Performance Assessment of Giant Reed-Based Building Components

The growing concern for the reduction of energy needs and the environmental impact of the building sector has placed emphasis on the possibilities offered by natural materials. The adoption of agricultural by-products seems to be promising and in line with the circular economy paradigm. Materials such as hemp and straw have been extensively adopted in contemporary construction, but nevertheless, the potential use of giant reed has not been sufficiently investigated despite being a common infesting plant abundantly available all over the planet. This work focuses on the performances assessment of lime/cement-reeds mixtures as base materials to design a new line of building components (bricks, blocks, panels and loose insulation) that can be used both in new bio-based construction and in existing buildings for energy-efficiency retrofit. The main materials used in the experimental campaign are giant reed by-products, lime, cement and local and recycled aggregates. The evaluation of the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of lime-reed and cement-reed composites are presented. The results of thermal conductivities (between 0.245 and 0.191 W/m K) and mechanical properties (compressive strengths between 0.848 and 1.509 MPa, and flexural strengths between 0.483 and 0.829 MPa) allow meeting the requirements for non-bearing and thermal building blocks. The outcomes show how blocks made with the abovementioned lime-reed mixture have good mechanical performance and thermo-physical behavior when compared to conventional building materials such as hollow clay or hemp blocks with the same thickness.

Automated summary

The potential use of giant reed as a natural material in construction has been insufficiently investigated. This study focuses on assessing the performance of lime/cement-reeds mixtures as base materials for new bio-based building components. The evaluation of physical, mechanical, and thermal properties shows promising results for non-bearing and thermal building blocks made from lime-reed composites, with good mechanical performance and thermo-physical behavior compared to conventional building materials.