Determining moisture levels in straw bale construction

Robinson, J. ORCID: 0000-0002-2991-5189, Klalib Aoun, H. ORCID: 0000-0001-8216-0718 and Davison, M., 2017. Determining moisture levels in straw bale construction. Procedia Engineering, 171, pp. 1526-1534. ISSN 1877-7058

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Abstract

With the growing interest in sustainable building materials that are able to provide reductions in energy consumption, the viability of straw bale construction has recently been investigated, in particular, its resistance to moisture. The level of moisture that a construction is exposed to may have an adverse effect on its durability. Concerns are raised about the susceptibility of straw to decay when used as a walling system. It is an organic material, therefore is at risk of biodegradation under certain conditions. The research uses a range of measurement techniques to assess the effects of atmospheric conditions and wet render application on straw bale's moisture content, and it requires an understanding of the complexities of the transition of water vapor through the material and the interaction of moisture with the bale. Deviations in the moisture content within the straw bale caused by the second application of wet render were shown to be insignificant. Straw bale can withstand 25% moisture content for prolonged periods of time without degradation at temperatures not exceeding 10°C.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Procedia Engineering
Creators: Robinson, J., Klalib Aoun, H. and Davison, M.
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 3 March 2017
Volume: 171
ISSN: 1877-7058
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.1016/j.proeng.2017.01.390DOI
S1877705817304009Publisher Item Identifier
Rights: © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Divisions: Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by: Linda Sullivan
Date Added: 25 Jul 2017 12:51
Last Modified: 21 Sep 2017 08:16
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/31288

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