Experimental Investigation on the Properties of a New Composite Thermal Insulation Material based on Salvinia Molesta and Rice Straw

The objective of the present work is to develop a composite thermal insulation material based on Salvinia molesta (SM) and rice straw (RS) fibers. The panel boards were produced with SM particles that passed through a sieve of 2.36 mm and RS particles that were less than 10 mm in length. Thermal insulation materials were produced utilizing SM in combination with RS in weight ratios of 25, 50, 75, and 100 % using cement as a binder. An experimental investigation was carried out on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the developed composite thermal insulation panel board to estimate the water absorption, bulk density, thermal conductivity, and flexural strength. This paper also includes a comparative study of thermal insulation materials made from SM and RS with other agricultural waste-based panel boards and conventional thermal insulation materials. The test results show that the composite thermal insulation material achieved a low thermal conductivity value of 0.054 W/mK at an SM to RS ratio of 25:75. Also, the thermal conductivity values of the developed samples were lower due to the high porosity of SM. The samples with Salvinia molesta content 27:75 (SM: RS) showed the best MOR values, and these results were good compared to those of bio-based materials. Salvinia molesta appears to be an excellent choice for producing thermal insulation materials, according to this research. Citation: Robin David, Chirath N Vijayan, Ajmal S, Mithun S S, Reshma R. "Experimental Investigation on the Properties of a New Composite Thermal Insulation Material based on Salvinia Molesta and Rice Straw." Global Research and Development Journal For Engineering 6.9 (2021): 13 - 21.