Making a New Plaster-Foam Glass Composite Material Destined to Thermal Insulation in the Building

Abstract

The protection of the environment through the reduction of solid waste and the reduction of greenhouse gases especially those emissions during the heating of buildings are objectives that can be achieved through the production of glass foam. In this study, we opted to prepare foam glass-gypsum composites destined to the coating ceilings and interior walls of buildings in order to expand employment of foam glass and to improve its performance including mechanical strength and facilitate their implementation. The foam glass is prepared by sintering at 800 °C with waste glass and calcium carbonate CaCO₃ in the form of a panel of 150 × 150 × 30 mm, the plaster-foam glass composites are prepared in the form of sandwiches panels or complexes. Physicochemical analysis techniques as SEM-EDS, porosity, density, thermal insulation and mechanical strength tests have been used for the characterization of these composites. The results obtained from thermal insulation and mechanical tests clearly show that the sandwich panel shows the best results with a thermal conductivity of 0.027 W/m°C and a compressive strength of 1.423 MPa.