Research on Foam Gypsum with Hemp Fibrous Reinforcement

摘要

Energy saving for housing and building materials’ production is an important issue inrnLatvia and other countries. Huge primer energy consumption and CO_2 emission isrncharacteristic for production of various modern isolation materials. Natural resourcesrnhave been widely used for building materials’ production in many countries the entirernworld. The use of local materials, for example, gypsum in building materials’rnproduction and insulating of building constructions, would be a significant input inrnLatvia’s national economy. Gypsies rock - gypsum is a local resource and its usage inrnLatvia’s national economy is economically beneficial. Foam gypsum is one of thernpossible gypsum types, for which it is possible in wide range to vary the density andrnalso such important parameters of building materials as mechanical strength, soundrnabsorption, heat conductivity etc. (Skujans et al., 2010). Previous research (Skujans etrnal., 2007) on foam gypsum showed that foam gypsum can be similar to other wellrnknown thermal and sound insulation materials as mineral cotton, polystyrene, perlite,rnclay, etc. Gypsum obtains a high fire-resistance – the fire reaction class A in accordancernwith the European regulations (Ministry of Economics, 2008). Fragility of the materialrncould be mentioned as a certain disadvantage, that’s why reinforcement of the materialrnis necessary. Natural fibrous plants growing in the region could be used asrnreinforcement. For example, palm plants in southern regions (Bacellar and D’Almeida,rn2009) and hemp in Latvia (Allin, 2005). Fibrous plants are relatively widely used inrnbuilding, production of industrial products, in vehicle production sphere, agriculture andrnothers. A special attention is paid to the use of fibrous hemp in various sectors ofrnnational economy. The research on this topic is developed in Germany, France, GreatrnBritain (Ulme and Freivalde, 2009). At present the usage of various fibrous plants inrnfoam gypsum production, as well as production costs and ecological efficiency has notrnbeen evaluated. The purpose of the research is to develop the production technology forrna new energy resources saving composite building material – foam gypsum with fibrousrnhemp reinforcement, as well as research on mechanical and sound absorption qualities.