Virginia Mendizabal

Eco-mortars have emerged as a sustainable alternative to conventional cement-based mortars by incorporating bio-based materials aiming to reduce the environmental impact. This study investigates the development of eco-mortars through the substitution of the cementitious binder by incorporating vegetal oils, focusing on the saponification reaction. The study analyzes the influence of oil dosage on fresh-state properties, hydration processes and physical–mechanical performance. The research comprehends the mechanical characterisation (bending, compression and ultrasound analysis) of eco-mortar conducted in samples with different 3 ratio of aggregate-binder, 2 ratio of CaO and the internal ratio of filler-sand (aggregates) and RACO (eco-binder, ricinoleic acid ”RA” and castor oil ”CO”), resulting in a total of 29 different combination of mortar mixes. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimal ratio is 85% aggregate and 15% eco-binder with a 50% of ricinoleic acid, obtaining mechanical properties of 3,9 MPa compression strength and 2,1 MPa bending strength. The findings highlight the potential of vegetable oil as a substituted for cement in eco-friendly mortar for low structural performance applications.

This study investigated the utilization of innovative green composites made from hemp shiv, a waste by-product of hemp cultivation, with the aim of promoting sustainability within the construction industry. The manufacturing method involved the application of pressure in a mold to create the samples. These materials were produced using an environmentally friendly binder consisting of colophony, arabic gum, and corn starch. Moreover, white glue and bioepoxy were also used to compare with the green resins. Three different binder compositions were used for the specimens. The samples underwent mechanical testing through tensile and bending assessments, and their performance was compared to that of non-green binders to validate the effectiveness of the manufacturing processes. The study revealed that decreasing the moisture content during the curing process was crucial for improving the mechanical properties. The best results were achieved when using arabic gum as a binder, yielding a tensile strength of 2.16 MPa and a bending strength of 5.25 MPa, with a composition of 62.5% hemp shiv and a manufacturing process involving a pressure of 5 MPa.

This study investigates the utilization of innovative green composites made from hemp shiv, a waste by-product of hemp cultivation, with the aim of promoting sustainability within the construction industry. The manufacturing method involve the application of pressure in a mold to create the samples. These materials were produced using an environmentally friendly binder consisting of colophony, arabic gum and corn starch, moreover white glue and bioepoxy are also used to compare with the green resins. Three different binder compositions for the specimens. The samples underwent mechanical testing through tensile and bending assessments, and their performance was compared to that of non-green binders to validate the effectiveness of the manufacturing processes. The study revealed that decreasing the moisture content during the curing process is crucial for improving the mechanical properties. The best results were achieved when using arabic gum as a binder, yielding a tensile strength of 2.16 MPa and a bending strength of 5.25 MPa, with a composition of 62.5% hemp shiv and a manufacturing process involving a pressure of 5 MPa.

The utilization of the vegetal fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) represents an innovative approach to composite materials, offering distinct sustainable advantages when compared to traditional steel-reinforced concrete and conventional FRCM composites employing synthetic fibers. This article introduces a design for sandwich solutions based on a core of extruded polystyrene and composite skins combining mortar as a matrix and diverse vegetal fabrics as fabrics such as hemp and sisal. The structural behavior of the resulting sandwich panel is predominantly driven by the interaction between materials (mortar and polyurethane) and the influence of shear connectors penetrating the insulation layer. This study encompasses an experimental campaign involving double-shear tests, accompanied by heuristic bond-slip models for the potential design of sandwich solutions. The analysis extends to the examination of various connector types, including hemp, sisal, and steel, and their impact on the shear performance of the sandwich specimens. The results obtained emphasize the competitiveness of vegetal fabrics in achieving an effective composite strength comparable to other synthetic fabrics like glass fiber. Nevertheless, this study reveals that the stiffness of steel connectors outperforms vegetal connectors, contributing to an enhanced improvement in both stiffness and shear strength of the sandwich solutions.

The utilization of vegetal fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) represents an innovative approach to composite materials, offering distinct sustainable advantages when compared to traditional steel-reinforced concrete and conventional FRCM composites employing synthetic fibers. This article introduces a design for sandwich solutions based on a core of extruded polystyrene and composite skins combining mortar as a matrix and diverse vegetal fabrics as fabrics such as hemp and sisal. The structural behavior of the resulting sandwich panel is predominantly driven by the interaction between materials (mortar and polyurethane) and the influence of shear connectors penetrating the insulation layer. This study encompasses an experimental campaign involving double-shear tests, accompanied by heuristic bond-slip models for potential design of sandwich solutions. The analysis extends to the examination of various connector types, including hemp, sisal, and steel, and their impact on the shear performance of the sandwich specimens. The results obtained emphasize the competitiveness of vegetal fabrics in achieving effective composite strength comparable to other synthetic fabrics like glass fiber. Nevertheless, the study reveals that the stiffness of steel connectors outperforms vegetal connectors, contributing to an enhanced improvement in both stiffness and shear strength of the sandwich solutions