Experimental study on thermal behavior of a building structure using rubberized exterior-walls

Addition of scrap-tire pieces into cementitious composites improves their thermal insulation performance. Development of such construction materials with lower thermal transmittance reusing these wastes is a challenging issue since it provides a combined solution for today's energy saving and environmental pollution concerns. In favor of this, recent European Union directives have brought quiet strict limits to reduce energy consumption and landfill disposal of solid wastes. A model room whose exteriors are fully made with scrap-tire added concrete is built here to increase its thermal protection. A standard/conventional room at identical dimensions but surrounded by ordinary concretes is also built to examine influence of scrap tire addition on room's thermal protection. Long-term thermal behaviors of these two rooms are investigated and compared under real atmospheric environments. Their indoor temperatures reveal that addition of scrap tire pieces lowers both indoor temperature variations and the effect of outdoor conditions. As an example, mean values of yearly thermal time lag are found to be 3.28 and 2.96h, respectively for the rooms built with and without using scrap tire pieces, corresponding to nearly 11% improvement in thermal protection. Results in overall verify that scrap tire addition improves thermal protection of the room and it is a cost effective solution for people with low income and/or individuals living in rural areas. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.