Optimizing heavy cob wall design for temperate-semi-oceanic environments

Aguerata, Kabore and Ouellet-Plamondon, Claudiane. 2024. « Optimizing heavy cob wall design for temperate-semi-oceanic environments ». In 78th RILEM Annual Week & RILEM Conference on Sustainable Materials & Structures: Meeting the Major Challenges of the 21st Century - SMS 2024 (Toulouse, France, Aug. 25-30, 2024)
(In press)

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Abstract

Building with raw earth and cob is a sustainable practice that promotes the circular economy, as materials can be fully recycled at the end of the building’s lifespan. In this study, the two types of cob used in the simulation walls are laboratory‐formulated geosourced materials. The study aims to evaluate the hygrothermal performance of unstabilized and 6% cement‐stabilized cob materials for wood/cob construction. Simulations were conducted on 15 cm thick cob and earth walls. The hygrothermal performance of a cross‐section of wood frame/materials/wood frame wall was also evaluated. WUFI Pro simulations were used to assess the influence of precipitation (rain) and cloudiness on humidity and temperature profiles, while COMSOL was used to evaluate the absence of these coefficients on the thermal performance and indoor humidity of the walls. Annual energy fluxes were analyzed. Both simulation models were fed with laboratory data on the thermal and hydric properties of cob and other wall materials. The results showed that the energy loss of the walls was lower for cross‐sections than for wood walls. The energy losses of the targeted materials were ‐16.53, ‐11.18, ‐15.80, ‐7.54, ‐5.21, and ‐6.98 W/m². years for walls W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, and W6 respectively. Overall, this study provides valuable information on the hygrothermal performance of cob materials for wood/cob construction.

Item Type:	Conference proceeding
Professor:	Professor Ouellet-Plamondon, Claudiane
Affiliation:	Génie de la construction
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2025 16:32
Last Modified:	08 Jul 2025 14:47
URI:	https://espace2.etsmtl.ca/id/eprint/31118

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