5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND

ENGINEERING SCIENCES, ALANYA, TURKEY

ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF

THE PERFORMANCE OF CONCRETE, WHICH HAS BEEN
DEVELOPED, BASED ON ALGERIAN DIATOMITE TO
IMPROVE THE THERMAL INSULATION OF BUILDINGS.

Houssem HACHEMI1 , Chakib SELADJI2, Djahida MAHMOUDI3, Sabrina TAIEB

BOUDERBAL4
1
Laboratory of Energy and Thermal Applied (ETAP), University of Tlemcen, B. P 230,
Tlemcen, 13000, Algeria
Université Abou Bekr Belkaid of Tlemcen
houssem.hachemi@univ-tlemcen.dz

ABSTRACT

In the present investigation, we have developed concrete based on Algerian diatomite in the form of
gravel in different quantities. This work aims to study the development of concrete on the thermal side. A
comparative study of an experimental benchmark and a numerical analysis is carried out for these new
materials to improve the hygrothermal insulation of the building construction. Different configurations
are realized in the laboratory of the University of Tlemcen by using different quantities of diatomite gravel
and we mix these forms with the concrete that was analyzed with the help of the infrared camera TESTO.
On the other hand, an appropriate 2D numerical model is solved using the finite element method (FEM).
The results of both studies (numerical and experimental) show a good agreement and the relative error
does not exceed 3.6%. The obtained results allow us to conclude that the use of diatomite in the form of
gravel is considered one of the best solutions for developing concrete on the thermal side. The results
show that diatomite in gravel form in concrete reduces the temperature by 3°C.

Keywords: Concrete, Diatomite gravel, Heat and moisture transfer.

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
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ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

1. INTRODUCTION
The demand for energy and the problems of environmental protection are two major challenges for
humanity, research on the energy performance of buildings and improving their environmental quality has
become essential for sustainable urban development. Research on other insulation alternatives has been
conducted in recent years, especially using diatomite to improve the thermal insulation of buildings [1].
In this work, the integration of diatomite with concrete has been proposed as the best method to improve
the energy efficiency of new buildings and reduce energy consumption [2-4]. On the other hand, diatomite
is one of the materials that can control relative humidity [5, 6]. Moisture control materials (HCMs) are
porous materials that can absorb or release moisture without any power source or mechanical equipment
[5, 7-9].
Recent research has improved the concrete; Osman Gencel et al [10] worked on the development of The
Lightweight Foam Concrete based on expanded perlite and glass sand. The results show that the addition
of expanded perlite increases the insulating properties of aerated concrete, potentially due to the high
porosity of expanded perlite. Bulent Yesilata et al [11] worked on improving thermal insulation in concrete
by adding PET waste and rubber pieces. The results reveal that the appropriate addition of selected waste
materials to concrete can reduce heat loss and improve thermal insulation performance.
This paper addresses the issue of developing concrete by using Algerian diatomite gravel to reduce the
energy consumption of the building. To this end, a 2D numerical simulation is performed on concrete
panels considering a coupled heat and moisture transfer model for the building envelope. To validate this
numerical study, an experimental workbench is developed in the laboratory of the University of Tlemcen
and compared to numerical results.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL WORKBENCH

The experiments were conducted on three different concrete samples: one ordinary concrete (sand, cement,
gravel 6/16, water), concrete mixed with diatomite gravel (6/16) with different amounts of 200g and
306g, The size of these concrete slabs is (25*25*5 cm) figure 1.

Fig. 1. Experimental concrete in side 1: (a) ordinary concrete, (b) concrete/diatomite gravel 200g, (c)
concrete/diatomite gravel 306g.

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
ENGINEERING SCIENCES, ALANYA, TURKEY
ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

In all cases, the boundary conditions of the wall insides 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were controlled with a thermal
insulator (rockwood) as shown in Figure 1. For practical reasons related to the experimental difficulties,
the inner wall is heated with a silicone heater maintained at 60 °C. The ambient conditions (temperature
and humidity) were measured every 10 minutes during 2.5 hours of the loading period for the concrete.

3. MODELING OF HEAT, AIR, AND MOISTURE TRANSFER IN BUILDINGS.

3.1 Coupled heat and moisture transfer equations
In the present model, we have considered relative humidity and temperature as driving potentials
governing heat and moisture transfer, ensuring the continuity of the variables on the interface. In contrast,
the moisture content is a state variable dependent on the microstructural nature of the materials, leading
to discontinuity problems as illustrated in Figure 2.

Fig. 2. Example of relative humidity and moisture content profiles at the interface of two dissimilar
materials [1].

According to the study by H.M. Kunzel [12], the following assumptions are considered:
- The water vapor and the dry air are ideal gas and non-compressible.
- The thermal equilibrium between the phases is assumed.
- The effect of gravity on the fluid flow is negligible.
- The material is considered non-deformable and homogeneous.
- The hysteresis effect and chemical reactions are not considered.
The form of the governing equations describing heat and moisture transfer processes in porous materials
is given by a system of two partial differential equations derived by imposing the equilibrium balance of
mass and energy within an infinitesimal element of volume [12]:

𝜕𝜑 ∂𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡
𝜉 𝜕𝑡 = [(𝐷𝑤 . 𝜉 + 𝛿𝑝 . 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 )∇𝜑 + 𝛿𝑝 . φ. . ∇𝑇] (1)
∂T

1 ∂𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡
𝜌𝑚 . (𝑐𝑠 + 𝜌 . 𝑐𝑤 . 𝑤) = ∇ [(𝜆𝑒𝑓𝑓 + ℎ𝑣 . 𝛿𝑝 . φ )∇𝑇 + ℎ𝑣 . 𝛿𝑝 . 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 . ∇𝜑] (2)
𝑠 ∂T

Where, 𝜌𝑚 is the bulk density of the dry building material in [kg/m3]; 𝑐𝑠 the specific heat capacity of dry
building material in [J/ (kg. K)]; 𝑐𝑤 the specific heat capacity of water in [J/ (kg. K)]; 𝑤 Water content in
[kg/m3]; T temperature in [K ]; 𝜆 thermal conductivity in [W/(m. K)]; ℎ𝑣 evaporation enthalpy of water

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
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ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

in [J/kg]; 𝛿𝑝 water vapor permeability of the building material in [kg /(Pa .m .s )]; 𝜑 Relative humidity;
𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 Water vapor saturation pressure in [Pa]; 𝜉 Moisture storage capacity in [kg/m3]; 𝐷𝑤 Moisture
diffusion coefficient [m/s2].
The moisture boundary conditions in the interior building envelope are taken by equation (3).

∂𝑃𝑣,𝑠(𝑇)
(𝐷𝑤 . 𝜉 + 𝛿𝑝 . 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇)) ∇𝜑 + 𝛿𝑝 . φ. . ∇𝑇 = 𝛽𝑠,𝑖𝑛𝑡 (𝜙𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 . 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 ) − 𝜙. 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇)) (3)
∂t

Where, 𝛽𝑠,𝑖𝑛𝑡 [s/m] is the vapor transfer coefficient at the wall surface, 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇) Water vapor saturation
pressure as a function of temperature in, 𝜙 Relative humidity, 𝜙𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 is the relative humidity in the interior
of the room.

The heat flow boundary conditions in the interior building envelope are taken by equation (4).

𝜆𝑒𝑓𝑓 ∇𝑇 + ℎ𝑣 . 𝛿𝑝 . 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇). ∇𝜑 = ℎ𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 . (𝑇𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 − 𝑇)+𝛽𝑠,𝑖𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑣 (𝜙𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 . 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 ) − 𝜙. 𝑃𝑣,𝑠 (𝑇)) (4)

Where ℎ𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 is the heat transfer coefficient for the interior air of the building.
The convective heat transfer coefficient for air interior air can be found in Ref. [1] as:

ℎ𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 = 2.8 + 3. 𝑉𝑎 (5)

Where 𝑉𝑎 is the average interior air, it is taken equal to 0.15 [m/s], according to ASHRAE standards as
comfortable ventilation velocity [1].

The convective mass transfer coefficient is deduced from the convective heat transfer coefficient by
convection by considering the analogy of Illig (Illig, 1952) which was experimentally approved by
(Schwarz, 1971) [13]:

𝛽𝑠 = 7. 10−9 ℎ𝑎,𝑖𝑛𝑡 (6)

The hygrothermal properties of the materials used are shown in Table 1.

Diatomite gravel Concrete Concrete/DG 306g

Properties
[1,14] [15]
λ [W/(m.K)] 0.1 1.4 1.18
3
𝝆𝒔 [kg/m ] 320 2510 2150
𝑪𝒑 [J/(kg. K)] 1436.5 1209.07 1247.6
𝜹 × 10-10 [s] 0.295 0.0385 0.0821

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
ENGINEERING SCIENCES, ALANYA, TURKEY
ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

3.2 Boundary conditions

Fig. 3. Axonometric view of concrete with experimental boundary condition.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Experimental comparative study between different concrete

Fig. 6. Experimental comparison of different concrete.

In this case, we have studied the improvement of the thermal performance of the buildings based on the
concrete using diatomite as gravel in different quantities. The results obtained in figure 7 show that
adding diatomite as gravel in the concrete gives good results. The temperature of ordinary concrete
inside 1 at the end of heating reached 42.6°C. As for the concrete mixed with diatomite gravel, the
temperature of side 1 reached 39.6°C. These results are due to the high porosity of diatomite gravel and
its low conductivity. On the other hand, the higher the amount of diatomite in the mixture, the lower the
temperature of side 1.

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
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ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

4.2 Validation of numerical model with experimental study

The experimental work of concrete, which was carried out during 2.5 hours was compared with a
numerical simulation considering the same operating conditions.

4.2.1 Analysis of the different concretes.

In this case, we have chosen 2 forms of concrete to validate its results numerically (ordinary concrete,
concrete mixed with 306g of diatomite in gravel form). From figures 8, 9, we can conclude that the
experimental and simulation results show a good agreement. Indeed, the temperature difference between
the two results does not exceed 1.7% for ordinary concrete and 3.6% for concrete mixed with diatomite
gravel.

Fig. 8. Results of the numerical model and experimental study of ordinary concrete.

Fig. 10. Results of the numerical model and experimental study of concrete/DG 306g.

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 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIFE AND
ENGINEERING SCIENCES, ALANYA, TURKEY
ICOLES 2022

19-22 MAY 2022

5. CONCLUSION

Our study addresses the issue of the development of concrete based on diatomite in the form of gravel to
improve the thermal insulation of new buildings as one of the alternatives to EPS. The results show that
diatomite has a great ability to reduce temperature fluctuations, and can reduce the total heat flow. The
optimal effect of concrete was obtained by mixing them with diatomite in gravel form. Diatomite in
abundance exists in the environment and can be obtained easily. Numerical and experimental results
obtained in the laboratory showed good agreement, proving that the mathematical model is sufficiently
robust.
The effect of diatomite addition on the mechanical properties of concrete is also a critical issue for
increasing its use. We hope to report on this in future work.

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