Integration of environmental data in BIM tool & linked building data

Environmental assessment is a critical need to ensure building sustainability. In order to enhance the sustainability of building, involved actors should be able to access and share not only information about the building but also data about products and especially their environmental assessment. Among several approaches that have been proposed to achieve that, semantic web technologies stand out from the crowd by their capabilities to share data and enhance interoperability in between the most heterogeneous systems. This paper presents the implementation of a method in which semantic web technologies and particularly Linked Data have been combined with Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools to foster building sustainability by introducing products with their environmental assessment in building data during the modelling phase. Based on Linked Building Data (LBD) vocabularies and environmental data, several ontologies have been generated in order to make both of them available as Resource Description Framework (RDF) graphs. A database access plugin has been developed and installed in a BIM tool. In that way, the LBD generated from the BIM tool contains, for each product a reference to its environmental assessment which is contained in a triplestore

Assessment of durability of biobased earth composites

Bio-based earth composites present various environmental benefits, such as usable wastes, coproducts, abundant or renewable materials, etc. Moreover, the incorporation of bioaggregates in the earth matrix allows the buildings to act as an effective carbon sink. A growing number of studies are now focusing on the mechanical and hygrothermal properties of bio-based earth building materials. However, the durability of these types of material is a major concern, and knowledge of their various aspects is essential to anticipate maintenance and sustain the performance levels. Here, the durability of compressed earth composites, valorizing discarded earth containing 3% of barley straw, hemp shiv, or rice husk, is investigated. Due to the lack of internationally recognized standards to assess the durability of earthen materials and products, we proposed some testing procedures and discussed their relevance. The addition of these three bioaggregates decreases stiffness, as estimated by ultrasound velocity, and improves the resistance to impact and erosion by water. However, water absorption under low pressure is increased, and dry abrasion resistance is decreased. Moreover, the rice husk composite presents the best compromise.publishersversionpublishe

Potential of X-ray tomography for the exploration of vegetal concretes’ porous structure

International audienceVegetal concretes offer promising perspectives as building materials thanks to their low environmental impact and interesting hygrothermal behavior. Their insulating properties and moisture buffering capacity are largely controlled by their microstructure. In this context, X-ray tomography is a promising technique as it enables inner inspection of the microstructure in three dimensions in a non-destructive fashion. Geometrical characteristics, such as the overall porosity and the aggregate volume ratio, can be quantified within the limits of the accuracy of the technique. The present study focuses on a vegetal concrete obtained by combining a metakaolin-based pozzolanic binder with sunflower bark chips. Our measurements show that the vegetal concrete exhibits an open and interconnected pore space, with pore sizes varying over multiple orders of magnitude. The arrangement of the particles is clearly affected by their elongated shape in combination with the compacting force applied during settlement. The material also exhibits shrinkage-induced cracks at the interface between bio-aggregates and binder paste. These observations demonstrate the potential and limitations of X-ray tomography applied to bio-based concretes. The three-dimensional datasets yield more insight compared to typical two-dimensional digital imaging methods such as SEM. Moreover, the non-destructive nature of the method could allow to monitor ageing mechanisms of bio-based concretes by scanning the same sample at different points in time. Similar to other techniques such as SEM, high-resolution tomographic scans can only be obtained on relatively small samples, which raises the question about the representativeness of the specimens in view of the high heterogeneity of vegetal concretes. Nevertheless, the non-destructive nature of the method enables performing multiple scans of different locations within the same sample and to combine the data. X-ray tomography is thus a powerful tool, which can easily be combined with other techniques and contribute to characterize the microstructure of vegetal concretes

Thermal insulation blocks made of sunflower pith particles and polysaccharide-based binders: influence of binder type and content on their characteristics

Co-product of sunflower cultivation, pith of stem has a little exploited insulating potential. Blocks in which pith particles are glued together using a starch-based binder have already been obtained. However, they are highly water-sensitive. Replacing this binder with others has been considered here. Polysaccharide-based binders were tested, chosen for their more hydrophobic character: sodium alginate, chitosan, Citrus pectin, and a modified starch. Like starch, these binders are physically binding. They are first solubilised in water (except chitosan, dissolved in 2% acetic acid). The solution is then mixed with pith particles before cold compression molding for 90 s. A 10% binder content was initially considered. The blocks were all cohesive with a dry density from 36 to 42 kg/m3). Their performances were assessed through water absorption capacity and resistance via capillary absorption tests on wet sponges, mechanical test and thermal conductivity. Chitosan and pectin-based blocks show the best properties, particularly concerning water resistance and mechanical properties. The pectin-based block has improved its elastic modulus by 40% compared to a starch-based block. The pectin-based block in its case absorbs 2.7 times less water than starch. Finally, thermal conductivities of pectin and chitosan-based pith blocks are in the same order of magnitude as for starch (39.8-40.1 mW/m.K), and close to values from commercial materials (e.g., polystyrene). Pectin and chitosan were also tested at three rates (5%, 10% and 15%). A significant improvement in the blocks' compressive strength was observed with the increase in binder rate, while thermal conductivities varied little

Etude du potentiel des écorces de tournesol et de maïs comme granulats végétaux dans la formulation de bétons légers

International audienceABSTRACT. Bio-aggregate based building materials offer promising perspectives thanks to their low environmental impact and interesting hygrothermal behaviour. As one of the high-potential agricultural resources, hemp has been extensively investigated for the last 15 years. This article aims to evaluate the potential of two other vegetal aggregates as a raw material to design bio-aggregate based concrete. Being locally available, the use of sunflower and maize bark particles could reduce transport and the associated carbon dioxide emissions. This study focuses on assessing the porous structure of bio-aggregates by X-ray tomography, their hygric sorption capacities (vapour and liquid water) as well as their chemical interactions with mineral binder and their effects on setting. The results underline the high transfer and storage capacities of these materials. Hence, the findings demonstrate that sunflower and maize bark particles are high-potential plant aggregates to design bio-aggregates based concrete.L'association de particules biosourcées à un liant minéral permet de formuler des bétons végétaux légers à faible impact environnemental et aux propriétés hygrothermiques intéressantes. Ces dernières années, les travaux de recherche se sont principalement focalisés sur l'utilisation du chanvre comme granulat végétal. L'étude présentée s'intéresse au potentiel d'autres agroressources disponibles localement afin de réduire le coût environnemental lié au transport des matières premières. Les travaux menés ont visé à caractériser l'arrangement granulaire des particules (granulométrie et densité), leur structure poreuse par tomographie à rayons X, leur comportement hydrique (vis-à-vis de l'eau liquide comme de la vapeur d'eau) et les interactions chimiques entre les hydrosolubles des agroressources et une matrice minérale. L'analyse de ces résultats met en évidence des capacités de transfert et de stockage de l'humidité élevée pour les particules de tournesol et de maïs. Les travaux menés révèlent les perspectives prometteuses des écorces de maïs et de tournesol comme granulats végétaux

Comprehensive Characterization of Agricultural By-Products for Bio-Aggregate Based Concrete

The valorization of available agricultural by-products is important for the development of bio-aggregate based concretes as eco-friendly solutions for building materials. However, their diversity requires to assess their potential of use in vegetal concretes. This study aims to propose simple and relevant multi-physical characterization methods for plant aggregates. Basic and complementary characterizations were carried out on hemp shiv as a reference plant aggregate, and nine by-products available in the South-West part of France, i.e., oleaginous flax shiv, sunflower pith and bark, coriander straw, wheat straw, wheat chaff, corn shuck, miscanthus stem and vine shoot. The basic characterizations performed were those recommended by the TC-RILEM 236 BBM, i.e., particle size distribution, bulk density, water absorption and thermal conductivity. Complementary characterizations have also been proposed, taking into account the possible environment of the binder and the vegetal concrete manufacturing method. The additional tests developed or adapted from previous research assess the following properties: the content of water-soluble compounds at pH 7 and 12, the dry density of plant aggregates compacted in wet state, the real water absorption after compaction and the compression behavior of these compacted aggregates. This complete characterization highlights the distinct behavior of the different agroresources and allows to correlate these characteristics to the use properties of hardened composites

Using glycerol esters to prevent microbial growth on sunflower-based insulation panels

In the indoor environment, the growth of microorganisms on building materials leads to the deterioration of both the materials and indoor air quality. As bio-based building materials usually contain cellulose or derivatives, they are likely to be much more sensitive to such degradation. Using glycerol esters could be a way to protect bio-based materials from microorganisms. Indeed, previous studies have highlighted the significant antimicrobial effect of glycerol esters and they are commonly used in the food industry as antimicrobial agents. In addition, as glycerol is a valuable by-product of the agroindustry, it would be an eco-friendly alternative, consistent with human health, to the classic ways of protecting bio-based materials against microorganisms. This study is part of a project that aims to (a) assess the hygrothermal performances and reaction to fire of sunflower panels and (b) study the antimicrobial efficiency of glycerol esters for the protection of such bio-based materials from microbial proliferation. The materials presented physical, thermal and hygroscopic properties similar to those of bio-based materials such as wood or hemp, encouraging their use as insulation materials. In addition, the glycerol esters showed significant antimicrobial effects but also a susceptibility to flammability. One unanticipated finding was that the untreated insulation material made of sunflower pith was classified as non-flammable

Impact of Bio-Aggregates Properties on the Chemical Interactions with Mineral Binder, Application to Vegetal Concrete

Plant concretes were developed and are currently used as filling material in a timber frame. Their properties are strongly related to the bio-aggregates characteristics. In addition, since hemp shiv, the reference bio-based aggregate, has a limited availability, it is necessary to consider alternative bio-aggregates largely and locally available. Thus, this paper focused on identifying and understanding mechanisms of interaction between different bio-aggregates and mineral binders. To address this issue, the first objective was to determine the properties of five hemp shives and two alternative bioaggregates for vegetal lightweight concrete: corn and sunflower bark particles. The study of the chemical interactions between bio-aggregates and a pozzolanic binder was conducted on model pastes mixed with filtered solutions containing bio-aggregates extractives. The mechanical properties of the paste, as well as their hydration and their mineralogical evolution were studied. In the last part, the mechanical behavior of vegetal concretes was assessed. The results highlight a strong relation between the mechanical behavior of pastes and concretes and the extractive content of the different tested bio-aggregates. Finally, pastes appeared as a relatively good model to predict the behavior of concretes by following their early age performances: setting delay and 3-day mechanical strength

BFO-based ontology enhancement to promote interoperability in BIM

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a process for managing construction project information in such a way as to provide a basis for enhanced decision-making and for collaboration in a construction supply chain. One impediment to the uptake of BIM is the limited interoperability of different BIM systems. To overcome this problem, a set of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) has been proposed as a standard for the construction industry. Building on IFC, the ifcOWL ontology was developed in order to facilitate representation of building data in a consistent fashion across the Web by using the Web Ontology Language (OWL). This study presents a critical analysis of the ifcOWL ontology and of the associated interoperability issues. It shows how these issues can be resolved by using Basic Formal Ontology (ISO/IEC 21838-2) as top-level architecture. A set of competency questions is used as the basis for comparison of the original ifcOWL with the enhanced ontology, and the latter is used to align with a second ontology – the ontology for building intelligent environments (DOGONT) – in order to demonstrate the added value derived from BFO by showing how querying the enhanced ifcOWL yields useful additional information