Thermal conductivity performance of kenaf core-quarry dust brick (KCQB)

• Main Authors: Ahmad, Z. (Author), Arshad, M.F (Author), Hassan, A.H (Author), Mohd Nor, M.Z (Author), Salehuddin, N.A (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Horizon Research Publishing 2021
• Series: Civil Engineering and Architecture
• Subjects: CQB; Density; Kenaf core; Replacement; Thermal conductivity
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus

 Rapid development has led to increasing demand for sand, which is the main source of sand brick and other construction purposes. High demand and environmental issues contribute to the shortage of resources and continuous increase in the cost of the material. In order to overcome this matter, there is a need for replacement materials as alternative resources for fine aggregate. In Malaysia, a renewable resource from biomass that can easily be converted to aggregate material is the woody part of kenaf. It is commonly called kenaf core and is available in abundance after the processing of kenaf stem for bast fiber production. The investigations cover thermal conductivity, compressive strength, density, and porosity of Kenaf Core Quarry Dust Bricks (KCQB). Nine (9) types of samples of bricks, plates, and brick wall were prepared by varying the kenaf core contents. M1, M2, M3, and M4 were used as control samples while M5, M6, M7, M8, and M9 were variable samples with different percentages of kenaf core from 5% to 25%. Quarry dust was fixed at 75% for every variable mix and the balance of 25% sand was replaced by kenaf core at 5% intervals, respectively, until the portion of sand was zero. Based on all properties studied, it is found that the addition of kenaf core affected the thermal conductivity, density, porosity, and compressive strength value. Based on all the properties studied, the addition of kenaf core affected the compressive strength, density, porosity, and thermal conductivity. The compressive strength and density decreased as the kenaf core increased. However, the inclusion of kenaf core resulted in higher porosity. Meanwhile, the addition of a kenaf core from 5% to 25% as sand replacement improved the thermal conductivity values from 0.63 W/m·K to 0.42 W/m·K. © 2021 by authors, all rights reserved.