A novel bionic straw-filled concrete block: compression and heat-transfer performance

To develop economical, environmentally friendly and lightweight building materials, a novel straw-filled bionic concrete hollow block (BCHB) was designed. Compression tests were conducted to determine the compressive strength of the BCHB. Furthermore, the compressive and heat-transfer properties of these blocks were investigated with finite-element analysis, and the following results were observed. (a) The BCHB model did not easily experience local collapse. Instead, it mainly exhibited thin cracks due to shear failure, providing great cracking and collapse resistance, thereby resulting in excellent compressive performance. (b) By reducing the thickness of the short edges of the BCHB models, they exhibited great compressive and thermal insulation performance, making these the preferred BCHBs. (c) The BCHB presented herein was the simplest model of the beetle elytron plate. In contrast to a traditional hollow brick, the BCHB was proven to be a lightweight, fully enclosed brick (block) with a high hollow ratio and could be used as a new non-bearing wall material replacing the traditional type in building construction.