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Energy
EnergyProcedia
Procedia141 (2017) 000–000
00 (2017) 160–164
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4th International Conference on Power and Energy Systems Engineering, CPESE 2017, 25-29
September
4th International Conference on 2017,
Power and Berlin,
Energy Germany
Systems Engineering, CPESE 2017, 25-29
September 2017, Berlin, Germany
Energy The
Efficiency and Thermal
15th International Symposium Properties of the
on District Heating and Composite
Cooling
Energy Efficiency and Thermal Properties
Material Clay-straw of the Composite
Assessing thea feasibility
Materialof using the heat demand-outdoor
Clay-straw
K. El Azharya*,Y.Chihabaa, M.Mansourbb, N.Laaroussiaa, M.Garoumaa
temperature function
K. El Azhary for a ,long-term
*,Y.Chihab M.Mansour district
a
heat, M.Garoum
, N.Laaroussi demand forecast
Mohammed V University in Rabat, EST de Salé, MEAT Team , Salé, Morocco
b
a,b,c Ecole Nationale d’Architecture,
VaUniversity Medinat AlMEAT
Irfane, Rabat, Morocco
, P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Correc
a EST b Team Morocco c
a
I. Andrić *, A.Ecole
Pina
Mohammed
b
in Rabat, de Salé, , Salé,
Nationale d’Architecture, Medinat Al Irfane, Rabat, Morocco
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
b
Abstract Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
Unfired clay is
c a sustainable building material resisting to the hard climatic conditions. In order to improve the energy efficiency
Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France
of this ecological
Unfired material, this
clay is a sustainable work tries
building to develop
material resistingthetothermal
the hardproperties of unfired clay
climatic conditions. as antoinsulation
In order improve material
the energy byefficiency
mixing it
with
of thisstraw. An experimental
ecological material, thismeasurement
work tries toofdevelop
thermalthe properties of unfired of
thermal properties clay mixedclay
unfired with
as straw was done
an insulation by using
material the flash
by mixing it
method
with straw. to determine the thermal
An experimental diffusivity of
measurement andthermal
the state hot plate of
properties method
unfiredto clay
estimate
mixed thewith
thermal
straw conductivity
was done byin order
usingtothe deduce
flash
the thermal
method
Abstract capacity.the
to determine A building was simulated
thermal diffusivity using
and the thehotunfired
state clay–straw
plate method envelope
to estimate thewith the climate
thermal data of
conductivity south to
in order Morocco
deduce
region,
the thermalfor the purposeAtobuilding
capacity. establishwas its thermal
simulated inertia
usingandtheits abilityclay–straw
unfired to bring a good
envelopecomfort
withby thelimiting
climatesummer
data of overheating
south Morocco and
keeping
region, the
for heat
the in winter
purpose to without
establish heating
its and
thermal cooling
inertia systems.
District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasingand
and its ability to bring a good comfort by limiting summer overheating the
©greenhouse
2017 The
keeping Authors.
the heat
gas in Published
winter
emissions without
frombyby Elsevier
heating
the Ltd.
and
building coolingThese
sector. systems.systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
© 2017 The Authors. Published Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review
© 2017 Due
sales. under
to theresponsibility
The Authors. Published
changed of Elsevier
by
climate the organizing committee
Ltd. committee of renovation
CPESE 2017.
Peer-review under responsibility of theconditions
scientific and buildingof the policies,Conference
4th International heat demand in theand
on Power future
Energycould decrease,
Peer-review
prolonging
Systems under responsibility of
the investment return period.
Engineering. the organizing committee of CPESE 2017.
Keywords: Thermal simulation, thermal properties, thermal comfort
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
Keywords: Thermal simulation, thermal properties, thermal comfort
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
1.buildings
Introductionthat vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
1.compared
Introduction
In the industrialized
with results from countries,
a dynamic following
heat demand the model,
Second World War,
previously the construction
developed and validated of unfired
by the clay was virtually
authors.
abandoned
TheIn results in favorthat
showed
the industrialized of concrete
when onlyconstruction
countries, weather
following such
change as
the isSecondthe Moroccan
considered,
World the War,companies
margin errorof bricks
theof construction
could beof which present
acceptable
unfired for an
claysome
wasovertaking
applications
virtually
of(the
10 error
abandoned kJ/kginin annual
favor demand
compared of with wasinternational
the
concrete lower than 20%
construction for as
standard
such allthe
weather
of Energy scenarios
Moroccan consumed considered).
companies according However,
of bricks to the
whichafter
reportintroducing
of Slaoui's
present renovation
factory
an overtaking
scenarios,
[1].10As
of the
a result
kJ/kg error value
of climate
compared increased
with thechange up to 59.5% (depending
and increasing
international standardecologicalon the weather
of Energyconsciousness and renovation
consumed according scenarios
among toa the growing combination
reportnumber
of Slaoui'sconsidered).
of people,
factory
TheAs
providing
[1]. value of slope
naturel
a result coefficient
ofalternatives
climate change increased andonincreasing
to concrete average
has becomewithin the range
a major
ecological of 3.8%toupreduce
challenge
consciousness to 8% the
among per decade, that
a environmental
growing corresponds
number impact oftothe
of people, the
decrease innaturel
construction
providing the number
sector. Thisof reason
heating
alternatives hours of 22-139h
to explains
concrete the
has level during
become a the
of interest
majorheating season
inchallenge
clay (depending
because
to it is an
reduce onecological
the the combination
environmentalmaterialof weather
impactwithofhigh and
the
renovation
thermal
construction scenarios
inertia, which
sector. considered).
allows
This reason On
to store theheat
explains other
andhand,
the level function
to regulate intercept
the
of interest increased
temperature
in clay forit7.8-12.7%
changes
because is between per
an ecologicaldaydecade
and (depending
night.
material is aon
Itwith raw
highthe
coupled scenarios).
materialinertia,
widely which The
available, values suggested
renewable could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
thermal allows to store and heateven
and to recyclable.
regulate the Thetemperature
energy requiredchanges for between
its manufacture
day andisnight.
very Itlowis asince
raw
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.
material widely available, renewable and even recyclable. The energy required for its manufacture is very low since
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 00212667400500
Cooling.
* Corresponding elazhary.karima@gmail.com
E-mail address:author. Tel.: 00212667400500
E-mail address:
Keywords: elazhary.karima@gmail.com
Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review©under
1876-6102 2017responsibility
The Authors. of the organizing
Published committee
by Elsevier Ltd. of CPESE 2017.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of CPESE 2017.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th International Conference on Power and Energy
Systems Engineering.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.11.030
 K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 141 (2017) 160–164 161
K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

no cooking is necessary. However, it can be used with an insulating vegetable fiber to constitute a more insulating
mixture. Many studies have been published concerning the thermal behaviour and properties of unfired clay such as
the work of Fgaier et al. [2] which present the thermal performances of unfired clay bricks used in construction in
the north of France. Martín et al. [3] studied an evaluation of thermal behavior of traditional and wooden houses
improving good indoor conditions inside the traditional houses in Spain. Obafemi et al. [4] conducted the
environmental impacts of the use adobe in construction. A series of research studies have been done on clay mixed
with natural additives such as the work of Ashour et al. [5] which examined the influence of natural reinforcement
fibers on insulation values of earth plaster for straw bale buildings using the guarded hot plate. Catalan et al. [6]
deals with the impact of addition of hemp fiber in adobe bricks on the mechanical strength and the thermal
conductivity. The work of El Azhary et al. [7] presents a contribution to valorize the using of unfired clay resisting
to the hard climatic conditions by improving its thermal proprieties. Laaroussi et al. [8,9] measured the thermal
properties of clay bricks using different methods for the experimental characterization. Chaussinand et al. [10]
evaluated a new construction material based on straw for a sustainable building. The work of Mokhtari et al. [11]
studied the thermal comfort in the arid zones considering the relationship between architectural design and thermal
comfort without using air conditioning. Therefore, Muhy Al-Din et al. [12] attemp to identify criteria to monitor
thermal comfort performance building with minimum interferences of external aspects in North Cyprus. The aim of
this study is to improve the thermal properties of unfired clay by combining it with straw to make it more insulating
and greatly reduce energy consumption to prove its ability of resisting the hard climatic conditions and to offer
thermal comfort without using the heating and cooling systems.
2. Samples preparation
Clay: The unfired clay used in this study was extracted from Ouarzazate region located in the south of Morocco.
Fiber straw: The fibers used such as clay additives were taken from wheat straw whose main chemical
characteristics and composition are presented in table 1. The beams of fibers straw are characterized by the medium
diameter of (1.25-2.5mm) and the density of 90 kg/m3 [13]. The light straw particles are about 2 cm, as shown in
figure 1.
Clay Straw

Sample preparation:
Figure 1: View of composite samples with different percentages of straw

The samples presented in Figure1 were prepared by mixing clay with straw using an aggregate water ratio (W/g)
of 0.23. The introduction of the fibers was carried out by the mass fraction m of 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% relative to the
initial mass of unfired clay. The samples were prepared in a mold which dimensions are 100×100×22 mm3. After,
the samples have been prepared, it were then dried in an oven at a temperature of 60°C according to the standard NF
P 75-101 to remove the existing water. The daily bulk mass measurement was done until getting a constant mass,
then the samples were placed in plastic bags to eliminate any kind of moisture absorption. From the knowledge of
the dimensions and masses of the dry samples, we can easily determine their apparent densities which are presented
in Table 2 which shows that the addition of straw fibers on the clay decreases de density of the composite material
and make it lighter.
Table 1. chemical composition of straw fibers Table 2. Density of different samples composites used

Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignine proteine Cinder Samples E1 E2 E3 E4 E5

40,8 % 31,7 % 10 % 2,4 % 5,9 % Density (kg/m )3
1985,18 1827,58 1760,85 1619,55 1544,98

m (%) 0 2 3 4 5

3. Characterization methods
3.1. Thermal conductivity ()
The measurement of thermal conductivity was based on the use of the hot plate method in the steady state regime
as shown in figure 1a. This method is based on the temperature measurements at the center of heating element
162 K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 141 (2017) 160–164
K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

inserted between the sample and polyethylene foam. The heating element is a plan electrical resistance, the power
dissipated by joule effect is known and the flux  is considered uniform over its entire surface. The thermocouples
positions: T0 and T1 denote the upper and lower sample face temperatures; T2 is the temperature at lower face of the
insulating foam. Once the system reaches the steady state regime and assuming one-dimensional heat conduction,
we can write:
e1  U ²   U²
HPS
   2 T0  T2   and T  1   2  (1)
T0  T1  R  S e2  RS
T is the total flow emitted by the heating element, λ1 is the thermal conductivity of the studied sample,e1 present
the thickness of the sample, λ2=0.04 W/m.K, e2=6mm are successively the thermal conductivity and the thickness of
the insulating foam. U is the voltage R=40Ω and S are the electrical resistance and the surface of the heating element.

(a) (b)

1

2
   
Figure 2. (a) schema of hot plate in steady state regime (b) schema of the flash method
3.2. Thermal diffusivity (a)
The thermal diffusivity (a) of the studied samples was determined based on the flash method [14,15]. The
principle of this method is described in the figure 1b. It is based on the interpretation of the short time response of a
sample subjected to a quasi-impulse heat flux. The sample is in thermal equilibrium with the ambient medium at the
initial instant, it is first stabilized at a certain temperature T0 . The front face of the sample is irradiated by a strong
luminary flow 0 during a short time (=4s), a thermocouple placed in the center of the rear face permits to record the
temperature rise in the moment when the face receives the flash. A modeling of heat transfer in the sample has been
done to estimate the thermal diffusivity with experimental thermogram .The method of quadruples permits to write:
p
0 (1- e- p ) , k (2)
2 ( p)  a
p  sinh(k e) 
h?  cos h(k e) h   k sinh(k e) 
 k 

a,  and e are respectively, the thermal diffusivity, the thermal conductivity and thickness of the sample.
After studying the numerical inversion, the complete model method is realized which is based on a
minimization by estimating the deviations between the experimental curves Texp (t) and the calculated curve Tmod (T)
for determining the thermal diffusivity using the Levenberg- Marquardt algorithm [15].
4. Results
4.1. Thermal conductivity
The analysis of thermal conductivity for the developed composite clay–straw as presented in Table 3 permits a
decrease of thermal conductivity of 48% for the percentage 5% straw. The composite clay-straw improves more the
insulation of the envelope building and presents a good insulation material from the exterior ambiance
Table 3. Thermal conductivity (W/m K) of the studied samples according to different percentage of straw
Sample m(%) Test1 Test2 Test3 Mean Value (W/m.k)

E1 0 0.508 0.505 0.510 0.504

E2 2 0.407 0.400 0.409 0.405
E3 3 0.356 0.360 0.358 0.358
E4 4 0.305 0.306 0.309 0.306
E5 5 0.266 0.265 0.260 0.263
 K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 141 (2017) 160–164 163
K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

4.2. Thermal diffusivity and heat capacity

Table 4. Thermal diffusivity (a) and heat capacity (Cp) of the composite samples (clay –straw)

Sample m(%) aTest1×10 -7 aTest2×10 -7 aTest3×10 -7 aMean Value ×10 -7(m²/s) Cp (J/kg.K)
E1 0 3.727 3.752 3.705 3.728 678.41
E2 2 3.521 3.518 3.486 3.508 631.11
E3 3 3.393 3.393 3.405 3.306 614.97
E4 4 3.119 3.125 3.092 3.112 607.13
E5 5 2.875 2.818 2.881 2.858 595.62

Based on the knowing of the thermal diffusivity, the thermal conductivity and the density of each sample, we can
easily deduce the specific heat of the sample according to the following formula: C p  / a   
The thermal diffusivity results reported in Table 4 present the calculated average value of the three experimental
tests. The maximum measurement error didn’t exceed 1.5%. .The addition of straw fibers has an important effect on
the reduction of thermal diffusivity. The result demonstrated the use of fibres to minimize thermal losses during the
seasons due to its low conductivity, which is necessary in thermal insulation in building construction.
4.3. Dynamic thermal simulation
In order to improve the energy efficiency of the used composite material, a pedagogic traditional building is
simulated using Design builder software based on energy plus calculation. The building is situated in Ouarzazate city
in the south of Morocco, oriented to south-west and divided into 7 thermal zones as is shown in figure 3 and 4. The
ventilation rate including infiltration is about 36 m3/h/pers with density occupancy of 0.14 pers/m3.

Figure 3: The simulated building model Figure 4: The typical plan of the pedagogic building S=383.4m2
The Figure 5 presents the hourly variation of the temperature inside the building according to exterior
environment during the year. By comparing the five types of the studied building envelopes with the R-values varied
from RE1= 1.15 m2K/W, RE2= 1.39 m2K/W, RE3= 1.56 m2K/W, RE4= 1.78 m2K/W to RE5= 2.093m2K/W for the same
wall thickness (e=50cm), we can deduce that the addition of different percentages of straw induces the decreasing of
the thermal transfers through building walls. Indeed, the results of dynamic thermal simulation achieve the reduction
of indoor temperature fluctuations. The analysis of temperature variations improve the thermal performance and
comfort conditions, even though the minimum outdoor temperatures reached -3°C in the coldest period. The clay
walls E1 (pure clay) can better ensure a satisfactory comfort during winter without using heating system, compared
to the other cases. This is explained by the capacity of the clay walls to store solar energy to restore it during the
night.
During the hottest period, the maximum of outdoor temperature exceeds 42°C, although the maximum indoor
temperatures achieved 35°C for the wall envelope E1 and reduced to 28°C for the wall E5. This good feeling of
comfort is provided by the rise of thermal resistance of the clay mixed with straw. The clay-straw composite exhibits
good thermal resistance in summer and allows for optimum comfort for the inhabitants.
164 K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 141 (2017) 160–164
K. El Azhary et al. / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

Figure 5. The hourly variation of the temperature inside and outside the building during the year 2012

5. Conclusion
The present study was devoted to obtain the thermal comfort in the habitat through the judicious use of clay-based
building materials. The composite material of clay-straw has valuable thermal properties for the storage of heat and
the regulation of temperature changes between day and night during the winter period and prove its ability of
resisting to the Warm and dry climate without any use of cooling or heating system.
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