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Future-Proofing Bio-Based Building Materials
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Future-Proofing Bio-Based Building Materials

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 December 2023) | Viewed by 2454

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eshrar Latif

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Guest Editor
Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3NB, UK
Interests: hygrothermal performance of bio-based thermal insulation materials; hygrothermal performance of hemp-lime; energy performance monitoring of buildings and test cells; laboratory-based experiments related to building physics; innovative construction materials; low energy building design; simulation of heat and mass transfer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Sotirios A. Grammatikos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Gjøvik, Norway
Interests: polymer composites; natural (green) materials; recycling; sustainability and durability aspects in aerospace; energy; automotive; infrastructure and building applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Florence Collet

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Génie Mécanique, Université de Rennes, 35065 Rennes, France
Interests: bio-based building materials; hygrothermal transfer; building physics; durability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sylvie Prétot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratoire de Génie Civil et Génie Mécanique, Université de Rennes, 35065 Rennes, France
Interests: bio-based building materials; hygrothermal transfer; building physics; acoustics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

If we were to continue with the way materials are consumed on Earth, we would require three planets to meet the 2050 material demands to sustain our way of life. Therefore, there is a growing need to preserve, reduce, reuse and recycle materials. The renewability of materials and the end-of-life scenario play vital roles in the sustainability of materials. Bio-based building materials are renewable, and can be designed to be biodegradable at the end of their life. Bio-based materials and bio-based composites are used in both structural and building envelope applications in the form of beams, columns, insulation and wall liners. However, many bio-based building materials are niche products in the constructions sector, such as bio-based thermal insulation materials with a European market share of approximately 7%. This is plausibly due to the lack of consistent and robust data about the fire and durability performance of bio-based building materials and the resulting public perception. As such, there is an ongoing need for updated data about the fire and durability performance of bio-based building materials.

We especially encourage papers reporting on the following topics:

  • Environmental durability of bio-based materials.
  • Biological durability of bio-based building materials.
  • Long-term hygrothermal performance of bio-based building materials.
  • Fire performance of bio-based building materials.
  • Future-proofing bio-based building materials.
  • Bio-based fire and durability treatment of bio-based building materials.
  • Long-term emissions from bio-based building materials.

Dr. Eshrar Latif
Prof. Dr. Sotirios A. Grammatikos
Prof. Dr. Florence Collet
Dr. Sylvie Prétot
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bio-based structural materials
  • bio-based thermal envelope materials
  • bio-based thermal insulation materials
  • bio-based concrete
  • fire performance
  • long-term thermal performance
  • durability
  • biological durability
  • environmental durability
  • mould growth
  • emissions

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 9860 KiB  
Article
Thermally Future-Proofing Existing Libyan Housing Stock with Biobased Insulation Materials and Passive Measures: An Empirical and Numerical Study Using a Digital Twin
by Salwa Albarssi, Shan Shan Hou and Eshrar Latif
Buildings 2024, 14(1), 175; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14010175 - 10 Jan 2024
Viewed by 671
Abstract
Thermal refurbishment and retrofitting building envelopes with passive measures such as the optimisation of opaque and transparent fabric performance may play a key role in reducing cooling and heating load and promoting building energy efficiency. Furthermore, to reduce the embodied carbon impact of [...] Read more.
Thermal refurbishment and retrofitting building envelopes with passive measures such as the optimisation of opaque and transparent fabric performance may play a key role in reducing cooling and heating load and promoting building energy efficiency. Furthermore, to reduce the embodied carbon impact of the building, the refurbishment measures need to consider the use of low-carbon building materials. This paper investigates ways to thermally future-proof typical Libyan houses using biobased materials. Several typical Libyan houses were monitored for one year to investigate the heating and cooling energy use and to thermally retrofit the building envelope. A digital twin was created in the DesignBuilder software using the real building data of one building for digital model calibration. Finally, multi-objective optimisation was carried out with low-impact biobased materials for insulation, including camel hair, sheep wool, and date palm fibre as well as using other optimisation variables such as shading and glazing types. The study reveals that thermally upgrading the building roof and wall with insulation materials and upgrading the windows with energy-efficient glazing and local shadings can achieve a reduction in cooling load from 53.51 kWh/m2/y to 40.8 kWh/m2/y. Furthermore, the heating load reduces from 19.4 kW/m2/y to 15 kW/m2/y without compromising the standard annual discomfort hours. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future-Proofing Bio-Based Building Materials)
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17 pages, 3935 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Mechanical and Thermal Performance and Environmental Impact of Flax-Fiber-Reinforced Gypsum Boards
by Oladikpo Gatien Agossou and Sofiane Amziane
Buildings 2023, 13(12), 3098; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13123098 - 13 Dec 2023
Viewed by 947
Abstract
Gypsum board is a building material known for its various qualities and functional characteristics, including its low density, fire resistance, thermal insulation, moisture regulation, and decorative appeal. However, it is important to consider the environmental aspects, as the production of one ton of [...] Read more.
Gypsum board is a building material known for its various qualities and functional characteristics, including its low density, fire resistance, thermal insulation, moisture regulation, and decorative appeal. However, it is important to consider the environmental aspects, as the production of one ton of gypsum board releases approximately 355 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere. This research aims to reduce the carbon footprint while improving the mechanical and thermal properties of gypsum boards. To achieve this objective, flax fibers of three different lengths (12 mm, 24 mm, and 36 mm) were used to replace gypsum at a certain volume fraction. Incorporating up to 10% flax fiber effectively offsets the carbon footprint of gypsum boards. However, practical constraints related to the processing conditions and mechanical strength limited the addition of flax fiber to levels of 1%, 2%, and 3%. A 3% fiber incorporation gave us a more homogeneous mix with good workability, ensuring good mechanical performance and a 29% reduction in the carbon footprint. This study showed an improvement in flexural strength for flax-fiber-reinforced composites regardless of their length. In particular, the addition of 3% flax fiber (36 mm in length) showed the most significant increase in flexural strength, exceeding 438%. In addition, the mechanical behavior, including toughness, showed improvements over unreinforced gypsum. Flax fibers were found to be effective in bridging microcracks and limiting their propagation. Notably, all reinforced composites showed a decrease in thermal conductivity, resulting in a 47% improvement in thermal insulation with the addition of flax fibers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Future-Proofing Bio-Based Building Materials)
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