Thermo physical characteristics of economical building materials

An experimental study was carried out in order to determine the properties of local materials used as construction materials. Cement stabilized compressed bricks were tested. The thermal properties of lateritic soil based materials were determined. The objectives of work reported in this paper are to determine the effect of addition of pozzolan or sawdust in lateritic soil brick on the thermal properties. It was shown that the effect of incorporation of pozzolan or sawdust is the decreasing of the thermal conductivity and density. The moisture content of these materials can modify their thermal performance. Thus a study of the influence of the water content on the thermal conductivity k and the thermal diffusivity a is presented. The thermal conductivity as a function of water content increases rapidly between 0 and 12% for lateritic soil. The thermal diffusivity curve presents a maximum for values of water content of 15% for lateritic soil and 8% for lateritic soil-pozzolan or lateritic soil-sawdust. However, the composite materials used for building shielding must present Sufficient mechanical strength to be suitable for constructions. According to the experimental results the effect of adding cement or pozzolanic stabiliser is expressed in increase of strength of samples studied. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.