An analytic-empirical model was developed to describe the heat transfer process in raw straw bulks based on laboratory experiments for calculating the thermal performance of straw-based walls and thermal insulations. During the tests, two different types of straw were investigated. The first was barley, which we used to compose our model and identify the influencing model parameters, and the second was wheat straw, which was used only for validation. Both straws were tested in their raw, natural bulks without any modification except drying. We tested the thermal conductivity of the materials in a bulk density range between 80 and 180 kg/m3 as well as the stem density, material density, cellulose content, and porosity. The proposed model considers the raw straw stems as natural composites that contain different solids and gas phases that are connected in parallel to each other. We identified and separated the following thermal conductivity factors: solid conduction, gas conduction in stem bulks with conduction factors for pore gas, void gas, and gaps among stems, as well as radiation. These factors are affected by the type of straw and their bulk density. Therefore, we introduced empirical flatness and reverse flatness factors to our model, describing the relationship between heat conduction in stems and voids to bulk density using the geometric parameters of undisturbed and compressed stems. After the validation, our model achieved good agreement with the measured thermal conductivities. As an additional outcome of our research, the optimal bulk densities of two different straw types were found to be similar at 120 kg/m3.

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An empirical model was developed to estimate the thermal conductivity of heat-treated straw bulks based on laboratory experiments. During the measurements, two different types of straw were investigated, barley and wheat. Barley was used to composing our empirical model and define the influencing model parameters, and wheat straw was used for validation. Both straws were heat-treated in a dry oxidative ambient in five temperature steps from 60 to 180 °C. The thermal conductivity was measured at 120 kg m−3 bulk density after every treatment cycle. In addition, we were looking for the most suitable measurement methods to detect changes in material structure related to thermal conductivity in the range of relatively low-temperature treatments. Thermogravimetric measurement was conducted, and the mass loss and elemental composition were measured after every treatment cycle. The measurements showed that the mass percentage ratio of carbon in straw increased, and the mass percentage of oxygen decreased in the investigated temperature range. We identified and separated the following parameters of the model, which can estimate the relative thermal conductivity of heat-treated stem bulks: relative residual mass, relative mass percentage ratio of carbon content and oxygen content. We divided the model into two parts, creating a simpler but worse approximation (the measurements required for this are much easier to perform) and a slightly more complex but better approximation. After the validation, our model achieved good agreement with the relative thermal conductivities calculated by the measured thermal conductivities.

Most of the thermal insulations in the construction industry market based on fossil raw material or need a huge amount of production energy. Nowadays, sustainable thermal insulation products are more popular, and the demand for these products on the market is increasing. Some of them reach the main material properties of artificial ones but usually not all. Today the reaction to fire is another big challenge in this field. In many cases, producers use chemicals that can increase fire resistance, but on the other hand, increase the environmental impact of insulations too. It is also hard to find a binder which provides proper mechanical parameters and durability and is environmentally friendly too. During our scientific research on environmentally friendly thermal insulation materials, which is running for 4 years, we found that silicate-based adhesives meet many of these criteria mentioned above. In this article, the mechanical properties of straw-based insulation bonded with silicate binder were investigated. The effect of conventional and microwave drying on compressive strength were compared to found the optimal hardening process of binders. During the experiments, straw was applied in a natural state, natural stem length distribution and without microstructure and surface modification. The used binder is a simple silicate-based binder (potassium silicate) without any modification agent. Conventional drying needs a longer time, and during it, many cracks form in the early age of the hardened binder. It is because of shrinkage and the differences in the rigidity of the binder along its cross-section. Besides, the straw stems swell when exposed to moisture (from binder), and after drying they shrink, which decreases the quality of the bond between stems and binder. The microwave drying evenly heats the various points of the specimen, so it is not generated such big differences in shrinkage. The contact between stems and binder are also better. Due to these effects, the microwave dried specimens reached the limit required for step resistance, and they had three-time higher average compressive strength than we got by the conventional drying of the same raw material.