Thermal Performance of a Straw Bale Building in Relation to Fiber Orientation: A Case Study

Francesc Rota Font (), Yolanda Ciriano Nogales, David Temes Mendoza, Marc Vallbé Mumbrú, Gabriel Barbeta Solà and Jose Juan De Felipe Blanch
Additional contact information
Francesc Rota Font: Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Manresa (EPSEM), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain
Yolanda Ciriano Nogales: Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Manresa (EPSEM), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain
David Temes Mendoza: Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Manresa (EPSEM), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain
Marc Vallbé Mumbrú: Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Manresa (EPSEM), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain
Gabriel Barbeta Solà: Department d’Arquitectura i Enginyeria de la Construcció, Universitat de Girona (UdG), 17071 Girona, Girona, Spain
Jose Juan De Felipe Blanch: Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Manresa (EPSEM), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Barcelona, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: In the face of escalating global average temperatures, it is urgent to identify mechanisms that can significantly curtail the emission of greenhouse gases. The construction industry plays a pivotal role in shaping these emissions, rendering the selection of environmentally conscious materials indispensable in the imminent future. In this context, attention is drawn to an interesting material from an ecological point of view: straw. Abundant as a natural byproduct exhibiting remarkable thermal properties, straw emerges as a good candidate for sustainable edification. In the present work, an in situ study of its thermal resistance is carried out, and it is found that it allows stable interior temperatures. The apparent thermal conductivity is analyzed in relation to the orientation of its fibers in the same building, and its low conductivity compared with traditional construction materials is confirmed. The relevance of this work lies in the fact that the building studied contains walls with different fiber orientations in the same room, with the same ambiental conditions. This ensures that the different thermal behaviors are exclusively due to the orientation of the fibers. When considering both orientations of the fibers, different values of thermal conductivity are discerned. Conductivity decreases when the direction of the heat flow is perpendicular to the fibers. However, due to the inherent geometry of the bales, their overall thermal behavior ultimately proves comparable.

Keywords: sustainable construction; straw bale; thermal conductivity; in situ measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10304/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10304/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10304-:d:1528801

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().