Moisture properties of rape straw concrete and hemp concrete

Abstract

The renewable and less impacting materials are more and more involved with science research. The bio-based materials can replace the traditional ones in order to reduce greenhouse gases emission produced by the building sector. This article presents the moisture properties of new bio-based material called "straw lime concrete" and of “hemp lime concrete”, which is considered as the reference material. The tests are performed to establish the experimental measure of sorption isotherm, water vapor permeability and moisture buffer capacity, which is estimated from the moisture buffer value determined under equilibrium conditions. The results showed that hygric performance of the materials studied is particularly interesting and both exhibit an excellent moisture buffer capacity.