Improvement of thermal parameters of building materials based on clay

Abstract

This study aims to develop the local building materials based on clay by mixing them with natural additives such as cow dung, pod of millet and palm's leaves. Baking these clay bricks burn the adjuvants and contribute to obtain porous composite materials with lightweight and hardness increased. We used the “boxes method” for performing thermal testing on the samples of clay bricks in crude and baked state. The results of thermal tests showed interesting thermal characteristics. Indeed, the heat resistance increases with the addition of adjuvants and baking. Moreover, it decreases according to the water content. The comparison with cement mortar shows that more than 49% energy saving is observed on a house built with these materials.