Design and study of prefabricated materials for use in the interior construction and energy rehabilitation of the built heritage

Abstract

The research developed studies the design of gypsum mortars dosed with valued polyurethane (PU) foam residues, with the aim of obtaining environmentally friendly building materials with improved thermal properties. Based on previous laboratory studies, suitable dosages of plaster-based mortars have been designed, using A1 (E-35) and B1 (yg) plaster as a binder, together with polyurethane (PU) foam and water residues. The corresponding characterization tests have been carried out, both in the fresh and hardened state, following the standards determined by the European Regulation of application. The results show that plaster-based mortars have good technical performance, similar to those of standard reference mortars. On the other hand, some thermal properties of mortars designed to know their behavior as insulating material have been studied. The Coefficients of Thermal Conductivity, Thermal Effusivity and Thermal Diffusivity have been studied. The results obtained allow us to affirm that the designed gypsum-based conglomerates show a good thermal behavior, retain heat and emit it to the environment slowly, which allows obtaining more efficient walls from the point of view of thermal comfort and the habitability conditions of buildings. Although more specific complementary studies have to be done, the first results show that the use of polyurethane (PU) foam residues in the design of plaster mortars can be a competitive advantage as an environmentally efficient construction material.