Feasibility studies

Concrete of hemp interlocking blocks (Baumer process)
Feasibility studies for individual housing construction in seismic situation
This work was about the feasibility studies for the construction of individual housing with concrete of hemp blocks (BBC, Bloc de Béton de Chanvre in French), in particular for seismic regions. The BBC material offers interesting thermal characteristics, but has on the other hand quite low mechanical characteristics.
Several options of supporting and bracing structures were considered.
For the concrete gantry solution, the structural design was carried out in order to deduct the compatibility with the void volume inside the blocks and the consequences on the thermal performances of the façade.
The work followed several steps :
– Study for a house with a very simplified and regular geometry, in the sens of seismic calculations,
– Check of the process compatibility for a mid size house. Assessement of the loads and stress based on a finite element modeling with Code_Aster software, with an optimization implementation following the study first step,
– Check of the process compatibility for a more complex house. Assessement of the loads and stress based on a numerical modeling and calculations.