| Abstract | The construction sector contributes 37% of global emissions, making decarbonizing construction crucial. As operational carbon decreases over the next few decades, embodied carbon is becoming an increasingly significant area of investigation. One approach to reduce embodied carbon is shifting to bio-based building materials like hemp-lime insulation (hempcrete). However, their adoption depends on demonstrating long-term durability and compliance with building codes, especially in harsh northern climates. This paper addresses this gap by presenting the results from an ongoing accelerated aging study, in which key material properties were regularly monitored up to six months to assess the short-term performance of hempcrete. The study identifies key performance metrics and evaluates the effectiveness of different tests for durability assessment of hempcrete. Specimens were subjected to three hygrothermal weathering conditions with varying levels of relative humidity, and characterization tests included thermal conductivity, compressive strength, mold growth, and spectroscopy. The findings indicate that due to the material’s inhomogeneity in particle size, destructive bulk-scale tests such as compression testing exhibit high variability, while inhomogeneity in the coverage of hurds with binder at the small-scale result in variability in infrared spectra. Minor changes in chemical composition were observed after 6 months, indicating potential dissolution of polysaccharides in the hemp shives at high humidities. On the other hand, non-destructive bulk-scale testing of specimens that are retained for the entire weathering period, such as thermal conductivity, yield more consistent results; after 3 months of aging, thermal conductivity remained stable with no statistically significant change over time. Over the course of the six-month aging period, no significant changes were observed in mechanical, thermal, chemical, or mold growth resistance properties of hempcrete, suggesting that a longer aging time or increase in weathering intensity is required to observe hygrothermal degradation to the point of failure for the purpose of service life prediction. |
|---|
