Assessment of a precast hemp concrete hygrothermal properties

Abstract

The present work aims at measuring the hygrothermal properties of a precast hemp concrete. When available, different experimental techniques were applied to explore the impact of the chosen protocol on the results. The specific heat capacity is assessed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and effusivity measurements. The impact of moisture content on this parameter is then evaluated. The thermal conductivity is the second thermal studied property. The guarded hot plate method is used for measuring the dry thermal conductivity of precast hemp concrete at different temperatures. These results are completed with hot wire measurements which are also used for assessing the impact of water content on the thermal conductivity. As far as the hygric properties are concerned, we measured the sorption isotherm using both the saturated salt solutions method and the Dynamic Vapour Sorption (DVS). Finally, the water vapour permeability was measured applying the dry cup method, a focus was made on the influence of the interface vapour resistance at the top of the cup.