Performance Evaluation of Giant Reed Panels in Sustainable Agricultural Buildings

Arundo donax is a perennial grass species with strong hollow stems, which is native to lower Himalayas and belongs to the Poaceae family. Currently, it can be found in all the temperate and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, above all in riparian wetlands. It grows spontaneously along river banks and ponds, but also on the edges of croplands and on sand dunes. In the Mediterranean countries, it has been used for long time to build fences and temporary shelters for men and animals, or as prop for plants and as windbreak or shading barrier. Its limited mechanical strength, especially in comparison with the stronger bamboo and timber, has restrained its use and discouraged further specific studies and applied research. This paper proposes the construction of a particular panel by putting together Arundo donax stems. This panel could be used in the vertical partition walls of environmentally friendly agricultural buildings. A theoretical model of panel has been analysed and designed with specific thermal analysis software. Considering the summer heat of the Mediterranean countries, the heat insulating capacity of this building solution has been analysed because, if properly built, it can be an effective and cheap solution for the passive microclimate control of agricultural buildings. Finally, the construction of a specimen, which was subjected to a heat flow in an almost steady state, has allowed to take specific continuous measurements of heat flow and surface temperature. The calculated conductance values of the panel have confirmed the good heat-insulating properties of the solution proposed. Its easy and rapid construction, which does not require special manual skills, encourages several uses of vertical partition walls, made up of this material, in agricultural and rural building. It is particularly suitable for the construction of buildings for livestock production, of temporary buildings, of buildings for the preservation of agricultural products and for the restoration of existing rural buildings. The lightness and workability of Arundo donax, which enable also unskilled workers, such as farmers themselves, to construct the panels, as well as its low cost and thermophysical properties make this technical element a solution that can be used to build sustainable rural buildings and improve the productive conditions of Mediterranean farming.