Influence of Mesocarp Fibre Inclusion on Thermal Properties of Foamed Concrete

Abstract

The addition of mesocarp fibre as a bio-composite material in foamed concrete can be well used in building components to provide energy efficiency in the buildings if the fibre could also offer excellent thermal properties to the foamed concrete. It has practical significance as making it a suitable material for building that can reduce heat gain through the envelope into the building thus improved the internal thermal comfort. Hence, the aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of different volume fractions of mesocarp fibre on thermal properties of foamed concrete. The mesocarp fibre was prepared with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60% by volume fraction and then incorporated into the 600, 1200 and 1800 kg/m3 density of foamed concrete with constant cement-sand ratio of 1:1.5 and water-cement ratio of 0.45. Hot disk thermal constant analyser was used to attain the thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity of foamed concrete of various volume fractions and densities. From the experimental results, it had shown that addition of mesocarp fibre of 10-40% by volume fraction resulting in low thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity and high the thermal diffusivity of foamed concrete with 600 and 1800 kg/m3 density compared to the control mix while the optimum amount of mesocarp fibre only limit up to 30% by volume fraction for 1200 kg/m3 density compared to control mix. The results demonstrated a very high correlation between thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity which R2 value more than 90%.