Microscopic Analysis, Characterization, and Experimental Study of the Thermal Performance of Rice Husk Concrete

The present research aims to study, on the one hand, rice husks from the Kovié rice fields in Togo and those from the Camargue in France and, on the other hand, rice husk concrete, a biobased material, from the triple angle of microscopic analysis, characterization of thermal properties and experimental evaluation of the behavior under climatic loads through reduced models under similar exposure conditions. The objective is to observe the microscopic topography and the chemical composition, to evaluate the thermal conductivity and the specific heat and to judge the evolution of two parameters of comfort (air temperature and relative humidity of the studied models) within the framework of a follow-up of measurements mobilizing the use of thermo-hydric sensors. The analysis of the obtained results reveals a very interesting potential of the studied biobased materials, regarding indoor comfort in built environments, in connection with the microstructural contents.