of flexural strength, and a slight improvement in the thermal conductivity coefficient (lower energy demand) and surface comfort (reduced condensation and greater adherence). Therefore, the analyzed material could provide a suitable alternative to currently marketed gypsum boards, contributing to sustainable construction not only in new constructions, but also in building renovations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (24) ◽  
pp. 5473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Buratti ◽  
Elisa Moretti ◽  
Elisa Belloni ◽  
Michele Zinzi

In the last few decades, the attention of researchers has been focused on the characterization of aerogels in order to improve the thermal performance of transparent building envelopes. Granular aerogel is already spread in the market thanks to the easy manufacturing system, whereas the difficulty in producing monoliths without defects, cracks, and inhomogeneity limited the diffusion of monolithic aerogel systems. A new production process for the monolithic panels was developed at Union College (Schenectady, NY, USA); it is a rapid supercritical extraction technique which allows a reduction in production time (only a few hours) and results in less solvent waste. Panes with maximum dimensions of about 100 × 100 mm were fabricated and composed in a unique glazing system, with external dimensions 300 × 300 mm. The thermal characterization of the innovative monolithic aerogel glazing system (simple float glazing 4.7-mm-thick monolithic aerogel pane 15-mm-thick simple float glazing 4.7 mm thick), which was carried out by means of a Small Hot Box apparatus, showed a thermal transmittance value of about 1.1 W/(m2K). Data was used in dynamic simulations of a typical non-residential building. They showed that the new investigated solution allows a valuable reduction with respect to a low-e double glazing system in terms of heating energy demand (about 5–7% for Helsinki, 8–12% for Paris, and 10–15% for Turin), for different window-to-wall ratios.


Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuelly L.G. da Trindade ◽  
Luanda R. Lima ◽  
Luciana H. Alencar ◽  
Marcelo H. Alencar

The construction industry is responsible for causing a large adverse impact on the environment. To minimize these impacts, sustainable practices are being sought mainly in the area of the wastage of and the waste from raw materials. Many obstacles and difficulties are encountered when trying to implement sustainable practices in civil construction. Thus, a study to identify what the obstacles are to implementing such practices is necessary. Therefore, the objective of this study is to present an assessment of the main obstacles to implementing sustainability in civil construction for which the bow-tie tool is used. Three cases were analyzed: construction material waste, the wastage of plaster and planning a sustainable construction project. Results showed that the lack of planning for sustainable construction projects, the lack of compliance with technical standards and the lack of technical knowledge of the workforce and of standardization are among the main obstacles to implementing sustainability in civil construction. This study offers a structured methodology to identify causes, consequences and obstacles related to events that affect the implementation of sustainable practices. It provides a visualization of the scenario investigated through the diagram generated, facilitating its understanding and analysis.


Respuestas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
María Del Carmen Parra Hernández ◽  
Diana Alexandra Torres Sánchez

Social wasps are insects that construct their nests using wood pulp, plant and themselves secretions for the accomplishment of their activities as a colony. Currently in Colombia, there is little knowledge about this interesting material due to its characteristics, which could be used in promising applications. In this work the chemical and thermal characterization of nests of seven species of wasps (Agelaia pallipes, Agelaia multipicta, Agelaia areata, Polybia aequatorialis, Parachartergus apicalis, Mischucytharus imitator, Brachygastra lecheguana) living in Norte de Santander, was carried out with the purpose of establishing if there are significant differences between species and provide information that could be used as a model or precursors for the synthesis in biomimetics and / or nanotechnology. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed using a Thermal analyser SDT-Q600 from T.A. Instruments. An infrared spectrophotometer FT-IR SHIMADZU Prestige-21 with ATR was used for infrared analysis. The fluorescence analysis (XRF) was performed using a sequential X-ray fluorescence spectrometer of dispersive wavelength of 4kW BRUKER model S8 TIGER. The thermogravimetric analysis shows three mass losses and four degradation processes related to moisture loss, degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. The infrared analysis allowed identifying characteristic functional groups of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Through the X-ray fluorescence analysis, some metals such as K, Ca, Al, Mg, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se and Li were found. The analyses made of the samples allowed to establish differences and similarities in the construction material of the studied species.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paalo Moreno ◽  
Nicole Villamizar ◽  
Jefferson Perez ◽  
Angelica Bayona ◽  
Jesús Roman ◽  
...  

Abstract Housing construction consumes more materials than any other economic activity, with a total of 40.6 Gt/year. Boards are placed between construction materials to serve as non-load-bearing partitions. Studies have been performed to find alternatives to conventional materials using recycled fibers, agro-industrial waste, and protein binders as raw materials. Here, fire-resistant cellulose boards with low density and adequate flexural strength were produced for use as non-load-bearing partitions using waste newspapers, soy protein, boric acid, and borax. A central composite design (CCD) was employed to study the influence of the board component percentage on flame retardancy (UL 94 horizontal burning test), density (ASTM D1037-12) and flexural strength (ISO 178–2010). The cellulose boards were characterized by thermal analysis (ASTM E1131-14) and scanning electron microscopy. Fire-resistant cellulose boards were successfully made with low densities (120–170 kg/m3) and flexural strength (0.06–0.64 MPa). The mechanical performance and fire resistance of cellulose boards suggest their suitability for use as building materials. A useful and sustainable construction material with great potential is produced with the valorization of waste materials.


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