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  Scopus ID: 21100926589

Hygrothermal Simulation of Multilayer Foamcrete Wall Panel with Pozzolans

Hamais Sajid, Farnaz Batool and Bing Chen

Abstract

Innovative building materials have been used in building envelops to reduce the heating and cooling loads of the building. Foamcrete consist of an air-void network that not only makes it lightweight but also improves the thermal properties of cement composites. This numerical study aims to assess the hygrothermal performance and risk of fungal growth in multilayer lightweight concrete panel with foamcrete and pozzolanic admixtures. A model of 226 mm thick wall assembly consisting of plaster layers on both surface with foamcrete filled in between the layers of normal concrete was created in WUFI Pro software. Also, a layer of weather resistive barrier was provided on the exterior surface to prevent rainwater. The foamcrete layer used consists of fly ash, metakaolin, and silica fume replaced by cement up to 20% by weight, for the cast density of 400 kg/m3. During the hygrothermal analysis, Harbin city of China, which has extreme cold climatic conditions, was selected for all five different mixtures. The results showed that wall with formcrete blended with fly ash reduces the heat loss up to 38% in comparison with normal concrete which is highest among all the pozzolans. Furthermore, all walls based on insulation foamcrete mixed with pozzolans showed the mold index within the acceptable range, i.e., 2. Addition of pozzolanic admixtures in foamcrete layer showed improvement in the relative humidity and temperature at the interior surface of walls. The indoor temperature increased from 0.43 °C to 13 °C while the range of relative humidity reduces from 57 – 95% for reference wall to 42 – 68% for insulated wall. This material allows stabilisation of relative humidity levels in the ambient air by naturally regulating the hygrometry, to ensure better ambience. Similarly, the water resistivity of the wall also improved in the presence of foamcrete layers. Thus, this material can be used massively in the construction field to meet the requirements of the current standards which aim to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of dwelling and office building.

Published on: September 27, 2023
doi: 10.17756/nwj.2023-s2-049
Citation: Sajid H, Batool F, Chen B. 2023. Hygrothermal Simulation of Multilayer Foamcrete Wall Panel with Pozzolans. NanoWorld J 9(S2): S288-S294.

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