Analysis of the Fire Properties of Blown Insulation from Crushed Straw in the Buildings
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Production and Application of Crushed Straw as Insulation
2.1. Production
2.2. Preparation and Application
3. Fire Tests of Crushed Straw
3.1. Single-Flame Source Fire Test
3.2. Thermal Attack by a Single Burning Item (SBI) Fire Test
- Fire growth rate (FIGRA) index;
- Total heat release (THR600s);
- Smoke production as smoke growth rate (SMOGRA) index;
- Total smoke production (TSP600s);
- Lateral flame spread (LFS);
- Flaming droplets and particles according to their occurrence during the first 600 s of the test. After measuring and calculating, these values were used to classify the reaction to fire class according to the criteria given in Table 1.
3.3. Large-Scale Fire Test of a Wall Segment
4. Results
4.1. Single-Flame Source Fire Test
4.2. Thermal Attack by a Single Burning Item Fire Test
4.3. Large-Scale Fire Test of a Wall Segment
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, International Energy Agency and the United Nations. Available online: https://www.iea.org/areas-of-work/promoting-energy-efficiency/global-alliance-for-building-and-construction (accessed on 1 June 2021).
- Stevulova, N.; Vaclavik, V.; Hospodarova, V.; Dvorský, T. Recycled Cellulose Fiber Reinforced Plaster. Materials 2021, 14, 2986. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit] [PubMed]
- Bouali, G. Straw Bales and Straw-Bale Wall Systems; University of Arizona: Tucson, AZ, USA, 1993. [Google Scholar]
- Mutani, G.; Azzolino, C.; Macrì, M.; Mancuso, S. Straw Buildings: A Good Compromise between Environmental Sustainability and Energy-Economic Savings. Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 2858. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Vanova, R.; Vlcko, M.; Stefko, J. Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Load-Bearing Straw Bale Residential Building. Materials 2021, 14, 3064. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- MPO National Energy and Climate Plan of the Czech Republic. Eur. Comm. 2019, 437. Available online: https://www.mpo.cz/en/energy/strategic-and-conceptual-documents/the-national-energy-and-climate-plan-of-the-czech-republic-public-consultation--250519/ (accessed on 21 March 2021).
- Montero, G.; Coronado, M.A.; García, C.; Campbell, H.E.; Montes, D.G.; Torres, R.; Pérez, L.; León, J.A.; Ayala, J.R. Wheat Straw Open Burning: Emissions and Impact on Climate Change. In Global Wheat Production; IntechOpen: London, UK, 2018. [Google Scholar]
- Geng, X. Straw incineration odor hazard & disposal mechanism in economic perspective. Chem. Eng. Trans. 2018, 68, 73–78. [Google Scholar]
- The Global Risks Report 2020. Available online: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020 (accessed on 21 March 2021).
- Corbett, J. Massive “Climate Clock” Urging Governments to #ActInTime Unveiled on Metronome in New York City. Available online: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/19/massive-climate-clock-urging-govern-256ments-actintime-unveiled-metronome-new-york-city (accessed on 20 January 2021).
- Del Pero, C.; Bellini, O.; Martire, M.; di Summa, D. Sustainable Solutions for Mass-Housing Design in Africa: Energy and Cost Assessment for the Somali Context. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4787. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Fuentes, C.X.D.; Rojas, M.C.P.; Mancilla, J.J. Physical-thermal straw properties advantages in the design of a sustainable panel-type construction system to be used as an architectural dividing element. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 2020, 1587, 012032. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- González, A.D. Energy and carbon embodied in straw and clay wall blocks produced locally in the Andean Patagonia. Energy Build. 2014, 70, 15–22. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Dostál, D. Postavili Téměř Soběstačný Dům ze Slámy. Available online: https://www.businessinfo.cz/clanky/postavili-temer-sobestacny-dum-ze-slamy-material-odola-i-ohni/ (accessed on 21 March 2021).
- Kang, J.; Jin, Y.; Shao, T.; Jin, H. A study on the construction technics of strawbale walls in severe cold rural areas of northeast China. Sci. Sin. Technol. 2016, 46, 1079–1085. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Fan, M.; Fu, F. Advanced High Strength Natural Fibre Composites in Construction; Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2016; ISBN 9780081004302. [Google Scholar]
- Chen, J.; Elbashiry, E.M.A.; Yu, T.; Ren, Y.; Guo, Z.; Liu, S. Research progress of wheat straw and rice straw cement-based building materials in China. Mag. Concr. Res. 2018, 70, 84–95. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Teslík, J.; Labudek, J.; Valová, B.; Vodičková, M. Settlement of Crushed Straw. Adv. Mater. Res. 2014, 1041, 55–58. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Petkova-Slipets, R.; Zlateva, P. Thermal Insulating Properties of Straw-Filled Environmentally Friendly Building Materials. Civ. Environ. Eng. 2017, 13, 52–57. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Vėjelienė, J.; Gailius, A.; Vėjelis, S.; Vaitkus, S.; Balčiūnas, G. Evaluation of Structure Influence on Thermal Conductivity of Thermal Insulating Materials from Renewable Resources. Mater. Sci. 2011, 17, 208–212. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Sabapathy, K.; Gedupudi, S. Straw bale based constructions: Measurement of effective thermal transport properties. Constr. Build. Mater. 2019, 198, 182–194. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Berardi, U.; Iannace, G. Predicting the sound absorption of natural materials: Best-fit inverse laws for the acoustic impedance and the propagation constant. Appl. Acoust. 2017, 115, 131–138. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Lawrence, M.; Heath, A.; Walker, P. Determining moisture levels in straw bale construction. Constr. Build. Mater. 2009, 23, 2763–2768. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Johansson, P.; Ekstrand-Tobin, A.; Svensson, T.; Bok, G. Laboratory study to determine the critical moisture level for mould growth on building materials. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegradation 2012, 73, 23–32. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Goodhew, S.; Griffiths, R. Analysis of thermal-probe measurements using an iterative method to give sample conductivity and diffusivity data. Appl. Energy 2004, 77, 205–223. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Lataille, J.I. Fire Protection Engineering in Building Design. Fire Prot. Eng. Build. Des. 2003, 1–133. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Delegou, E.T.; Apostolopoulou, M.; Ntoutsi, I.; Thoma, M.; Keramidas, V.; Papatrechas, C.; Economou, G.; Moropoulou, A. The Effect of Fire on Building Materials: The Case-Study of the Varnakova Monastery Cells in Central Greece. Heritage 2019, 2, 80. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Flodr, J.; Krejsa, M.; Lehner, P. Temperature and Structural Analysis of Omega Clip. Int. J. Steel Struct. 2019, 19, 1295–1301. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Fletcher, I.A.; Welch, S.; Torero, J.; Carvel, R.O.; Usmani, A. Behaviour of concrete structures in fire. Therm. Sci. 2007, 11, 37–52. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Allam, M.E.; Garas, G.L.; El Kady, H.G. Recycled Chopped Rice Straw-Cement Bricks: Mechanical, Fire Resistance & Economical Assessment. Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 2017, 5, 27–33. [Google Scholar]
- Walker, P.; Thomson, A.; Maskell, D. Straw bale construction. Nonconv. Vernac. Constr. Mater. 2020, 189–216. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Apte, V.; Griffin, G.J.; Paroz, B.W.; Bicknell, A.D. The fire behaviour of rendered straw bales. Fire Mater. 2008, 32, 259–279. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Teslík, J.; Hošťálková, M.; Vavřínová, N. Ignitability small attack flame fire test of gypsum composite reinforced with natural fibres. Int. Rev. Appl. Sci. Eng. 2019, 10, 57–61. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Teslík, J.; Vodičková, M.; Kutilová, K. The Assessment of Reaction to Fire of Crushed Straw. Appl. Mech. Mater. 2016, 824, 148–155. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Sietske Boschma, D.; Kees, I.; Kwant, W. Rice straw and Wheat straw Potential feedstocks for the Biobased Economy Colofon. NL Agency Minist. Econ. Aff. 2013, 1–31. [Google Scholar]
- Himel, S.R.O. Available online: www.himel.cz (accessed on 30 April 2021).
- ČSN 73 0810. Fire protection of buildings—General requirements, Part 1-1: General—Common Rules and Rules for Buildings. 2004.
- EN 1995-1-2. Design of Timber Structures, Part 1–2: General—Structural Fire Design. Eurocode 2010, 5, 7. [Google Scholar]
- ISO 11925-3. Reaction to Fire Tests—Ignitability of Building Products Subjected to Direct Impingement of Flame—Part 3: Multi-source Test. 1997.
- EN 13823. Reaction to Fire Tests for Building Products—Building Products Excluding Floorings Exposed to the Thermal Attack by a Single Burning Item. 2010; pp. 1–104.
- EN13641. Fire Resistance Tests for Non-Loadbearing Elements—Part 1: Walls. 2015.
- Agel, P.; Labudek, J. LAG Frame-Multi-purpose wooden load-bearing element for building with blown insulation. In Czech: Víceúčelový Dřevěný Nosný Prvek pro Stavby Zateplené Foukanou Izolací; Utility Model No. 22209; Registration Czech Republic; 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Kymäläinen, H.-R.; Sjöberg, A.-M. Flax and hemp fibres as raw materials for thermal insulations. Build. Environ. 2008, 43, 1261–1269. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Xiao, Y.; Ma, J. Fire simulation test and analysis of laminated bamboo frame building. Constr. Build. Mater. 2012, 34, 257–266. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit]
- Breum, N.O.; Schneider, T.; Jørgensen, O.; Rasmussen, T.V.; Eriksen, S.S. Cellulosic Building Insulation versus Mineral Wool, Fiberglass or Perlite: Installer’s Exposure by Inhalation of Fibers, Dust, Endotoxin and Fire-retardant Additives. Ann. Occup. Hyg. 2003, 47, 653–669. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Scilit] [PubMed]






| Main Classification | Smoke Production | Flaming Droplets and Particles | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | FIGRA0.2 MJ ≤ 120 W/s LFS < sample edge THR600s ≤ 7.5 MJ | s1 | SMOGRA ≤ 30 m2/s2 TSP600s ≤ 50 m2 | d0 | No flaming droplets/particles |
| B | FIGRA0.2 MJ ≤ 120 W/s LFS < sample edge THR600s ≤ 7.5 MJ | s1 | SMOGRA ≤ 30 m2/s2 TSP600s ≤ 50 m2 | d0 | No flaming droplets/particles |
| C | FIGRA0.4 MJ ≤ 250 W/s LFS < sample edge THR600s ≤ 15 MJ | s2 | SMOGRA ≤ 180 m2/s2 TSP600s ≤ 200 m2 | d1 | No flaming droplets/particles in EN 13823 persisting longer than 10 s within 600 s |
| D | FIGRA0 ≤ 750 W/s | s3 | Not s1 or s2. | d2 | Not d0 or d1 |
| Mark | Composition |
|---|---|
| 1 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 3 |
|
| Parameter | Sample | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Ignitability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Achieving the flame to the mark 150 mm | No | No | No | No | No |
| Burning time track 150 mm (s) | - | - | - | - | - |
| Classification Parameter | No. of the Test Sample | Mean | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| THR600s (MJ) | 5.2 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| LFS (Yes/No) | No | No | Ne | Ne |
| FIGRA0.2MJ (W/s) | 123.0 | 134.9 | 129.8 | 129.2 |
| FIGRA0.4MJ (W/s) | 114.7 | 121.9 | 119.8 | 118.8 |
| TSP600s (m2) | 46.6 | 44.9 | 48.1 | 46.5 |
| SMOGRA (m2/s2) | 2.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
| Reaction to fire | C-s1, d0 | C-s1, d0 | C-s1, d0 | C-s1, d0 |
| Mark | Fire Resistance of the Test Segment for Category DP3 | Fire Resistance of the Test Segment for Category DP2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EI 90 DP3 | EI 15 DP2 |
| 2 | EI 60 DP3 | - |
| 3 | EI 90 DP3 | EI 15 DP2 |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Teslík, J. Analysis of the Fire Properties of Blown Insulation from Crushed Straw in the Buildings. Materials 2021, 14, 4336. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154336
Teslík J. Analysis of the Fire Properties of Blown Insulation from Crushed Straw in the Buildings. Materials. 2021; 14(15):4336. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154336
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeslík, Jiří. 2021. "Analysis of the Fire Properties of Blown Insulation from Crushed Straw in the Buildings" Materials 14, no. 15: 4336. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154336
APA StyleTeslík, J. (2021). Analysis of the Fire Properties of Blown Insulation from Crushed Straw in the Buildings. Materials, 14(15), 4336. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154336

