Experimental characterization of comfort performance parameters and multi-criteria sustainability assessment of recycled textile-reinforced cement facade cladding

Within the building construction sector, fiber cement boards have attracted interest as facade cladding materials in the last ten years, especially those that incorporate -for reinforcing purposes- natural and/or recycled synthetic fibers (i.e, from the textile industry). So far, the design-governing parameters of facade cladding panels have been mechanical strength, durability, constructability, aesthetics, insulation capacity, and fire resistance. From the sustainability perspective, the impact of the facade on the economic and energy efficiency performance is most often the parameter that leads the decision-making process. Within this context, the quantification of the sustainability performance of the facade -accounting for economic, environmental, and social indicators- is unfrequently carried out in design and project phases, this being attributed to the lack of methodologies that allow considering and quantifying some relevant indicators representative of the facade sustainability performance. As consequence, decisions made based on solely economic and on some of the environmental indicators might lead to solutions with lower sustainability performance than that required (or expected). Recycled textile waste fabric-reinforced cement board as a facade-cladding material for building envelopes is the focus of this research. In order to characterize the fire resistance, and thermal and acoustic insulation -as relevant serviceability parameters- of this material, an experimental program was carried out. Likewise, the sustainability performance of this facade-cladding is assessed through a method based on the Integrated Value Model for Sustainability Assessment (MIVES). This multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model relies on the value function concept and the multi-disciplinary participation of experts to identify and quantify the relevant indicators of the facade sustainability performance and the relative importance of indicators and requirements. The MIVES-based model generated for this research can be straightforwardly used for assessing the sustainability performance of facade-cladding techniques made of any material and for any type of building (and location). The application of the MIVES model led to the sustainability index of this new material for facade-cladding ranging from 0.68 to 0.71 (/1.00) for different weighting scenarios.

Automated summary

Fiber cement boards have gained popularity as facade cladding materials in the construction sector, especially those incorporating natural and/or recycled synthetic fibers. The sustainability performance of facades is often overlooked in design and project phases, potentially leading to decisions based solely on economic and environmental indicators that may not meet the expected sustainability performance.