Effect of the addition of wood shavings on thermal conductivity of sand concretes: Experimental study and modelling

This work aims at the valorisation of local materials and the reuse of various wastes. The main objective of this research is to constitute a structural lightweight sand concrete and to improve its thermal properties while preserving its mechanical performances. The purpose of this work is to study the effect of addition wood shavings on thermal conductivity of the sand concretes. The shavings, which stem from waste of woodworking activities, have been incorporated, without any preliminary treatment, into two types of sand concretes. A range of shavings contents, varying from 0 to 100 kg/m3, have been examined herein. The sand concretes, constituting the matrix, are composed of sand, cement, filler, admixture and water. Results demonstrate that the inclusion of shavings into the sand concretes reduces material density to a considerable extent, while the structure remaining homogeneous and with a strong wood–matrix adherence; furthermore, thermal conductivity has been improved.At smaller shavings contents, the dune sand concrete exhibited slightly better thermal conductivities than those of the river sand concrete. A modelling application per auto-coherent homogenisation reveals good correspondence with the experimental results.