Effect of moisture and temperature on thermal properties of three bio-based materials

This article focuses on the investigation of the thermal properties of three bio-based materials called hemp concrete, flax concrete and rape straw concrete. The results showed that these materials have an interesting heat storage capacity and a low thermal conductivity, which provides a good thermal insulating capacity. For a range of temperature from 10 to 40 degrees C, the effects of temperature and water content on thermal conductivity are important. The self-consistent scheme (SCS) model is applied to model the thermal conductivity of the materials depending on their initial components. Compared with the experimental measurement, the SCS model gives satisfactory results for the studied materials. (c) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.