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Insulating materials made from straw are becoming increasingly popular in the construction industry. Straw can be used in the construction of buildings as uncompressed straw chips or in the form of compressed panels. This study aimed to determine the possibility of manufacturing boards from straw particles with densities in the range of 150–400 kg/m3, allowing favorable mechanical properties while simultaneously providing high thermal and acoustic insulation properties. The study also analyzed the influence of the degree of carpentry density on the quality of the manufactured boards. The study shows that insulation boards can be produced from straw particles with satisfactory properties already at densities in the range of 200–150 kg/m3. Boards with this density have a compressive strength of 150 kPa, thermal resistance of 0.033–0.046 W/(m·K), and a sound absorption coefficient above 0.31.

In order to effectively suppress the risk of thermal propagation induced by battery overheating during the discharge process of lithium-ion batteries, this investigates the design of a battery thermal management system based on insulating materials to provide thermal insulation for the lithium-ion batteries during discharge. A numerical simulation approach is adopted to parametrically investigate the effects of different types of insulating materials, thicknesses, and arrangements on the insulation performance of the battery module. The results indicate that under various discharge conditions of the lithium-ion battery module, among the four insulating materials — aerogel, fiberglass, mica, and silicone rubber—aerogel exhibits the best thermal insulation performance, with a thermal flux density of only 472 W·m ‐2 , which is merely 6 % of that of silicone rubber. With the increase in aerogel thickness δ , the thermal flux density of the insulation plate gradually decreases. Among the five thicknesses of 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, and 2.5 mm, the thermal flux density is at a minimum when the thickness is 2.5 mm, and even at this thickness, the highest thermal flux density recorded is only 321.9 W·m ‐2 , which provides the optimal suppression of thermal propagation. Among the three insulating panel arrangements, arrangement 234 has the lowest thermal flux density for the insulating boards located at the left and center positions. Considering all factors, the 234 arrangement is the optimal arrangement among the four types of three insulation panel arrangements. In the case of two insulating boards, the flow density of the left and right side insulation boards of the insulation panel arrangement 23 is the lowest, so the insulation panel arrangement 23 is the optimal arrangement among the four types of two insulation panel arrangements.

Nowadays, biocomposites represent a new generation of materials that are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, low-density, and not derived from petroleum. They have been widely used to protect the environment and generate new alternatives in the polymer industry. In this study, we incorporated untreated jute fibers (UJFs) and alkaline-treated jute fibers (TJFs) at 1–5 and 10 phr into TSR 10 natural rubber as reinforcement fillers. These composites were produced to be used in countersole shoes manufacturing. Untreated fibers were compared to those treated with 10% sodium hydroxide. The alkali treatment allowed the incorporation of fibers without compromising their mechanical properties. The TJF samples exhibited 8% less hardness, 70% more tensile strength, and the same flexibility compared to their pure rubber counterparts. Thanks to their properties and ergonomic appearance, the composites obtained here can be useful in many applications: construction materials (sound insulating boards, and flooring materials), the automotive industry (interior moldings), the footwear industry (shoe soles), and anti-static moldings. These new compounds can be employed in innovative processes to reduce their carbon footprint and negative impact on our planet. Using the Lorenz–Park equation, the loaded composites examined in this study exhibited values above 0.7, which means a competitive load–rubber interaction. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of the composites in detail.

The goal of the present study was to develop a low-density thermal insulation board using wood fibers and a bio-based adhesive as a binder, which was prepared from a crude glycerol and citric acid mixture. The physical and mechanical properties of insulation boards manufactured using two ratios of crude glycerol and citric acid (1:0.66 and 1:1 mol/mol) and two adhesive contents (14% and 20%) were evaluated. The results show that the insulation boards with a range of density between 332 to 338 kg m−3 present thermal conductivity values between 0.064 W/m-K and 0.066 W/m-K. The effect of adhesive content was very significant for certain mechanical properties (tensile strength perpendicular to surface and compressive strength). The tensile strength (internal bond) increased between 20% and 36% with the increased adhesive content. In contrast, the compressive strength decreased between 7% and 15%. The thermo-mechanical properties obtained of insulation boards such as thermal conductivity, traverse strength, tensile strength parallel and perpendicular to surface, and compressive strength are in accordance with the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials C208-12 standard for different uses. The results confirm the potential of crude glycerol and citric acid mixture to be used as an adhesive in the wood fiber insulation boards’ manufacturing for sustainability purposes.

The mechanical qualities of natural fiber (NF) -based polymer composites are superior, making them advantageous and these composites are environmentally beneficial. The current investigation involved the fabrication of hybrid composites using Calotropis gigantea (CGF) and Abaca Fiber (AF) as reinforcements in epoxy matrix. The hand layup technique was employed for the fabricating process. Subsequently, the composites were investigated and analysed for their water absorption rate, tribological performance, and mechanical properties. This study aims to uncover a noteworthy combination of NF reinforced polymer composites that can be utilized in commercial Engineering applications. The mechanical properties were examined by measuring their hardness, impact resistance, flexural strength (FS), Compressive strength (CS), and tensile strength (TS). Furthermore, the broken surfaces of tensile sample were inspected utilizing a scanning electron microscope. Composite specimens were immensed in distilled water and their water penetration percentages were measured to ascertain their water absorption (WA) properties. The tribological performance was analysed utilizing a pin-on-disc equipment to assess the specific wear rate and coefficient of friction. The outcomes demonstrated that the hybrid composites surpassed the single-fiber composites in all variations. Sample G exhibited superior properties in all combinations, with a TS of 36.19 MPa and tensile modulus of 328.95 MPa. Additionally, it shows that higher flexural strength of 43.85 MPa and flexural modulus values of 350.84 MPa. Furthermore, it demonstrated higher Compressive strength of 94.45 MPa and modulus values of 576.93 MPa. Moreover, it exhibited a higher impact value of 53.88 kJ/m 2 and higher hardness value of 44.07 HV. This material is well-suited for non-structural uses in electronics and electrical insulating boards and components, as the results show that a combination of CGF and AF fibers with an epoxy matrix improves mechanical qualities.

The construction industry is one of the largest air polluters. This fact, along with the increasing demand for savings of heating energy, is leading to a growing interest in more eco-friendly materials for building thermal insulations. New thermal insulating material, prepared from the Posidonia Oceanica (commonly known as sea grass or Neptune grass) was prepared and studied. Posidonia Oceanica is an endemic plant that grows in large quantities in the shallow waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a protected species, but this protection does not apply to the non-living parts of the plant. Thermal insulating boards were made from dead Posidonia leaves bonded with plant-based epoxy. Bulk density of the boards ranged from 159 to 289 kg/m', and coefficient of thermal conductivity was between 0.054 and 0.076 W/m. K. Tensile strength of boards with bulk density 240 kg/m? and higher exceeded 2 MPa, which is sufficient for thermal insulation purposes. The ecotoxicity test showed that material is not ecotoxic for algae. The diffusion resistance of the boards was high (from 22 to 196 by wet cup method and 36 to 178 by dry cup method), because of the impermeable resin on the surface. The main problem of the Posidonia Oceanica boards was low mold resistance, which is common problem of most natural-based materials. This must be resolved, along with fire protection, before the material can be used in the buildings.

Agglomerated cork is a natural cork that has gone through a process of crushing and pressing using heat and binders. One of its applications is thermal insulator in construction. The design of these materials is becoming an essential part of building. The raw materials currently used to make insulators consume a large amount of energy, which has created the need to increase the use of renewable and ecological resources such as plant fibers to reduce the environmental problems generated. The objective of this study was to determine the different properties of experimental particleboard panels made from cork and Canary Island date palms without using any binder at minimum energy consumption. The produced cork–palm boards (density of 850 kg/m3, reached a MOR 8.83 N/mm2, MOE 794.5 N/mm2, and IB 0.38 N/mm2) are higher values than the traditional cork particleboards with UF made from cork. The thermal conductivity values obtained 0.069 to 0.096 W/m·K are higher than cork boards with UF. Ecological boards that can be used as rigid thermal insulators in the construction industry have been achieved to improve the mechanical properties of the traditional agglomerated cork.

Reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in the construction industry is integral to solving environmental issues, which affect the whole of society and have become increasingly prominent. We selected a residential dwelling from the many buildings in southern Jiangsu Province, China, which consume and emit extremely large amounts of energy and CO 2 , respectively, and assessed various energy-saving renovation schemes for improving the thermal envelope. First, we used energy consumption simulation software (BESI) to individually analyze the energy performance of each scheme. Then, setting the static payback period as the evaluation index, we applied the orthogonal test method to determine the economic efficiency of different combinations of schemes. Finally, we identified the optimal combination for conserving energy and decreasing CO 2 emissions as 120-mm-thick expanded polystyrene insulating board for both the exterior wall and the roof, and 5-mm-thick triple-silver low-emissivity glass and 5-mm-thick normal glass separated by 12 mm of air for the exterior windows, which resulted in a cooling capacity, heating consumption, total building energy consumption, static payback period, and dynamic payback period of 28.37 kWh m −2 a −1 , 4.22 kWh m −2 a −1 , 32.59 kWh m −2 a −1 , 13.76 years, and 22.84 years, respectively, as well as an annual reduction in CO 2 , sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions of 86.01 tons, 2.59 tons, and 1.29 tons, respectively.

Nowadays buildings contain innovative materials, materials from local resources, production surpluses and rapidly renewable natural resources. Phase Change Materials (PCM) are one such group of novel materials which reduce building energy consumption. With the wider availability of microencapsulated PCM, there is an opportunity to develop a new type of insulating materials, combinate PCM with traditional insulation materials for latent heat energy storage. These materials are typically flammable and are located on the interior wall finishing yet there has been no detailed assessment of their fire performance. In this research work prototypes of low-density insulating boards for indoor spaces from hemp shives using carbamide resin binder and cold pressing were studied. Bench-scale cone calorimeter tests were conducted to evaluate fire risk, with a focus on assessing material flammability properties and the influence of PCM on the results. In this research, the amount of smoke, heat release rate, effective heat of combustion, specific extinction coefficient, mass loss, carbon dioxide yield, specific loss factor, ignition time of hemp straws samples and samples of hemp straws with 10% and without PCM admixture were compared. There is a risk of flammability for PCM and their fire reaction has not been evaluated when incorporating PCM into interior wall finishing boards. The obtained results can be used by designers to balance the potential energy savings of using PCM with a more complete understanding and predictability of the associated fire risk when using the proposed boards. It also allows for appropriate risk mitigation strategies.