Mechanical and thermal insulation properties of high volume fly ash fiber reinforced cement composite (HVFA-FRCC) manufactured by extrusion technique

As sustainability issue moves to the forefront of construction and building industry, utilizing waste materials for partial replacement of Portland cement and consequently decreasing Co2 emission has received much more attention. This study presents thermal insulation and mechanical properties of high volume fly ash fiber reinforced cement composite (HVFA-FRCC) manufacture by extrusion. The objective of this study is to improve thermal insulation properties of high volume fly ash fiber reinforced cement composite with acceptable mechanical properties to be used for building façade. Paraffin (PA) as an organic phase change material(PCM) was directly incorporated into porous structure of expanded perlite (EP) as light weight aggregate and formed PCM composite .TGA (thermo gravimetric analysis) results revealed the PCM composite is stable in the outdoor environment temperature. Steady thermal test showed that incorporation of PCM composite in the extruded panels enhances temperature differences between inner and outer surfaces of panel indicating that PCM is effective for thermal energy storage purpose. Moreover, extrusion technique improves flexural toughness of panels in spite of reduction of flexural strength in PCM incorporated specimens due to dilution of matrix by phase change materials. Our studies showed that HVFA extruded fiber reinforced cement composites with phase change material has a great potential to be used as building façade due to its high energy storage property as well as using waste materials which makes it a sustainable construction material.