This study is the result of a thesis by Marie Lamalle, Civil Engineer at the University of Liège, Belgium.

Summary

Wood concrete is a relatively new material that is part of the current trend towards the use of bio-sourced materials in construction. This composite, made from a mixture of cement, wood chips and water, appears to have some interesting properties.

In this work, the main objective is to study the relevance of using a wood concrete formwork block for a building wall, by analysing its thermal, mechanical and ecological properties, in order to judge whether it can constitute an alternative to conventional concrete blocks.

This study begins with a review of existing blocks to better understand the role of wood concrete blocks. A long series of laboratory tests was then carried out on wooden concrete blocks supplied by Prefer. The following findings emerged from these experiments:

• Wood concrete, which is two to three times lighter than traditional concrete, has an interesting thermal insulation capacity, but is not yet sufficient.
• It is highly permeable to water vapour, making for breathable walls.
• The compressive strength of the filled formwork block is quite satisfactory for the construction of load-bearing walls in buildings of moderate height.
• The bending strength of the walls is sufficient to withstand the stresses during formwork.
• Two computer simulations were also carried out. The WUFI Pro© software reveals that the wood concrete has excellent indoor humidity regulation properties and that there are no problems with moisture degradation.
• Finally, the OpenLCA life cycle analysis shows that using wood concrete reduces CO2 emissions compared with traditional concrete blocks.

In conclusion, the wooden concrete formwork block appears to be a promising alternative to the traditional block.

Title :	Wood concrete blocks, an alternative to traditional blocks? - Study of the mechanical, thermal and ecological characteristics of a wooden concrete formwork block
Author:	Lamalle, Marie
Link to the website	https://matheo.uliege.be/handle/2268.2/1283?locale=fr
Date of defence :	27-Jun-2016
Promoter(s) :	Courard, Luc  Attia, Shady
Discipline(s) :	Engineering, Computer & Technology > Architecture
Institution(s) :	University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Diploma :	Master's degree in civil engineering and architecture, with in-depth studies
Faculty :	Dissertations from the Faculty of Applied Sciences