Taha Ashour

Benha University · Department of Agricultural Engineering

The main aim of this work is to optimize the operational parameters of using evaporative cooling system such as thickness of pads and air velocity. To achieve that, study the effect of different pad thicknesses (10, 15 and 20 cm) and different air velocities (1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 m s-1) on air temperature, relative humidity, temperature reduction,...

The main aim of this work is to optimize the operation parameters of using evaporative cooling system such as height of pads and air velocity. To achieve that study the effect of different pad height (1.0 and 2.0 m) and different air velocities (1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 m s-1) on air temperature, relative humidity, temperature reduction, cooling effic...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of kiln temperature and type of wood on charcoal quality. The studied factors are two types of wood “casuarina and citrus”, moisture-contents of 6.8 and 7 % (db) respectively and pyrolysis temperatures of 573.15, 623.15, 673.15 and 723.15 K. The main results in this study can be summarized in the f...

The construction industry is responsible for a large amount of both embodied carbon and emissions. Especially with concrete, there is still a lot of potential for designing recipes in a more ecological way. Approaches to reduce the environmental impact of concrete include the use of industrial and agricultural by-products. This study combines the a...

The need for heating and cooling in traditional housing is becoming increasingly disadvantageous regarding high energy costs. But what is more concerning is the impact on our environment. The main goal of this paper is studying the prospects of using renewable energy for heating and cooling houses through an integrated bio-solar system in order to...

Construction materials have a direct impact on the environment, on people, and their health. In addition, building insulation plays a decisive role in terms of energy consumption of buildings and regarding CO 2-emissions over their whole life cycle. In order to achieve a holistic concept for green building worldwide, it is necessary to develop ecol...

Green Buildings have attracted international attention as a means of sustainable development within the current energy crisis and the deterioration of the world’s natural environment. Most countries all over the world have three problems: the amount of waste production, climate change and carbon dioxide emission and energy consumption during winter...

Energy-efficiency of sustainable constructions and buildings are evaluated based upon the heating and cooling demands, but also according to the primary-energy demand, CO2 savings potential, and the eco-logical properties of building materials. To meet increasingly rigorous requirements, the demand for natural building materials is growing rapidly....

This chapter describes the advantages and disadvantages of soil stabilisation, within the context of both soil mechanics and construction materials, and with specific reference to stabilised compressed earth construction, i.e. rammed earth and stabilised compressed earth blocks. Each of the key types of inorganic binder stabilisers are discussed at...

The function of livestock buildings is mainly to give shelter for confined animals and protect against predators. Up to date, most buildings used for organic livestock farming are mainly constructed using concrete, steel or wood elements. Thus, negative environmental impacts have to be considered. Annual world production of cement as one of the mai...

The function of livestock buildings is mainly to give shelter for confined animals and protect against predators. Up to date, most buildings used for organic livestock farming are mainly constructed using concrete, steel or wood elements. Thus, negative environmental impacts have to be considered. Annual world production of cement as one of the mai...

Based on the purposes and types of construction materials used, embankments and dams are classified into several categories. Emphasis is given to those embankments used for hydropower, irrigation and flood control. These types of embankments are called embankment dams. This chapter gives an overview of the common types of embankment dams, construct...

This research aimed to evaluate a straw bale house located in Bavaria, Germany. An extensive test program was carried out. The experimental work includes compression tests, moisture content, thermal stability of bales and pH. The in situ work includes temperature and relative humidity inside the straw bale wall. The stress–strain behavior of straw...

This work focuses on the determination of equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of natural plaster materials for straw bale buildings. Earth plasters of four different compositions of cohesive soil and sand combined with reinforcement of three different natural fibre types, wheat straw, barley straw and wood shavings, were investigated. The plaster ma...

arthen structures. Earth is cheap, environmentally friendly and abundantly available building material. Agricultural wastes were used for animal feed, fertilizer and fuel for energy production, but little work has been carried out to develop utilization of these wastes in the production of building materials. The needs to conserve traditional build...

Natural earth plasters are experiencing a renaissance in sustainable building. Earth plasters may fulfill many functions in straw bale wall system, such as protecting the underlying surface, enhancing or preventing the migration of vapor or liquid moisture, mitigating the migration of air currents and carrying structural loads. Earthen plasters inc...

Barley straw is one of the crop residuals that can be used as building material. Straw is the plant structure between the root crown and the grain head. The internal structure of a single straw is tubular, tough, and efficient. It contains cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and silica with high bending and tensile strength. The tube shape is inhere...

This work aimed to measure the thermal conductivity of some natural plaster materials that could be used for straw bale buildings. Thermal conductivity is very important to determine the insulation value and other thermal parameters for natural plaster materials. Plaster materials consisted of soil, sand and straw. Straw is used as a reinforcement...

In this paper, a series of laboratory tests on shrinkage of plaster materials are presented. The plaster materials consist of cohesive soil, sand and different natural fibres. Three types of fibres, wheat straw, barley straw and wood shavings, were used as reinforcement in the tests. The shrinkage behaviour of earth plasters was studied by laborato...

This work aimed to study the absorption and desorption behavior of some clay–sandy plasters reinforced with natural fibers that could be used for straw bale buildings. The plaster materials consisted of soil, sand and chopped straw. Straw is used as a reinforcement fiber for plaster. Three types of fibers were used, namely wheat straw, barley straw...

In this article, a systematic experimental study into the erosion resistance of earth plasters is presented. The erosion rate, the tile elapse till erosion failure and the amount of water leading to erosion failure are considered. Four recipes with different compositions of cohesive soil and sand combined with three different natural fibers are inv...

An experimental study into the compressive strength of fibre reinforced earth plasters is presented. The plaster material is composed of cohesive soil and sand. Three types of natural fibers are used as reinforcement, namely, wheat straw, barley straw and wood shavings. Ten different types of plasters with different compositions of earth materials...

Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) is very important to determine the desirable conditions of grain storage, microorganisms growth which cause material deterioration, and all drying and humidification processes. This work aimed to determine the EMC of four biomaterials namely, sheep wool (animal material), kenaf, flax and cellulose plates (plant ma...

The basic unit for straw bale constructions is the straw bale, so bales preparation in the field is very important for this purpose. Therefore, it must be produced with a good properties and tested for building purposes. Straw bale buildings are capable of successfully surviving humid climates, but less is known about the interaction of humid air a...