Material Properties Fact Sheets

After taking week eight to test the development of my own mycelium composite brick and following guidance given to me in my tutorial I wanted this week to create a clear foundation

for the research I had done to date. It was

important to me to be able to visually represent the properties of the different materials I had been looking into in a way in which they would be easily comparable.

I decided to create fact sheets on each of the

materials and processes which I had previously outlined as potentially viable for development in Ireland including dowel laminated timber, mycelium composites and construction waste. In addition to this I wanted to further explore the idea of recycled concrete as a tributary of construction waste which is something unto itself. The process of reusing concrete was something which I found very interesting in my research and was something which continuously came up in tutorials. As a control I also wanted to create a fact sheet for

cork, although not viable for production in Ireland I viewed it as an important point of comparison because of its exceptionally low levels of embodied energy.

Acoustic Profile

Thermal Conductivity : 0.13 W/(mk) Density : 450 kg/m3 Heat Storage Capacity : 1.6 kj/(kg*k) R-Value : 0.22m² k/w per 25m Acoustic Rating : 70% Moisture Content : 15-19% at time of manufacture

Reveal Edge Fluted Profile

Timber Absorbs VCOs

Volatile Organic Compounds

Chamfered Edge Squared Edge

A Healthier Indoor Environment

Exterior wall with rendered facade

Using 1sqm of

Dowel Laminated Timber

Intermediate floor instead of : Exterior wall with construction timber cladding

Glulam saves 4m² of glue Nail Laminated Timber saves 400 nails

2hr Fire Rating

Prefabrication Very Fast Construction Time

18000

Largest Panel Size 3600

Hygroscopic Moisture can pass through the layers without condensing between them

Indoor Humidity Levels

. Sohm-Holzbau.at . longin.at . Simonson (2003) . Thoma . Wood Knowledge Wales .

Dowel laminated timber as it is a mass timber

structural element, has a very good thermal mass and also has quite good insulative properties. In some cases, if the elements are thick enough ~300mm, no insulation is required. DLT has very low embodied energy due to mass timber's ability to sequester carbon i.e. storing it, thus removing it from the atmosphere. DLT panels can be up to 18m x 3.6m with a usual span of ~7m. Placement of the dowels at diagonals can even further improve its performance. DLT is even more sustainable than its more well known

counterparts glulam and CLT as it saves for the need of adhesives and glues and its mass nature makes it a very healthy material as it removes VCO's from indoor air and is vapour permeable.

Thermal Conductivity : 0.078 - 0.081 W/(mk) Density : 315 kg/m3 Water Absorption Rate : 0.073-0.0113 mm/s1/2 Acoustic Absorption : 70-75% @ 1000Hz

Thermal conductivity comparable to that of many insulative materials

Safer & more healthy than synthetic counterparts

Compressive Strength [MPa]

Mycelium Composite 14 Agglomerated Cork 10-20

6-12 x cheaper than synthetic insulation

aus$40/m3 - 81/m3 vs aus$491/m3 - 630/m3

Reusable Molds

Can be ready in 5 days

Can tune strength, density & hardness by varying factors such as substrate, temperature and light

Can grow on virtually any woody substrate . Straw . Hemp . Hay . Sawdust . Flax . Wheat Grains . Rice Hulls .

. Building a Living House . A Conversation on Mushrooms . David Benjamin Breaks the Mold .

Mycelium composites make use of agricultural waste and the root of the mushroom plant to make a material which can take the form of

any shape due to the binding properties of mycelium. It acts very well thermally, having a similar thermal conductivity as many insulative materials making it a possible replacement for high embodied energy insulatives. It also performs well as an acoustic absorber and scorches rather than burning during fire. The compressive strength of mycelium composites is around 14MPa, similar to that of agglomerated cork, used in the cork house and so structurally would act in a similar manner. The end product is fully compostable thus making it a material which truly embraces the cradle to cradle approach.

70% should be recycled by 2020

98% can be recycled A promised move to a circular economy by 2020

A Successful Example: Denmark recycles 87% of construction waste

= €10

€7.5 billion could be

saved in the EU annually

^ IN CONSTRUCTION = ^ IN WASTE

2007 ConstructionHousehold 18m 2m tonnes tonnes Landfills 2007 2017

30 5

Possible Actions

Bring back construction waste recycling centres Large contractors set up ancillary operation

Before recession - CDW recycling plants around country

Difficult to promote interest Lack of trust in quality Would improve their Green Building Credentials

. The European Commission . Irish Waste Management Association . Constructionnews.ie . EPA.ie .

The waste produced from construction and demolition in Ireland could prove to be a huge asset in the future if dealt with correctly. The European Commission have stated that by 2020 all countries in the EU should recycle at least 70% of their construction waste, although up to 98% of this type of waste has the capacity to be recycled. The amount of landfills in the country has decreased dramatically since 2007 and the Irish Waste Management Association have promised a move to a more circular economy by next year. If we are to embrace the reuse of construction

materials we could see huge savings both in money and energy. Construction waste recycling centres could see the start of a new language of construction in Ireland.

Improved Quality of RCA Concrete Previously used concrete crushed to form coarse aggregate [RCA]

Cement Aggregates Admixture Water

No effect on mechanical properties if:

RCA ≤ 30% of total aggregates

Two Stage Mixing Approach [TSMA]

Add 1/2 of the water

RCA Natural Aggegate Add Cement Add 1/2 of the water

Mix 60sec Mix 60sec Mix 30sec Mix 120sec

1000kg

= $1-$18

Possible savings of up to 60% Use of RCA in Hong Kong: Reduces Greenhouse Gas Footprint by up to 65%

65%

. Environmental Council of Concrete . Hossain et al (2016) . Tam et al . Evangelista & de Brito .

The production of concrete relies on huge amounts of energy which in turn damages our environment. In order to embrace a true

circular economy we should look at the recycling of concrete which has come to the end of

its useful life. Concrete can be crushed and made into course aggregate [RCA] which can then be use to make new concrete matter. If the concrete has <30% RCA it should not

affect its mechanical properties. A two stage mixing approach can be used which improves the quality of RCA concrete. The use of RCA concrete has the capacity to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions which has been seen in Hong Kong where the use of RCA has seen a 65% reduction in

Thermal Conductivity : 0.040 W/(mk) Density : 150-160 kg/m3 Young’s Modulus : 10-20 MPa Acoustic Absorption : 33% @ 500Hz

Cork Trees grow in warm Mediterranean areas of Southern Europe and Northern Africa

Cork as a material acts as a carbon sink - holding onto carbon after harvesting SEQUESTERS CO2

The bark of a cork tree regenerates and so can be re-harvested every 9 years. Each tree can thus be harvested 20 times

0.5

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0 CO2 Emission

CO2 Sequestration

Mean level of embodied carbon

. Cork as a Building Material . Delft - Natural Cork Bottle Stoppers . Young, Hugh. University Physics .

Cork as a material has been used for centuries

in many different iterations but only recently has been seen as a structural building material. Its highly renewable nature coupled with its carbon sequestration makes it extremely low in embodied energy. The harvesting of the bark of the cork tree does not kill the tree in production as well as a lack of destruction of the tree species themselves.

Unfortunately cork trees are very location specific, only growing in certain areas of the Mediterranean and thus would not be suitable

for low embodied energy construction in Ireland, due to longer transportation distances.