Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy & Buildings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enb

Preparation and characterization of expanded perlite/wood-magnesium

composites as building insulation materials
Yunfei Lin, Xingong Li ⇑, Qinghua Huang
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Installing thermal insulation material in the wall is a major means of improving building energy conser-
Received 14 July 2020 vation. However, traditional building insulation materials have defects in varying degrees, including
Revised 6 November 2020 flammability, low strength, and not environment-friendly. To solve this problem, a novel thermal insula-
Accepted 22 November 2020
tion composite composed of expanded perlite (EP)/wood-magnesium (EPWMC) was prepared by filling
Available online xxxx
EP into wood-magnesium composites. The mechanical properties, frost resistance, thermal insulation
performance, flame retardancy, and smoke suppression properties of these composites were character-
Keywords:
ized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and cone calorimetry. The results
Building energy conservation
Expanded perlite
revealed that, for EPWMC composites filled with 60–70 mesh EP, the modulus of rupture and elasticity
Mechanical properties and softening coefficient were all clearly increased. In addition, the thickness swelling of these materials
Inorganic spatial network structure decreased significantly. An inorganic spatial network structure was observed to be formed by the aggre-
Flame retardant gation of hydration products of magnesium cement, which improved composite strength and water resis-
Smoke suppression tance. These positive results effectively extended the service life of EPWMC materials and broadened
Building insulation materials their scope of use in wet conditions. The observed excellent flame retardant and smoke suppression per-
formances yield these composites as ideal building insulation materials for exterior or interior walls.
Ó 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction microspheres and adhesive polystyrene particles, has good thermal

Building energy consumption has become one of the three most
important energy consumption routes in society and is in parallel
with industrial and traffic energy consumptions [1]. Building
energy consumption accounts ~40% of total energy consumption
in China [2,3]. One effective measure for decreasing energy con-
sumption is to install thermal insulation materials in or on building
internal and external walls [4–6]. This material is designed to
reduce building indoor heat from moving to the outdoors, or the
reverse, by altering the building’s external enclosure structure, so
as to maintain building indoor temperature. There are three kinds
of materials commonly used as thermal insulation material:
organic, inorganic, and thermal insulation-mortar. Organic thermal
insulation materials mainly include polyurethane, polyethylene,
and polystyrene, which are widely used because of their good ther-
mal insulation effects and low cost [7,8]. However, they burn easily
and emit harmful gases during combustion. Thus, wide application
of these materials increases building fire risk and is not environ-
ment friendly [9–11]. Thermal insulation mortar, such as vitrified
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: lxgwood@163.com (X. Li).
insulation and flame retardant ability [12,13]. However, due to its
poor water resistance and high cost, thermal insulation mortar is
not widely used as these defects greatly limit the practical applica-
tion of these materials [14,15]. Therefore, in recent years, increas-
ing attention has been paid to inorganic thermal insulation
materials that possess flame retardancy and low cost [16].
Common inorganic thermal insulation materials mainly include
expanded perlite (EP), expanded vermiculite, composite silicate,
and rock wool [17]. The main chemical composition of expanded
perlite is SiO2, Al2O3, NaO2, K2O, CaO, Fe2O3, and H2O [18]. When
perlite is heated to 900–1200 °C, its volume will expand ~5–20
times to produce low density EP with a porous structure [19,20].
EP thermal conductivity is lower than 0.07 W
m1
K1 and its bulk
density at <500 kg∙m3. China, Greece, Turkey and several other
countries were rich in perlite deposits, According to the estimation
of global production in 2019, the world leading producers of perlite
were China, Greece, Turkey and the United States, accounting for
47%, 20%, 16% and 13% of world production respectively [21]. EP
is not only rich in known reserves, but it also has the huge advan-
tage of low price compared with other inorganic thermal insulation
materials. In addition, environment-friendly and flame retardant
characteristics broaden its scope of use [22]. This yields EP as an
ideal thermal insulation material widely utilized in building energy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110637
0378-7788/Ó 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang, Preparation and characterization of expanded perlite/wood-magnesium composites as building insu-
lation materials, Energy & Buildings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110637
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
saving strategies. Currently, EP has been widely used in architec-
ture, agriculture, medicine, and chemical industries [23].
Previous studies have demonstrated that composites prepared
by mixing EP with other materials have improved overall proper-
ties. Jia et al. have successfully prepared aerogel/EP (AEP) thermal
insulation materials by filling aerogels into the porous structure of
EP, which have better hydrophobicity and lower thermal conduc-
tivity than EP itself. Nevertheless, due to the complex preparation
process of AEP, it is clear that large-scale industrial AEP production
cannot be realized at present [24]. Ding et al. have developed a
novel thermal insulation material by mixing EP with inorganic
organic adhesive. Although the thermal conductivity of this EP
composite is 0.06 W
m1
K1, density at 180 kg
m3, hydrophobic-
ity of 98%, and meets the class A1 fire protection standard GB/T
8624-2012 (China), the strength of EP composites needs further
improvement [25]. The addition of inorganic adhesives has been
shown to improve the mechanical strength, water resistance, and
fire resistance of EP products [26–28].
Magnesium cement (MC) was selected here as the composite
adhesive for its excellent flame retardant performance, low curing
temperature, and environment-friendly character [29–31]. The
hydration products of magnesium cement at room temperature
are largely comprised of Mg(OH)2 and four crystalline phases.
These four crystalline phases are 2 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
4H2O (phase
2), 3 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
8H2O (phase 3), 5 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
8H2O
(phase 5), 9 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
5H2O (phase 9). But the 3 Mg(OH)2-

MgCl2
8H2O (phase 3) and 5 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
8H2O (phase 5) have
the majority content and serve as the main crystalline phases. The
phase 5 is considered as the strength phase, as it can provide excel-
lent mechanical properties to composite materials [32,33,34]. A lot
of poplar trees are planted in China, such that it is currently
regarded as a renewable resource. Therefore, poplar shavings have
been used as reinforcement materials in composites [35]. EP is
incorporated into composite materials by hot pressing with MC
and poplar shavings, and the resulting products called EP/wood-
MC composites (EPWMC). The properties of these composites were
characterized by various means in addition to standard tests of
mechanical properties, with the crystallinity of MC tested by X-
ray diffraction (XRD) and the composite microstructures observed
by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Also, the mechanisms of
flame retardancy and smoke suppression were analyzed by com-
paring heat and smoke release by commercial wood-magnesium
composites and EPWMC composites.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
Poplar shavings were purchased from Henan Hengshun plant
fiberboard Co., Ltd. (China). The moisture content of poplar shav-
ings was controlled at ~10%. The specification size distribution
was 0–2 mm (10.3%), 2–10 mm (38.1%), 10–20 mm (43.8%), and
20 mm or above (7.8%). EP was obtained from XinYang New Ye
thermal insulation building materials CO., LTD.(China), which had
four different sizes: 30–40, 40–50, 50–60, and 60–70 mesh. Lightly
burnt magnesium oxide (MgO), magnesium chloride hexahydrate
(MgCl2
8H2O), and magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (MgSO4
7H2O)
were obtained from Henan Zhonghao New Material Technology
Co., Ltd. (China). Lightly burnt magnesium oxide, supplied as an
industrial raw material, was calcined magnesite powder with
88% MgO, 2% CaO, 1.5% Fe2O3, and 4% loss on ignition. MgCl2 and
MgSO4 crystals were also industrial-grade chemical with the purity
of 98.8%.
2
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
2.2. Preparation of EPWMC composites
In the preparation inorganic adhesive was prepared by mixing
MgO, MgSO4, MgCl2, and deionized water, which was then glass
rod stirred for 3 min to obtain a milky-white viscous inorganic
adhesive (Fig. 1). On the basis of previous studies on the prepara-
tion process [31,36], the pressure, temperature and time during
hot pressing were 6.5 MPa, 120 °C, 20 min respectively, while
the size of the expanded perlite was variable. Addition of expanded
perlite is constant at 3% of the total mass of the composite, accord-
ing to the size of the expanded perlite (30–40 mesh, 40–50 mesh,
50–60 mesh and 60–70 mesh), the composites were divided into
four groups, and respectively marked as E–30, E–40, E–50, E–60.
Poplar shavings and EP were placed in the mixing machine and
the inorganic adhesive added into the mixing machine by air com-
pressor. The mixture was spread onto a wooden frame with dimen-
sions of 300  300  12 mm, then heat-pressed in the mold
(6.5 MPa, 120 °C), and further cured in air for 3 weeks. The shaped
samples were dried in an oven at 80 °C to a moisture content of
~10%. The density of EPWMC composites was 1.0 g
cm3. Five
EPWMC panels were made for each EP size. The control group of
Cone calorimetric tests did not add EP, named mineral bound par-
ticleboard (mbPB) [31]. The mbPB composite is a kind of wood-
magnesium cement composite material, which was prepared by
inorganic adhesive and poplar wood. Inorganic adhesive was pre-
pared by mixing MgO, MgCl2, Mg2SO4, and deionized water, the
amount of inorganic adhesive was 65% [36]. The preparation pro-
cess of the control group was consistent with that of EPWMC
composites.
2.3. Properties and characterizations
2.3.1. SEM
Sectional microstructures of EPWMC samples were observed
with Quanta 450 scanning electron microscope (Quanta450, FEI
Company Hillsboro, OR, USA) tested at 15 kV accelerating voltage.
The surface of each sample was covered with a thin layer of gold.
2.3.2. Evaluation of mechanical properties
The modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE)
were determined in accordance with the Chinese National Stan-
dard GB/T 4111-1997. MOR and MOE were measured by conduct-
ing three-point static bending tests using an Universal Testing
Machine (MWW-100, Naier testing machine Co., Ltd. Jinan, China),
with the length, width, and thickness of test specimens at 290 mm,
50 mm, and 12 mm, respectively. The loading speed of the pressing
roller was 10 mm/min until failure occurred in the specimen. five
boards were made in each group, and samples were taken from
each plate for MOR and MOE tests. Each measurement presented
herein is the average for five specimens.
2.3.3. Water resistance tests
Water resistance of EPWMC was evaluated by thickness swel-
ling (TS) and softening coefficient (KR), tested according to Chinese
National Standard GB/T 4111-1997. TS is the ratio of the sample
thicknesses before and after water absorption. It was measured
by placing a specimen in 25 °C deionized water for 24 h, with spec-
imen size of 50  50  12 mm. Five specimens in each group were
measured and the results averaged. The softening coefficient was
the ratio of compressive strength after water absorption to drying
time, with a range of 0–1. The higher KR indicates better water
resistance and less loss of material strength. The values obtained
were the average of five sample tests. The KR value was calculated
as followed:
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1. Preparation route of EPWMC composites.

Fig. 2. SEM images of EP with different sizes. (a) 30–40 mesh EP; (b) 40–50 mesh EP; (c) 50–60 mesh EP; (d) 60–70 mesh EP.

f 2.3.5. Frost resistance tests

KR ¼ ð1Þ
F Frost resistance tests of EPWMC were performed using a low
temperature box (minimum operating temperature 30 °C), a
where f was the compressive of strength specimens soaked in water
thermostatted water bath (water temperature at 20 ± 5 °C), tray
25 for 24 h; F was the compressive of strength specimens before
balance (2000 g range), and electric blast drying oven (200 °C
immersion.
max. temperature) for evaluating frost resistance. Samples were
taken from each group to test their frost resistance (According to
2.3.4. XRD
the size of the expanded perlite (30–40 mesh, 40–50 mesh, 50–
XD-2 X-ray diffractometer (Persee General Instrument Co., Ltd.
60 mesh and 60–70 mesh). First, the test piece is placed in an elec-
Beijing, China) was used to examine crystallinity, with a Cu-Ka
tric heating drying oven with a temperature of 65 °C, for 24 h, then
radiation source (k = 0.154 nm), 36 kV, and 20 mA. The scanning
adjusted to 85 °C for 24 h, and then dried at 105 °C until the quality
speed of 4°/min with a scan range of 5–75°.
3
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
Fig. 3. SEM images of EPWMC cross-sections. (a) E-30 EPWMC composites; (b) E-40 EPWMC composites; (c) E-50 EPWMC composites; (d) E-60 EPWMC composites.
is constant. After the specimens have cooled to room temperature,
weigh its mass immediately (accurate to 1 g, record as M0), and
immerse the test piece in a constant temperature water bath
(25 °C) for 48 h. The specimens were taken out of the constant tem-
perature water bath pan, wiped off the surface water with water
absorbing paper, and put it in a low temperature box at 20 °C
for 6 h. Finally, the specimens were taken out from the low tem-
perature box and melted in a constant temperature water bath
for 5 h. The above process was a cycle, and the frost resistance test
required 15 cycles. After 15 cycles, the specimens were dried in an
electric blast drying oven until the mass was constant, when cool-
ing to room temperature, the specimens were weighed immedi-
ately (recorded as MS). Mass loss rate and strength loss rate were
calculated as follows:
M0  Ms
Mm ¼  100%
M0
where Mm is the mass loss rate; M0 is the mass of the specimens
before 15 cycles (g); Ms is the mass of the specimens after 15cycles
(g).
f0  fs
fm ¼  100%
f0
where fm is the strength loss rate; f0 is the compressive strength of
the specimens before 15 cycles (MPa); fs is the compressive
strength of the specimens after 15 cycles (MPa).
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
2.3.6. Determination of thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity of EPWMC was obtained using CD-
DR3030 thermal conductivity coefficient surveying instrument
(Ziwei Electromechanical Equipment Co., Ltd. Shenyang, China),
which also was according to the Chinese National Standard GB/T
10294-2008. Each specimen of 300  300  12 mm was measured
at an average temperature of 25 °C.
2.3.7. Cone calorimetric tests
Cone calorimetric tests of EPWMC samples were measured on a
calorimeter (FTT, Stanton Redcroft Inc, Britain) following Chinese
National Standard GB/T 8626-2007. Specimens were placed in a
steel frame wrapped in aluminum foil and then the steel frame
fixed horizontally on the loader and exposed to radiant heat at
50 kW
m2 (under this radiation power, composite surface tem-
ð2Þ
peratures were ~780 °C).
3. 3. Results and discussion
3.1. SEM observations
ð3Þ
The microstructures of perlite of different sizes, examined by
SEM observations, showed that EP of 30–40 mesh had the largest
particle size, largest structural holes, and high porosity (Fig. 4).
Moreover, the spacing between particles was relatively loose,
4
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
Fig. 4. Mechanical strength of EPWMC composites. (a) Modulus of rupture of EPWMC; (b) elasticity of EPWMC.
which could easily absorb water and produce high water absorp-
tion. With increased mesh number, the pores in the EP structures
were reduced, porosity gradually decreased, interparticle connec-
tions closer, their shapes closer to spherical, and absorb water less
easy.
Observations of material microstructures after curing under
natural conditions for 3 weeks showed that the main crystalline
phases in EPWMC products were 3 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
8H2O (phase
3) and 5 Mg(OH)2
MgCl2
8H2O (phase 5), with needle-like phase
5 crystals being the main source of EPWMC mechanical strength
(Fig. 5) [33,37]. Initially, granular phase 3 was seen to account
for the majority, with only a few needle-bar phase 5 crystals pre-
sent (Fig. 5a). phase 5 gradually increased but still accounted for
only a small portion (Fig. 5b). Then, phase 5 further increased,
the amount of phase 3 progressively decreased and changed to
phase 5 (Fig. 5c) and finally phase 5 accounted for the majority,
with needle-bar phase 5 interwoven and gathered into clusters,
forming overlaps with each other and a network structure. It is
obvious that the crystal length in Fig. 5d was longer than that in
Fig. 5a, and the crystal morphology also changes extensively. With
increased EP mesh, the number of hydration products gradually
increased. The more complete the space network structure formed
by the main crystalline phase of the hydration products was, the
more the mechanical properties were enhanced.
Fig. 5. Water resistance of EPWMC composites. (a) 24-h thickness swelling of EPWMC; (b) the softening coefficient of EPWMC.
5
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
3.2. Effects of EP mesh on mechanical strength
The effects of EP mesh sizes on mechanical strength of EPWMC
composites showed that EP improved composite mechanical
strength according to different EP sizes (Fig. 2). When EP mesh
increased from 30 to 40 to 60–70 mesh, the flexural strength and
modulus of elasticity increased from 8.4 and 726 MPa to 9.6 and
993 MPa, with increases of 23.1 and 36.8%, respectively. A possible
explanation for these results was that, first, EP produced a ‘‘barrier”
effect on the hydration reactions of the inorganic adhesive and the
larger the particle size of EP was, the greater the damage to the
bonding interface with the wood shaving. As the inorganic adhe-
sive could not form a continuous bonding phase, the internal
porosity also increased [38]. Second, the mesh number and particle
size of EP were inversely proportional, previous studies have
shown that the water absorption rate of expanded perlite
decreases with the decrease of particle size [39–41]. Therefore,
the expanded perlite with large mesh number has lower water
absorption than that with small mesh number, and in the experi-
mental group with larger mesh number of EP, the water content
in the hydration reaction of inorganic adhesive might have
increased. The wood shavings then became completely covered
by hydration products, finally enhancing the bonding performance
of the adhesive. Remarkably, with larger mesh perlite addition, the
MOR and MOE increased.
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
3.3. Effects of EP mesh on water resistance
Water resistance is a significant performance parameter for
useful wood-based composites in building materials. The effects
of EP mesh on water resistance observed in TS data initially
showed decreasing tendencies as pearlite mesh increased, with
TS decreased by 74.3% to the lowest TS for E-60 (1.3%, Fig. 3a).
The coefficient of softening (KR) is an also an important index for
evaluating material water resistance. This is the opposite to TS,
such that, with increased perlite mesh, the KR increased very
clearly, from 60.3 to 75.8%, with E-60 samples again showing the
best values (75.8%). This might have been due to the fact that the
larger the mesh number was, the lower the water absorption, the
more complete the adhesive hydration reactions, and, also, the
higher the composite bonding strength. As a result, the coefficient
of softening increased and TS decreased and thus the composite
water resistance clearly increased. Compared with the previous
study about magnesium cement composite materials [31,42], it
can be inferred that EPWMC composites have better water resis-
tance. Additionally, the water resistance satisfied the Chinese
national standard (GB 4111-1997).
3.4. XRD diffraction analysis
XRD patterns of composites with different EP mesh numbers
showed that the diffraction peaks of hydration products did not
show any obvious change and did not form new diffraction peaks
under the addition of perlite with different mesh number (Fig. 6).
As showed in Fig. 6, the diffraction peaks of the hydration product
did not show any significant changes also not generate new diffrac-
tion peaks under different sizes of EP. It can be inferred that new
crystal structures were not formed in magnesium cement solidifi-
cation when the EP was added. It is also can determine that the
mechanical strength increment of EPWMC composites is not due
to the formation of more intensive phase crystals.
3.5. Frost resistance of materials
The influence trend of freeze–thaw cycles on the wall material
with EP-filled thermal insulation building is an important parame-
ter to examine. With increased EP mesh number, the mass and
strength loss rates of EP-filled composites gradually decreased,
Fig. 6. XRD patterns of EPWMC composites filled with different size of expand
perlite.
6
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
such that the frost resistance was considered to be enhanced
(Fig. 7). This was because water absorption and EP mesh number
were inversely related. With increased EP mesh number, the EP
particle size and water absorption decreased continuously, which
was conducive to the formation of phase 5 and phase 3 in the inor-
ganic adhesive hydration reactions. The better the mechanical
strength provided, the lower the strength and mass loss rates
and the better the specimen frost resistance. It were seen that,
when the EP was 60–70 mesh, the mass and strength loss rates
of specimens reached the optimal value of 6.7 and 24.2%, respec-
tively, in this case, and the frost resistance the best.
3.6. Thermal conductivity analysis
The thermal insulation performance of materials can be
reflected by their thermal conductivity and, generally, the smaller
a material’s thermal conductivity is, the better its thermal insula-
tion performance. And the better the thermal insulation perfor-
mance is, the slower its heat transfer rate. The thermal
conductivities of these EPWMC panels were measured and it was
observed that thermal conductivity decreased with increased EP
mesh number (Fig. 8). This was because EP had lower thermal con-
ductivity than the wood and inorganic adhesive such that, when
the EP particle size was large, the pores between particles were
large, and EP thermal conductivity greatly affected by the air
between particles. Therefore, the thermal conductivity of EPWMC
decreased with decreased EP particle size.
3.7. Fire retardancy and smoke suppression
The flame retardant and smoke suppression abilities of these
EPWMC materials were measured by cone calorimetry. The heat
release rate (HRR) refers to the heat released by material combus-
tion per unit time. It is the major parameter for assessing the inten-
sity of combustion, which means that the higher the HRR is, the
more serious the fire. The flame retardancy of materials can be
evaluated by the HRR and total heat release (THR). Here, the curves
of heat release showed that the HRR of two kinds of composites
materials exhibited one peak in the HRR (pk-HRR) rate, thus
exhibiting one intense combustion (Fig. 9a). The pk-HRR was
attributed to the combustion of flammable gas which was released
by the thermal decomposition of wood shavings in the sample. The
pk-HRR values of mbPB composites and E-60 EPWMC composites
were 66.75 kW
m2 and 60.21 kW
m2, respectively. Compared
with mbPB composites, the pk-HRR of E-60 EPWMC composites
were reduced by 10.9%, to 60.21 kW
m2, and the peak time was
also moved to later. The increasing tendency of two THR curve
became slow, to 370 s (Fig. 9b). Clearly, the THR curve of EPWMC
was lower than those of unfilled building wall materials, which
was due to EP addition. EP has the characteristics of noncom-
bustible, porous, and large specific surface area, such that its addi-
tion played a heat barrier role in combustion and thus partially
inhibited combustion [43]. Therefore, EPWMC exhibited superior
flame retardant performance than mbPB, and reached the B2 level
of the Chinese national standard (GB 8624-2012), which was a
flame retardant material.
Smoke produced by a fire is one of the main causes of casualties.
Therefore, the smoke production rate (SPR) and the total smoke
production (TSP) are parameters for measuring fire severity. The
SPR and TSP curves from CWMC and E-60 EPWMC composites
showed that the SPR peaks were in the range of 0–100 s, which cor-
responded to the burning of particleboard on material surfaces
(Fig. 9c). However, the peak value of SPR of EP-filled insulation
building wall materials (0.006 m2∙s1) was significantly lower than
that of CWMC (0.011 m2∙s1). And, clearly, the TSP of EP board was
also significantly lower than that of the unfilled building material
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
Fig. 7. Frost resistance of EPWMC composites.
Fig. 8. Thermal conductivity of EPWMC composites.
(Fig. 9d). Magnesium oxychloride cement has excellent flame
retardant properties and can hinder material combustion and
smoke generation. Thus, both building wall materials showed
low SPR and TSP values. However, the EP-added composites were
relatively incombustible and insulated against the flames. In addi-
tion, the smoke was composed of some suspended small particles
that were effectively adsorbed by the EP. These results showed that
EPWMC exhibited excellent smoke-suppression properties.
4. Conclusions
The influence of EP mesh number or size on the performance of
EPWMC composites was studied. With increased EP mesh number,
the MOR, MOE, and softening coefficient of EP-filled composites
increased, but the 24-h TS values decreased. The optimal MOR,
MOE, softening coefficient, and 24-h TS results were obtained by
adding 60–70 mesh EP. Increased EP specification was observed
to promote the formation of inorganic network structures in the
MC, and poplar shavings were tightly bonded by this network
structure, thus enhancing the resulting EPWMC mechanical
strength and broadening the utility of such materials in humid
environments. With 60–70 mesh EP addition, the mass and
strength loss rates of EPWMC were 6.7 and 24.2%, respectively,
and the material service life effectively prolonged by its improved
frost resistance. EP exerted a significant effect on the materials
thermal conductivity, with the best thermal conductivity at
7
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
0.0869 W
m1
K1 when 60–70 mesh EP was added. Moreover,
E-60 composite showed excellent fire retardancy and smoke sup-
pression. The pk-HRR was 60.21 kW
m2 and the TSP at 0.27 m2,
which were clearly superior to those of wood-magnesium cement
composites. In addition, these findings offered motivation for con-
tinuing the development of high value-added thermal insulation
building materials based on renewable resources to achieve build-
ing energy efficiency and reduce harm caused by building fires.
5. Employment or leadership
None declared.
6. Honorarium
None declared.
Author contributions
All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire con-
tent of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding
The authors gratefully acknowledge, the National Key R&D Plan
Project (2017YFD0601200), and Hunan Key R&D Plan Project
(2017SK2334) for funding this project.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Yunfei Lin: Resources, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data
curation, Writing - original draft, Visualization. Xingong Li: Con-
ceptualization, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Supervision,
Writing - review & editing. Qinghua Huang: . : Resources.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all research partners in this project for their cooper-
ation and collaboration.
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
Fig. 9. HRR, THR, SPR, and TSP curves of E-60 EPWMC composites and mbPB composites.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.110637.
References
[1] Y. Geng, W. Ji, B. Lin, J. Hong, Y. Zhu, Building energy performance diagnosis
using energy bills and weather data, Energy Build. 172 (2018) 181–191,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.04.047.
[2] U. Berardi, A cross-country comparsion of the building energy consumptions,
Resour. Conserv. Recy. 123 (2017) 230–241, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
resconrec.2016.03.014.
[3] H.-X. Zhao, F. Magoulès, A review on the prediction of building energy
consumption, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 16 (6) (2012) 3586–3592,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.02.049.
[4] S.B. Sadineni, S. Madala, R.F. Boehm, Passive building energy savings: a review
of building envelope components, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 15 (8)
(2011) 3617–3631, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.014.
[5] H. Huang, Y. Zhou, R. Huang, H. Wu, Y. Sun, G. Huang, T. Xu, Optimum
insulation thicknesses and energy conservation of building thermal insulation
materials in Chinese zone of humid subtropical climate, Sustainable Cities Soc.
52 (2020) 101840, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101840.
[6] L. Liu, S.i. Zou, H. Li, L.u. Deng, C. Bai, X. Zhang, S. Wang, N. Li, Experimental
physical properties of an eco-friendly bio-insulation material based on wheat
straw for buildings, Energy Build. 201 (2019) 19–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
enbuild.2019.07.037.
[7] L. Aditya, T.M.I. Mahlia, B. Rismanchi, H.M. Ng, M.H. Hasan, H.S.C. Metselaar, O.
Muraza, H.B. Aditiya, A review on insulation materials for energy conservation
in buildings, Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 73 (2017) 1352–1365,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.034.
[8] Q.W. Zhu, F.D. Wu, J.P. Zhao, Research advances in thermal insulation materials
used for external wall, New Build. Mater.. 39 (2012) 12–16, https://doi.org/
CNKI:SUN:XXJZ.0.2012-06-004.
[9] H. Yang, Y. Jiang, H. Liu, D. Xie, C. Wan, H. Pan, S. Jiang, Mechanical, thermal
and fire performance of an inorganic-organic insulation material composed of
hollow glass microspheres and phenolic resin, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 530
(2018) 163–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2018.06.075.
8
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
[10] F. Wang, H. Wei, C. Liu, H. Sun, Z. Zhu, W. Liang, A.n. Li, Monolithic nanoporous
polymers bearing POSS moiety as efficient flame retardant and thermal
insulation materials, React. Funct. Polym. 143 (2019) 104345, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2019.104345.
[11] B. Abu-Jdayil, A.-H. Mourad, W. Hittini, M. Hassan, S. Hameedi, Traditional,
state-of-the-art and renewable thermal building insulation materials: an
overview, Constr. Build. Mater. 214 (2019) 709–735, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.04.102.
[12] M.S. Mohsen, B.A. Akash, Some prospect of energy savings in buildings 1307–
1305 Energy Convers. Manage. 42 (2001), https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904
(00)00140-0.
[13] X. Dong, S. Wang, C. Gong, L. Lu, Effects of aggregate gradation and polymer
modifiers on properties of cement-EPS/vitrified microsphere mortar, Constr.
Build. Mater. 73 (2014) 255–260, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2014.09.064.
[14] J. Gong, Z. Duan, K. Sun, M. Xiao, Waterproof properties of thermal insulation
mortar containing vitrified microsphere, Constr. Build. Mater. 123 (2016) 274–
280, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.04.107.
[15] A.M. Papadopoulos, E. Giama, Environmental performance evaluation of
thermal insulation materials and its impact on the building, Build. Environ.
42 (5) (2007) 2178–2187, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.04.012.
[16] J. Feng, R. Zhang, L. Gong, Y.e. Li, W. Cao, X. Cheng, Development of porous fly
ash-based geopolymer with low thermal conductivity, Mater. Des. 65 (2015)
529–533, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.09.024.
[17] S. Xu, Z.J. Zhou, X.G. Zhang, M.Q. Gong, Research progress of New Inorganic
Insulation Materials, Bull. Chin. Ceram. Soc. 34 (2005) 1302–1306, https://doi.
org/10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2015.05.022.
[18] D. Sun, L. Wang, C. Li, Preparation and thermal properties of paraffin/expanded
perlite composite as form-stable phase change material, Mater. Lett. 108
(2013) 247–249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2013.06.105.
[19] A. El Mir, S.G. Nehme, Utilization of industrial waste perlite powder in self-
compacting concrete, J. Cleaner Prod. 156 (2017) 507–517, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.103.
[20] H. Allameh-Haery, E. Kisi, J. Pineda, L.P. Suwal, T. Fiedler, Elastic properties of
green expanded perlite particle compacts, Powder Technol. 310 (2017) 329–
342, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2017.01.045.
[21] U.S. ecological Survey, 2020, Mineral commodity summaries 2020: U.S.
Geological Survey, 200 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/mcs2020.
[22] A. Karaipekli, A. Biçer, A. Sarı, V.V. Tyagi, Thermal characteristics of expanded
perlite/paraffin composite phase change material with enhanced thermal
Y. Lin, X. Li and Q. Huang
conductivity using carbon nanotubes, Energy Convers. Manage. 134 (2017)
373–381, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2016.12.053.
[23] A.G. Celik, A.M. Kilic, G.O. Cakal, Expanded perlite aggregate characterization
for use as a lightweight construction raw material, Physicochen. Probl. 49
(2013) 689–700, https://doi.org/10.5277/ppmp130227.
[24] G.H. Jia, Z. Li, P. Liu, Q.S. Jing, Preparation and characterization of
aerogel/expanded perlite composite as building thermal insulation material,
J. Non-Cryst. Solids 2017 (482) (2017) 192–202, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
jnoncrysol.2017.12.047.
[25] X.Q. Ding, L.Q. Zhang, Z.J. Lu, J. Shen, Preparation and performance study of the
expanded perlite insulation materials, J. Shenyang Jianzhu Univ. (Nat. Sci.) 30
(2014) 120–125.
[26] Z. Lu, J. Zhang, G. Sun, B. Xu, Z. Li, C. Gong, Effects of the form-stable expanded
perlite/paraffin composite on cement manufactured by extrusion technique,
Energy 82 (2015) 43–53, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.12.043.
[27] P. Farnood Ahmadi, A. Ardeshir, A.M. Ramezanianpour, H. Bayat,
Characteristics of heat insulating clay bricks made from zeolite, waste steel
slag and expanded perlite, Ceram. Int. 44 (7) (2018) 7588–7598, https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2018.01.175.
[28] L. Fu, Q. Wang, R. Ye, X. Fang, Z. Zhang, A calcium chloride
hexahydrate/expanded perlite composite with good heat storage and
insulation properties for building energy conservation, Renewable Energy
114 (2017) 733–743, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.07.091.
[29] L. Sun, Q. Wu, Y. Xie, F. Wang, Q. Wang, Thermal degradation and flammability
properties of multilayer structured wood fiber and polypropylene composites
with fire retardants, RSC Adv. 6 (17) (2016) 13890–13897, https://doi.org/
10.1039/C5RA23262G.
[30] B. Xu, H. Ma, C. Hu, S. Yang, Z. Li, Influence of curing regimes on mechanical
properties of magnesium oxychloride cement-based composites, Constr. Build.
Mater. 102 (2016) 613–619, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2015.10.205.
[31] K. Yang, X.G. Li, Preparation of mineral bound particleboards with improved
fire retardant and smoke suppression properties based on a mix of inorganic
adhesive, Holzforschung 73 (2019) 599–604, https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2018-
0167.
[32] Z. Li, C.K. Chau, Influence of molar ratios on properties of magnesium
oxychloride cement, Cem. Concr. Res. 37 (6) (2007) 866–870, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cemconres.2007.03.015.
Energy & Buildings xxx (xxxx) xxx
[33] C. Hu, B. Xu, H. Ma, B. Chen, Z. Li, Micromechanical investigation of magnesium
oxychloride cement paste, Constr. Build. Mater. 105 (2016) 496–502, https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.12.182.
[34] C.K. Chau, Z.J. Li, Microstructures of magnesium oxychloride, Mater. Struct. 41
(2008) 853–862, https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-007-9289-y.y.
[35] X.W. Ge, L.H. Wang, J.J. Hou, B.B. Rong, X.Q. Yue, S.M. Zhang, The effects of
brown-rot decay on select wood properties of poplar (Populus cathayana
Rehd.) and its mechanism of action, Holzforschung 71 (2017) 355–362,
https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2016-0150.
[36] Q.H. Huang, X. Zheng, G. Gao, Z.G. He, X.G. Xie, X.G. Li, Studies on the
performance and preparation of wood-based permanent formwork with
thermal insulation, J. Funct. Mater. 1 (2019) 1091–1097, https://doi.org/
10.3969/j.issn.1001-9731.2019.01.013.
[37] Z. Yang, S. Cingarapu, K.J. Klabunde, Synthesis of magnesium oxychloride
nanorods with controllable morphology and their transformation to
magnesium hydroxide nanorods via treatment with sodium hydroxide, J.
Sol-Gel Sci. Technol. 53 (2) (2010) 359–365, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-
009-2103-2.
[38] M. Chen, X.G. Li, Y.G. Pan, Q. Tang, L.B. Zhu, Preparation and properties of
inorganic poplar particleboard, Acta Mater. Compos. Sinica 33 (2016) 939–
946, https://doi.org/10.13801/j.cnki.fhclxb.20151012.002.
[39] M. Tapan, C. Engin, Effect of expanded perlite aggregate size on physical and
mechanical properties of ultra lightweight concrete produced with expanded
perlite aggregate, Period Polytech-Civ 63 (2019) 845–855, https://doi.org/
10.3311/PPci.12680.
[40] G.L. Nie, S.B. Sun, X.D. Yao, Y.L. Tian, Effect of particle size of expanded perlite
on properties of cement mortar, China Concr. Cem. Prod. 10 (2014) 21–24,
https://doi.org/10.19761/j.1000-4637.2014.10.005.
[41] H.Y. Liu, P. Liu, Y.S. Yu, Study on performance of small size particle expanded
perlite, Non-metallic Mines 36 (2009) 67–69, https://doi.org/10.3969/j.
issn.1000-8098.2009.03.023.
[42] Y. Zuo, J. Xiao, J. Wang, W. Liu, X. Li, Y. Wu, Preparation and characterization of
fire retardant straw/magnesium cement composites with an organic-inorganic
network structure, Constr. Build. Mater. 171 (2018) 404–413, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.111.
[43] A.M. Rashad, A synopsis about perlite as building material – a best practice
guide for Civil Engineer, Constr. Build. Mater. 121 (2016) 338–353, https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.06.001.