Experimental study of

Different arrangement of
Straw as Thermal and Sound
Insulation
Submitted By
Samer Saifeddeen
Bahaddeen
This study is concern in measuring Thermal properties by
means of Guarded-Hot-Plate Apparatus & measuring
sound level for straw panels.
The thermal conductivity coefficient. of a uniform
substance is the quantity of heat which passes in unit
time through unit area of a slab of indefinite extent and
of unit thickness when unit difference of temperature is
established between its faces
Sound Insulation is the capacity of structure to prevent
sound from reaching a receiving location. Sound energy
is not necessarily absorbed; impedance mismatch, or
reflection back toward the source, is often the principal
mechanism
Classification of thermal insulation
Granular insulation.
Cellular insulation.
Fibrous insulation.
Reflective insulation.
Forms of Thermal Insulations

Board.
Block.
Sheet.
Flexible Fibrous Blankets.
Pipe and fitting insulation.
). / ( L T kA Q
t
A =
Theory for the Calculation of Thermal insulation (k)
2 /
g m t
A A A + =
2 / E Q =
IV E =
The Steady-State Method
T A
IVL
k
t
A
=
2
The Transitory Method
L
x n
e
n k
qL
k
qx
T
L t n
n
n
t
2
) 1 2 (
sin
) 1 2 (
) 1 ( 8 2 2 2
4 / ) 1 2 (
0
2 2
) (
t
t
t o
+
+

=
+

......
9
8 8
1 [
2 2 2 2
4 / 9
2
4 /
2
) (
+ =
L t L t
t
e e
k
qL
T
ot ot
t t
T
(t)
Constant heat input
Constant temperature
L
) (
8
8
1
2
2 2
) (
) 2 (
1
1
t n f
e
e
T
T
t n
t n
t
t
=

t
t
0.8
0.9
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
n
1
t
f
(
n
1
t
)
) (
2
1
) (
t n F
AT
qL
k
t
=
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
n
1
t
F
(
n
1
t
)
Calculation of Sound reduction index
2
2 1
log 10
A
S
L L R
p p
+ =
2 2 2
/ 16 . 0 I V A ~
S (m
2
) is the area of the test specimen
Analysis of Errors in Measuring Thermal Conductivity of
Insulation Materials
Water-cold base plate
Water-cold base plate
Test sample
Test sample
z
0
A A
Guard Heater
Main Heater
x
1
(=y
1
)
y
0
(=x
0
)
Sec. A-A
}]). ) 1 2 (
2
1
sin{ } ) 1 2 (
2
1
[sin{
)] ( } ) 1 2 ( ) 1 2 {(
2
1
[coth(
) 1 2 ( ) 1 2 (
} ) 1 2 ( ) 1 2 {(
) 1 ( /( 484473073 . 0 /
1 1
2 / 1 2 2
2 2
2 / 1 2 2
0 ,
2
1
exp
o o
o
o
o
o
o
t t
t
y
y
n
y
y
m
y
z
n m
y
z
n m
n m
y
y
k k
n m
n m
+ +
+ + +
(

+ +
+ + +

=
+
y
1
/y
o
=4/5
y
1
/y
o
=1/2
y
1
/y
o
=2/3
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
1.05
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
z
o
/y
o
k
/
k
e
x
p
Guarded Hot-Plate (GHP) Apparatus
Hot-Plate
Main Heater
Guarded Heater
ColdPlate
Temperature Measurements
Cooling System
Electrical Power Measurements
Analog Digital Converter
Thermal Insulation
Environmental Chamber


3
3
1 2 2
4
4
5 5
1-Main Heater
2-Guarded Heater
3-Specimen
4-Cold Plate
5-Insulation
Guarded Hot-Plate arrangement
5mm (gap)
190mm
Main
Heater

300 mm
5
m
m

(
g
a
p
)

1
9
0
m
m

Guarded Heater
3
0
0

m
m

Main & Guarded Heater
50mm 250mm
5
0
m
m

2
5
0
m
m

3
0
0
m
m

5
0

m
m

300 mm
ColdPlate
3
5
2
1
5
4
1.Storage Tank (200 l)
2.Pump
3.Globe Valve
4.Check Valve
5.Cold-Plate
Cooling System Layout
PC & the A/D apparatus
Calibration of Guarded Hot-Plate apparatus
The Guarded Hot-Plate apparatus (GHP) was calibrated by
reference materials e.g. (polystyrene and glass wool) so
The Guarded Hot-Plate apparatus (GHP) works at range
temperature between room temperature to 200 C and
has accuracy of 7%.
Preparation of the Sample
Straw were dried for (12-hour) in direct sun light. And
later on, the straw was cut into pieces of (30) cm long.
Then the pieces where categorized into three categories
according to there diameters, they are: - (small (8-10)
mm, medium (10-12) mm, large (12-15) mm)
First group
Specimens are consist of two (straw pieces) row of witch made
parallel and glued to each other with two sample thicknesses of
(25,50) mm and weight (W=0.3,0.6) kg respectively.
sample of Group (1) straw panels
Second group
specimens are consist of two (straw pieces) row of witch made
90 across arrangement and glued to each other with two
sample thicknesses of (25,50) mm and weight (W=0.3,0.6) kg
respectively.
sample of Group (2) straw panels
3
0
0
m
m

300mm
2
5
m
m

Glue fill material
Third group
Specimens are consist of pressed straw with glue material and
have dimensions (30301.5) cm
Measurement of Sound Transmission
To measure the sound transmission. A room was
provide with separation wall, The wall constructs of
polystyrene , each part of the room has a volume of
16.38 m3 (2.62.252.8 m)
Loud
speakers
Test
Sample
8 18
4 5
2
17
6
1
7
3
9
16
14 13
10 11 12
15
Noise generation
A octave bands of noise are produced in one room by PC
program named NCH tone generation (Supports frequencies
from 1 Hz to 22 kHz bandwidth).
Measuring Sound Level
Measuring Sound Level well be made by sound level tester
and Sound levels are measured at the all points in each room
part.
Calculations of the thermal conductivity from
experimental data.
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480 540 600 660 720 780 840
Time(min)
H
o
t

s
u
r
f
a
c
e

o
C
Straw panel sample with parrallel arangement
& Thickness=0.05 m, Q=2 W
Relationship between temperature of hot surface and the
equilibrium time of the guarded-hot plate .
x
m
k
cexp

W/mC
T
c2

C T
c1

C T
h2

C T
h1

C
W
Q Test No.
0.025 0.0367 26.67 26.67 45.71 45.71 1.04 1
0.050 0.0392 27.64 27.64 65.56 65.56 1.16 2
0.050 0.0417 25.18 25.18 98.80 98.80 2.40 3
Data for the tests of the first Group of straw
panels
x
m
k
cexp W/mC
T
c1

C T
c1

C T
h2

C T
h1

C Q
W
Test
No.
0.025 0.0379 27.32 27.55 45.23 45.66 1.04 1
0.025 0.0367 26.62 26.34 37.30 37.48 0.625 2
0.025 0.0354 24.47 24.13 32.25 31.70 0.425 3
Data for the tests of the second Group of straw
panels
x
m
k
cexp W/mC
T
c2

C T
c1

C T
h2

C T
h1

C Q
W
Test
No.
0.015 0.0512 28.00 28.00 73.50 73.50 3.58
1
0.015 0.0432 25.00 25.00 45.00 45.00 2.250
2
0.015 0.0420 24.00 24.00 40.00 40.00 1.750
3
Data for the tests of the third Group of straw
panels
0.0300
0.0350
0.0400
0.0450
0.0500
0.0550
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00
T(
o
C)
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

c
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
W
/
m
o
c
)
G1
G2
G3
Thermal conductivity of the three types of straw
panels with respect to temperature of the hot
surface
x
m
k
exp

W/m

C
F(n
1
t) f(n
1
t) T
(2t)

C T
(t)

C Q
W
Test
No.
0.025 0.033 0.22 1.1284 41.43 36.72 7 1
Group(1)
0.025 0.034 0.232 1.1759 55.19 46.94 8.82 2
0.025 0.035 0.22 1.1379 72.53 63.74 12.96 3
0.025 0.0332 0.3875 1.3153 51.44 39.11 5.10 1
Group(2) 0.025 0.0349 0.2047 1.0887 75.00 70.72 15.3 2
0.025 0.0366 0.2410 1.2832 93.97 73.23 17.00 3
Experimental data with calculated values of the
Transitory Method for the two group types of
straw panels
0.0325
0.0330
0.0335
0.0340
0.0345
0.0350
0.0355
0.0360
0.0365
0.0370
35.00 45.00 55.00 65.00 75.00 85.00 95.00 105.00
T(
o
C)
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

c
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
W
/
m
o
C
)
Group (1)
Group (2)
Thermal conductivity of the two types of straw
panels with respect to temperature of the hot
surface
0.03
0.032
0.034
0.036
0.038
0.04
0.042
0.044
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
T(
o
C)
T
h
e
r
m
a
l

c
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y

(
W
/
m
o
c
)
SM Group (1)
SM Group (2)
TM Group (1)
TM Group (2)
Comparison between the Steady-state Method
and the transitory Method for thermal
conductivity measurement
Calculations of the Sound Transmission from
experimental data
Point
No.9
dB
Point
No.8
dB
Point
No.7
dB
Point
No.6
dB
Point
No.5
dB
Point
No.4
dB
Point
No.3
dB
Point
No.2
dB
Point
No.1
dB
Octave
Hz
44.3 43.7 44.9 44.5 42.6 45.9 43.9 48.1 42.4 100
46.7 45 46.3 45.9 43.6 47.7 46.2 50.7 43.7 133
49.7 46.8 48 47.5 46.6 51.3 49.9 52.8 45.5 178
52.7 49.9 50.5 53.1 50 54.2 52.1 54.9 47.3 237
55.7 54.5 60.3 58.7 62.2 63.5 57.5 58.8 52.1 316
58.7 56.2 61.2 62.7 63.5 64.9 60 62.4 56.6 421
61.7 59.4 63.4 64.3 64.7 66 62.4 65.5 63.3 562
64.3 62.5 64.9 66.5 66.4 67.2 64.1 67.2 66.6 749
71.1 70 71.4 71.3 72.9 73.3 70.6 72.9 70.5 999
72.3 71.1 73 73.3 74.1 74.8 72.9 74.1 72.9 1332
73.6 72.9 74.2 75.5 75.4 76.1 74 75.3 76 1776
75.5 74.2 75.3 78.9 77.2 77.3 75 75.7 76.6 2368
77.3 75.7 77.3 77.4 79.1 79 76.4 76.7 73.8 3157
calculated data of the source room, the separation
wall without the sample
calculated data of the receiving room, the
separation wall without the sample
Point
No.18
dB
Point
No.17
dB
Point
No.16
dB
Point
No.15
dB
Point
No.14
dB
Point
No.13
dB
Point
No.12
dB
Point
No.11
dB
Point
No.10
dB

Octave
Hz
37.0 36.9 34.0 35.1 34.5 34.3 37.9 41.1 32.4 100
39.0 38.0 35.1 36.2 35.3 35.6 39.9 43.3 33.4 133
41.5 39.5 36.4 37.5 37.8 38.3 43.0 45.1 34.8 178
44.0 42.1 38.3 41.9 40.5 40.5 44.9 46.9 36.1 237
46.5 46.0 45.7 46.3 50.4 47.4 49.6 50.2 39.8 316
49.0 47.4 46.4 49.5 51.5 48.5 51.8 53.3 43.3 421
51.5 50.1 48.1 50.8 52.4 49.3 53.8 55.9 48.4 562
53.7 52.8 49.2 52.5 53.8 50.2 55.3 57.4 50.9 749
59.3 59.1 54.1 56.3 59.1 54.7 60.9 62.3 53.9 999
60.3 60.0 55.3 57.9 60.0 55.9 62.9 63.3 55.7 1332
61.4 61.5 56.2 59.6 61.1 56.8 63.8 64.3 58.1 1776
63.0 62.6 57.1 62.3 62.6 57.7 64.7 64.6 58.5 2368
64.5 63.9 58.6 61.1 64.1 59 65.9 65.7 56.4 3157
1
0
0 2
3
7 5
6
2
1
3
3
2
3
1
5
7
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
2
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
3
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
4
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
5
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
6
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
7
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
8
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
9
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
One third octave
band centre
frequency (Hz)
75-80
70-75
65-70
60-65
55-60
50-55
45-50
40-45
surface 3D diagram of the data measured from the
source room, the separation wall without the
sample
1
0
0
2
3
7 5
6
2
1
3
3
2
3
1
5
7
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
0
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
1
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
2
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
3
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
4
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
5
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
6
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
7
P
o
i
n
t

N
o
.
1
8
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0
55.0
60.0
65.0
70.0
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
One third octave
band centre
frequency (Hz)
65-70
60-65
55-60
50-55
45-50
40-45
35-40
30-35
surface 3D diagram of the data measured from
the receiving room, the separation wall without
the sample
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000 3250 3500
One third octave band centre frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
Wall
relation curve of The sound reduction index
with the third octave bands of noise. walls
without sample
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000 3250 3500
One third octave band centre frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
Group1
relation curve of The sound reduction index with
the third octave bands of noise. walls with
sample from Group 1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000 3250 3500
One third octave band centre frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
Group 2
relation curve of The sound reduction index with
the third octave bands of noise. walls with sample
from Group 2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 2000 2250 2500 2750 3000 3250 3500
One third octave band centre frequency (Hz)
S
o
u
n
d

R
e
d
u
c
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x

(
d
B
)
Group3
relation curve of The sound reduction index with
the third octave bands of noise. walls with sample
from Group 3
Calculation of Rs
Calculated data for the Sound reduction index single-
number quantities of Group 1 equal to 11 dB
Calculated data for the Sound reduction index single-
number quantities of Group 2 equal to 12 dB
Calculated data for the Sound reduction index single-
number quantities of Group 3 equal to 13 dB
Conclusion
1. After calculating the thermal conductivity of the straw panels for
the both types of arrangement, the comparison between
calculated values of (k) for the straw panels with other insulation
materials gives that the straw panels have a good thermal
conductivity and may use as thermal insulation (0.0362 W/m

C ).
2. The sound reduction index for straw panels is less than the
polystyrene material by average of ( 46 %) and so have less
ability to absorbs sound
3. The cost evaluation from witch it can be shown the low cost of the
straw panel.
Future Work
1. Study further arrangements with considering of
other connecting materials for the straw panels.
2. Study the influence of the straw panels at the
building materials.
3. Further study on comparing straw panels sound
absorption with other materials.
4. Study the influence of chemical treatment with
the straw panels.