Influence of agricultural fibers size on mechanical and insulating properties of innovative chitosan-based insulators

This work is dealing with the use of miscanthus, recycled textile and rice husks as reinforcement for chitosan matrix to elaborate new insulating composites building application. Insulating having thermal conductivity 0.07–0.09 W.m−1.K−1 density 350–400 Kg.m−3 were manufactured by thermocompression. Different granulometry miscanthus (0.2–0.5 cm 1–2 cm) (1–2 have been used without evaluate effect reinforcements particle size nature on mechanical properties. Thermal effusivity shows a linear behavior related their increasing raising up reinforcement’s size. The highest properties in bending (modulus: 69–65 MPa; stress: 0.48–0.45 MPa) compression 36–26 0.65–0.56 found formulations small miscanthus. Thus, incorporation <1 mm leads satisfying promising results terms competing conventional materials nowadays.