Extended hygrothermal characterization of unstabilized rammed earth for modern construction

Alessia Emanuela Losini (1) , Monika Woloszyn (1) , Taini Chitimbo (1) , Antoine Pelé-Peltier (2, 3) , Sahbi Ouertani (4) , Romain Rémond (5) , Maxime Doya (6) , David Gaillard (6) , Marie Sarah Force (2, 3) , J. Outin (1) , Anne-Cecile Grillet (1) , Noemie Prime (1)

1 LOCIE - LabOratoire proCédés énergIe bâtimEnt
2 LTDS - Laboratoire de Tribologie et Dynamique des Systèmes
3 ENTPE - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État
4 UTM - Université de Tunis El Manar
5 LERMAB - Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherche sur le Matériau Bois
6 Tipee - Technological and innovative platform for environnemental efficiency

Although hygrothermal properties of rammed earth represent great potential for improving thermal comfort during hot summers, still little knowledge is available about this topic. The literature lacks complete sets of hygrothermal characteristics of rammed earth, although they are fundamental for heat and moisture transfer modeling necessary to predict earthen building performances. The present work reports the results of a large collaboration between four academic laboratories in order to obtain an extended hygrothermal characterization of rammed earth, focusing on the material used in a modern construction in Lyon, France. The aim of the article is to provide for the same kind of soil an extend characterization on a large span of relative humidity to provide complete set of material properties for heat and moisture transfer simulation. The hygrothermal measurements cover adsorption and desorption isotherm, intermediate isotherm loop, specific heat capacity, dry thermal conductivity, moisture-dependent thermal conductivity and water vapor resistance factor for a large span of relative humidity. In addition, the capillary rise test was performed to estimate the liquid transport coefficient for suction and redistribution. The results show that variations in the density of the samples have a low impact on sorption isotherm, while they have a non-negligible impact on thermal conductivity and water vapor permeability. Surprisingly, variations in the grain size distribution do not produce a significant modification in the sorption isotherm, while hysteresis slightly reduces when bigger grains are added to the soil composition. Approximation of empirical model coefficients for the determination of moisture-dependent thermal conductivity is proposed for rammed earth materials.

Mots clés: rammed earth; hygrothermal properties; non-constant parameters; sorption isotherm; water vapor permeability; thermal conductivity; specific heat capacity

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Alessia Emanuela Losini, Monika Woloszyn, Taini Chitimbo, Antoine Pelé-Peltier, Sahbi Ouertani, et al.. Extended hygrothermal characterization of unstabilized rammed earth for modern construction. Construction and Building Materials, 2023, 409, 409, pp.133904. ⟨10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.133904⟩. ⟨hal-04301821⟩