Electromagnetic Characterization of Hemp

Concrete in the 2.4 GHz WiFi Frequency Band

Mehdi Ferhat1, Fares Bennai2,3, Badreddine Ratni4, Eric Vourc’h1, Kamilia Abahri2 and Franck Daout1
(1) SATIE, UMR CNRS 8029, ENS Paris Saclay, Université Paris Saclay, Cachan, France,
mehdi.ferhat@ens-paris-saclay.fr
(2) LMT, ENS Paris Saclay, CNRS, Université Paris Saclay, 61 avenue du Président Wilson, F-94230
Cachan, France,
(3) LaSIE, UMR 7356, CNRS, Université de La Rochelle, La Rochelle, France
(4) LEME, EA 4416, Université Paris Ouest, Sèvres, France,

Abstract— In this paper, we propose a microwave
electromagnetic approach with a view to characterize the
moisture in bio-sourced concretes. A rectangular waveguide
cell is used for measuring the transmission and reflection of
microwaves through hemp concrete samples and the inversion
of a suitable electromagnetic propagation model is
implemented to derive the dielectric permittivity of the samples
from the measurements. Hemp concrete samples featuring
relative humidities ranging from 50% to 98% are
manufactured. Their dielectric spectrum is characterized over
the 1.72–2.61 GHz frequency band currently used in wireless
local area networks .
Index terms—Microwaves, dielectric permittivity, dielectric
spectroscopy, moisture measurement, hemp concrete, building
energy efficiency
I. INTRODUCTION
Bio-sourced concretes (e.g. containing vegetal fibers)
such as hemp concretes are intended to play a role in the
thermal insulation and the moisture management of
buildings with energy efficiency in view [1]. Hence, the
knowledge of features such as the thermal conductivity or
the water content of hemp concretes is necessary from a
functional point of view, which requires the use of dedicated
instrumentation methods. We focus here on moisture
measurements.
Dielectric permittivity measurements are good
candidates with a view to characterize the moisture in
porous materials such as concretes and more specifically
bio-sourced concretes. Indeed, the dielectric permittivity of
water, which features a real part in the order of 81 at
293 °K, contrasts with that of the other elements of porous
materials (e.g. the air and solid particles) which range from
1 to several units (still considering the real part of the
dielectric permittivity). Among the experimental approaches
suitable for dielectric characterization is the reflectometry. It
relies on the measurement of the electromagnetic signal
reflected by the material under test. Time domain
reflectometry (TDR) based on the measurement of a signal
time of flight along metal rods inserted in the material under
test (MUT) has been proposed for the dielectric
characterization of materials such as concretes or clays
[24]. Nevertheless, due to the limited bandwidth of the
probes, TDR is not appropriate as far as dispersive materials
(e.g. featuring frequency dependant dielectric permittivity)
are concerned. In such cases, broadband reflectometry
measurements implementing open ended probes can be
envisaged [5]. However, deriving the material dielectric
permittivity from the measured reflected signal may prove
difficult as a direct model is not always available for such
problems, which is the case if the heterogeneity of the
material requires the use of a large probe.
In this paper we propose to use reflection/transmission
measurements setups [6] for which analytical propagation
models and inversion techniques enable determining the
dielectric spectrum of the MUT. This approach is applied in
the 1.72–2.61 GHz frequency band currently used in wireless
local area networks. Indeed, the centimetric dimensions of
the rectangular waveguides operating in that band (namely L
band) are suitable with respect to the representative
elementary volume (REV) of the bio-sourced concretes to
be characterized. The goal of this work is to study the ability
of such an electromagnetic approach to characterize the
moisture content of a hemp concrete. Therefore, hemp
concrete samples are manufactured to fit the dimensions of L
band rectangular waveguides and conditioned to feature
fixed relative humidities ranging from 50 to 98%. A
transmission reflexion setup implementing a rectangular cell
due to contain the samples and operating in the L band is
designed. Furthermore, dielectric spectrum characterization
of the hemp concrete samples is carried out.
The outline of the paper is as follows: section II presents
hemp concrete and how samples are manufactured and
conditioned prior to being characterized. Section III
describes the proposed dielectric permittivity measurement
method which is based on a test bench comprising a
rectangular waveguide and an inversion process used to
derive the dielectric spectrum. Section IV provides with
experimental results regarding the characterization of hemp
concrete and analyses these results. Conclusions are given in
section V.
II. HEMP CONCRETE FEATURES, MANUFACTURING AND
MOISTURE CONDITIONINGS
A. Hemp concrete features
The hemp concrete is a bio-based construction material
made up of vegetal fibers called shiv, lime used as a binder
as well as water. Such a material features excellent thermal
and acoustic insulation properties thanks to the vegetal
aggregates. Moreover, since such a material is very porous
and thanks to the properties of the vegetal fibers it can be
used for the moisture regulation of buildings [7]. Therefore,
it is interesting to develop techniques so as to characterize
the hemp moisture content [8]. The main moisture
characteristic considered in this paper is the relative
humidity of the air environing the material RH which
influences the material water content.

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B. Hemp concrete samples manufacturing
We have manufactured hemp concrete by mixing the 3
elements mentioned above with a weight ratio of 1.4
between water and lime whereas the weight ratio between
lime and shiv is 2.5. In order to prepare hemp samples
(Fig. 1) with a view to dielectric characterization, the
concrete mixture is poured into rectangular waveguide
sections featuring 109 mm × 54.6 mm × 50 mm dimensions
corresponding to an L frequency band operation.
50mm
Fig 1. Hemp concrete sample.
The moisture conditioning of a hemp concrete sample
relies on its exposure to a given RH inside a hydric
enclosure thanks to the use of an appropriate saturated saline
solution, e.g. a water-salt mixture. Table 1 mentions the
salts suitable for obtaining some RH values. The moisture
conditioning of the samples was done starting from
RH = 50 % up to RH = 98%. Note that it takes 2 to 3 weeks
to stabilize the moisture content of a sample at a given
value. A hygrometer was used to measure RH inside the
enclosure whereas both samples were weighed daily in order
to monitor their moisture content variations. Let us define
the mass variation as follows:
𝑚𝑗 −𝑚𝑗−1
∆𝑚(%) = 100. 
𝑚𝑗−1
where mj and mj-1 denote the mass of the sample at days j
and j-1 respectively. It is assumed that the moisture content
equilibrium of the sample is reached when Δm gets lower
than 0.1%.
TABLE I. SATURATED SALINE SOLUTIONS FOR DIFFERENT
RELATIVE HUMIDITIES
Relative humidity (RH) Saturated saline solutions
98 % Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4)
86 % Potassium Chloride (KCl)
74 % Sodium Chloride (NaCl)
50 % Adjustable climatic chamber
III DIELECTRIC PERMITTIVITY MEASUREMENTS
The method we propose to characterize the dielectric
spectrum of hemp concrete samples conditioned at different
RH relies on the measurement the transmission and reflection
coefficients of a rectangular waveguide WR430 filled with a
sample. Such a waveguide provides with single-mode
operation in the [1.72 GHz – 2.61 GHz] frequency band. The
measurements are performed by means of a vector network
analyzer (VNA) which provides with scattering parameters.
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The VNA is connected via coaxial cables to a cell made up
of the waveguide containing the sample placed between two
transitions between an air rectangular waveguide and a
coaxial one (Fig. 2). The measurement consists of two steps.
Firstly, a thru-reflect-line (TRL) calibration [9] used to
measure the effects of the cables and transitions so as to be
able to deduce the 𝑆𝑖𝑗 (i, j ∈ {1,2}) scattering parameters in
the sample reference planes from those measured in the input
planes of the VNA. The TRL calibration is done thanks to a
VNA internal firmware. Secondly, provided the calibration,
the sample is set up and the VNA enables determining the
wished 𝑆𝑖𝑗 . As regards of the main experimental conditions,
the used VNA was an R&S ZVB20.
Fig2. Dielectric characterization experimental set-up implementing
a rectangular waveguide cell (cut-view).
For transmission and reflection measurements
configurations such as considered here, there exist analytical
direct models relating the Sij to the sample complex
dielectric permittivity 𝜀𝑟∗ [10], as well as inversion methods
for determining 𝜀𝑟∗ from these Sij. In this study, we used an
inversion algorithm based on a Nicholson-Ross-Weir
(NRW) approach [11-12].
Nevertheless, the noise may influence the inversion
results. Therefore we chose to evaluate the robustness of the
inversion algorithm by means of a Monte Carlo method
[13-16] taking into account the random noise introduced by
the VNA according to the manufacturer’s data [17]
(Table II). Furthermore, there also exists an uncertainty on
the length of the manufactured samples (±1 mm) which may
influence the inversions results. This uncertainty also was
taken into account in the Monte-Carlo algorithm.
TABLE II. VNA MEASUREMENTS ERRORS
Sii Sij
Magnitude (dB) 1 0.1
Phase (deg) 6 1
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Prior to presenting the dielectric characterization results,
let us specify some useful notations. The relative dielectric
permittivity of a material is a complex parameter usually
denoted 𝜀𝑟∗ .
𝜀∗
𝜀𝑟∗ = = ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) − j𝐼𝑚(𝜀𝑟∗ ) (2)
𝜀0
where 𝜀 ∗ and 𝜀0 denote the absolute dielectric permittivity
of the material and the dielectric permittivity in a vacuum
respectively. The imaginary part of the relative dielectric
permittivity 𝐼𝑚(𝜀𝑟∗ ) represents the loss in the material.
Usually, the losses also are represented via the loss factor
tan δ defined as follows
𝐼𝑚(𝜀𝑟∗ )
tan δ = (3)
ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ )

The dielectric spectra of hemp concrete samples

conditioned at different RH were characterized over the
[1.72 GHz2.61 GHz] bandwidth, by applying the
measurement and inversion method described in § III.
Fig 3 and 4 show the real and imaginary parts of these
spectra respectively. In addition, for the sake of validation
of the used measurement and inversion approach, the
dielectric characterization of a PTFE sample was carried out
too. The obtained dielectric permittivity, the real part of
which is equal to 2 over the considered bandwidth,
accurately fits the expected characteristics of this well Fig 4. Loss factor of the hemp concrete at different RH and loss
known dielectric material. As regards of the hemp concrete, factor of PTFE.
the real part of 𝜀𝑟∗ progressively increases as RH increases.
Such a result is consistent with the fact that the real part of
the dielectric permittivity of water being much greater than
that of the other components of the material (air and solid
particles), as mentioned in § I, the higher the water content
of the sample, the higher ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) should be. As regards of
the imaginary part of 𝜀𝑟∗ (Fig. 4), a similar tendency can be
observed: the loss factor tan δ increases as RH increases.
Note that the ripple observed at RH = 50%, either for
ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) or for tan δ, is probably due to a loose connector.
Tab. III represents the average 𝜀𝑟∗ at WiFi frequencies. Such
features could be useful with a view to study the
propagation of WiFi signals in building where hemp
concrete is used.
Furthermore, the accuracy of the dielectric
characterization was studied. Simulation based on a Monte
Carlo method was carried out to evaluate the robustness of Fig 5. Uncertainties on the real part of the permittivity of PTFE
the inversion algorithm. Firstly, finite elements simulation obtained with the inversion algorithm. The error bars represent the
obtained the maximum and minimum values.
(by means of HFSS software) of the Sij of to the rectangular
waveguide cell was done considering a PTFE sample.
Secondly, Monte-Carlo simulation of the inversion
algorithm was carried out with input data consisting in the
simulated Sij plus random noise drawings accounting for
both the VNA measurement errors and the uncertainty on
the sample length (§ III). Fig 5 and Fig 6 show the so
obtained ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) and tanδ respectively. The accuracy error
on ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) does not exceed 2% while it is higher for tanδ.

Fig 6. Uncertainties on the loss factor of PTFE obtained with the

inversion algorithm. The error bars represent the obtained the
maximum and minimum values.

In summary, the hemp concrete measured complex

Fig 3. Real part of the dielectric spectrum of hemp concrete
samples at different RH and real part of the dielectric spectrum of
PTFE.
dielectric spectra feature characteristics which are consistent
with the moisture content of the samples. Moreover, since
ℛ𝑒(𝜀𝑟∗ ) increases from 3 to 5 when RH increases from 50%
to 98% the development of microwave electromagnetic
sensors appears to be worth envisaging with sensitive
measurement of moisture in hemp concretes in view.

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