Design Optimisation Strategies for Solid Rammed Earth Walls in Mediterranean Climates

Giuffrida, Giada; Detommaso, Maurizio; Nocera, Francesco; Caponetto, Rosa

doi:10.3390/en14020325

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…In this analysis endogenous loads and the heating and cooling systems were excluded because they tend to alter the behavior of the wall (free-running conditions) [17][18][19]. The indoor air temperature was evaluated considering the endogenous loads as these have a fundamental contribution on the temperature profiles of indoor air [13,17].…”

Section: B Objectives Of the Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the environmental, economic, thermal and energy performances of green building technologies

Caponetto¹,

Mari²,

Giuffrida³

et al. 2023

RE&PQJ

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Nowadays, the construction sector must comply with increasingly high-performances and sustainability instances. To meet multiple requirements, it is important to apply a multi-criteria design approach, which allows the designer to analyze, evaluate, choose, and summarize the parameters to pay attention to in pursuit of building quality. A conscious use of green materials and technologies avoid the risk of greenwashing, which is common both in production and construction. This contribution investigates the performances of different green building construction solutions. Moreover, it compares them with the performances of commonly adopted technological solutions in contemporary construction. The methodology adopted in the investigation provides for the realization of a multi-criteria analysis in which thermal, energy performances, environmental and economic costs associated with these technologies are assessed. These considerations are contextualized in the case of new construction in a Mediterranean climate. The conclusions highlight how complex it is to identify a single building technology that optimizes all the performance criteria chosen. Proper design must consider several factors such as local climate, environmental context, and planovolumetric design to maximize the performance of the selected criterion.

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Section: B Objectives Of the Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of the environmental, economic, thermal and energy performances of green building technologies

Caponetto¹,

Mari²,

Giuffrida³

et al. 2023

RE&PQJ

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“…All the load-bearing rammed earth walls are 40 cm thick, while the partitions are made of lightweight materials. The stratigraphy of the designed walls, roof and solid ground floor and the characteristics of the materials are reported in [39]. The net internal height of the walls is 3 m, the total envelope area is 825.9 m 2 , while the gross volume is 261.4 m 3 .…”

Section: Performances Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the first phase of the investigation, different configurations of the simulated building model were proposed to study the effects of different bioclimatic strategies (summer night cross-ventilation, use of overhangs and combined effects) [39]. In the second phase, an accurate thermal dynamic analysis was performed to evaluate and compare the thermal behaviour of a naturally insulated rammed earth building envelope (with a 6 cm thick cork insulation or a 12 cm thick lime-hemp plaster) and an uninsulated one in free-running conditions.…”

Section: Performances Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prototyping of a Novel Rammed Earth Technology

et al. 2021

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Buildings of the future are called to meet increasingly high-performance requirements and to ensure adequate environmental sustainability of the production and construction chain. This issue has stimulated a keen interest in the use of natural materials in construction. Among these, raw earth has proved to be particularly interesting for its intrinsic availability, sustainability, and recyclability. In Europe, the spread of raw earth building technologies has often been hindered by the lack of specific legislation regulating its use for load-bearing structures, even if in many countries, it can be noticed a widespread and well-established constructive tradition. Some transoceanic research experiences attest that unfired earth can be used, together with different types of reinforcements, to create seismic-resistant buildings. After presenting a review of the main raw earth reinforced technologies, the present study focuses on a novel reinforced and modular rammed earth construction made with natural or recycled materials, developing a technology with low energy consumption and low environmental impact, specifically designed for areas with high seismic risk. In particular, the work presents the results of a prototyping procedure aiming at developing a new seismic-resistant construction system that combines rammed earth with timber reinforcement elements and nylon/polyester ropes. These elements have a dual function: (1) they are fundamental components of the construction process (as they integrate the formwork system), and (2) they act as seismic-resistant devices once the structure is completed. In line with the performance-based approach required by the construction sector, the study aims at defining a controlled and standardised supply chain for rammed earth construction.

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“…Rammed earth has been used in many countries around the world since ancient times [4,5]. In recent years, due to the high attention paid to the environmental sustainability of building materials, rammed earth has received a new impetus [6][7][8]. In the past decades, many countries such as France, Spain, Australia, New Mexico, and Peru have formulated the construction standards of rammed earth buildings, but these standards often pay too much attention to the structural strength and durability of buildings [9][10][11] and ignore the thermal performance of envelope structures [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prediction of Wall and Indoor Hygrothermal Properties of Rammed Earth Folk House in Northwest Sichuan

et al. 2022

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The climate crisis is one of the most important problems today. In the process of human building, the use of cement, steel, and other industrial materials in the process of building construction and recycling has brought a huge burden to the natural environment. Earth is one of the oldest building materials, its availability and insulation make it an excellent constructive solution in human history. Among several existing earth construction techniques, rammed earth is one of the most relevant. In this paper, a numerical model of the rammed earth folk house in Mianyang was established, and an experimental device was built to verify it. With the typical meteorological year data of Mianyang in northwest Sichuan, the heat and moisture transfer in rammed earth wall, as well as the indoor thermal and moisture environment were numerically simulated. The results show that the rammed earth wall weakens the temperature fluctuation of the inner surface of the wall and makes the peak temperature of the inner surface of the wall lag the outer surface. The relative humidity in the center of the rammed earth wall can be maintained at about 60%, both in winter and summer. The moisture absorption and desorption capacity of rammed earth walls without inner decorative materials is about three times that of gypsum board, and the use of a waterproof coating will render the rammed earth wall almost unable to adjust the indoor relative humidity. Additionally, the use of decorative materials will increase the fluctuation range of indoor relative humidity and the risk of mold breeding.

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Design Optimisation Strategies for Solid Rammed Earth Walls in Mediterranean Climates

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Analysis of the environmental, economic, thermal and energy performances of green building technologies

Analysis of the environmental, economic, thermal and energy performances of green building technologies

Prototyping of a Novel Rammed Earth Technology

Prediction of Wall and Indoor Hygrothermal Properties of Rammed Earth Folk House in Northwest Sichuan

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