Thermal characterization of a new effective building material based on clay and olive waste

The influence of thermophysical properties of wall materials on energy performance and comfort in traditional building was investigated. The clay is the most commonly used sustainable building material. The study looked at the effects of the addition of pomace olive on the thermophysical properties of clay bricks to improve the energy efficiency of this ecological material. An experimental measurement of thermal properties of clay mixed with pomace olive was carried out by using the transient and steady state hot-plate and flash methods. The experimental methods are applied to measure the thermal properties of the composite material. The estimation of these thermal characteristics is based on a one dimensional model and the experimental errors are found less than 3%. The composite samples were prepared with different granular classes and mass fractions of the pomace olive in the mixture. The results show that the density of the new material was not substantially influenced by the size of the pomace olive. However, the thermal conductivity and diffusivity decrease from 0.65 W.m -1 .K -1 and 4.21×10 -7 m 2 .s -1 to 0.29 W.m -1 .K -1 and 2.47×10 -7 m 2 .s -1 , respectively, according to the variation of the volume fraction of pomace olive from 0 (pure clay) to 71% showing that the olive pomace can be used as effective secondary raw materials in the making of clay bricks.