The length measurements and mean microclimate data of Dunisa Cave System.
\\n\\n
\\n"}]',published:!0,mainMedia:{caption:"Milestone",originalUrl:"/media/original/124"}},components:[{type:"htmlEditorComponent",content:'
Barely three months into the new year and we are happy to announce a monumental milestone reached - 150 million downloads.
\n\nThis achievement solidifies IntechOpen’s place as a pioneer in Open Access publishing and the home to some of the most relevant scientific research available through Open Access.
\n\nWe are so proud to have worked with so many bright minds throughout the years who have helped us spread knowledge through the power of Open Access and we look forward to continuing to support some of the greatest thinkers of our day.
\n\nThank you for making IntechOpen your place of learning, sharing, and discovery, and here’s to 150 million more!
\n\n\n\n\n'}],latestNews:[{slug:"step-in-the-right-direction-intechopen-launches-a-portfolio-of-open-science-journals-20220414",title:"Step in the Right Direction: IntechOpen Launches a Portfolio of Open Science Journals"},{slug:"let-s-meet-at-london-book-fair-5-7-april-2022-olympia-london-20220321",title:"Let’s meet at London Book Fair, 5-7 April 2022, Olympia London"},{slug:"50-books-published-as-part-of-intechopen-and-knowledge-unlatched-ku-collaboration-20220316",title:"50 Books published as part of IntechOpen and Knowledge Unlatched (KU) Collaboration"},{slug:"intechopen-joins-the-united-nations-sustainable-development-goals-publishers-compact-20221702",title:"IntechOpen joins the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact"},{slug:"intechopen-signs-exclusive-representation-agreement-with-lsr-libros-servicios-y-representaciones-s-a-de-c-v-20211123",title:"IntechOpen Signs Exclusive Representation Agreement with LSR Libros Servicios y Representaciones S.A. de C.V"},{slug:"intechopen-expands-partnership-with-research4life-20211110",title:"IntechOpen Expands Partnership with Research4Life"},{slug:"introducing-intechopen-book-series-a-new-publishing-format-for-oa-books-20210915",title:"Introducing IntechOpen Book Series - A New Publishing Format for OA Books"},{slug:"intechopen-identified-as-one-of-the-most-significant-contributor-to-oa-book-growth-in-doab-20210809",title:"IntechOpen Identified as One of the Most Significant Contributors to OA Book Growth in DOAB"}]},book:{item:{type:"book",id:"5211",leadTitle:null,fullTitle:"Chemical Vapor Deposition - Recent Advances and Applications in Optical, Solar Cells and Solid State Devices",title:"Chemical Vapor Deposition",subtitle:"Recent Advances and Applications in Optical, Solar Cells and Solid State Devices",reviewType:"peer-reviewed",abstract:"This book provides an overview of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods and recent advances in developing novel materials for application in various fields. CVD has now evolved into the most widely used technique for growth of thin films in electronics industry. Several books on CVD methods have emerged in the past, and thus the scope of this book goes beyond providing fundamentals of the CVD process. Some of the chapters included highlight current limitations in the CVD methods and offer alternatives in developing coatings through overcoming these limitations.",isbn:"978-953-51-2573-0",printIsbn:"978-953-51-2572-3",pdfIsbn:"978-953-51-4187-7",doi:"10.5772/61559",price:119,priceEur:129,priceUsd:155,slug:"chemical-vapor-deposition-recent-advances-and-applications-in-optical-solar-cells-and-solid-state-devices",numberOfPages:290,isOpenForSubmission:!1,isInWos:1,isInBkci:!0,hash:"dc03fdc6ad1c27ebfcb54e337cbf03ce",bookSignature:"Sudheer Neralla",publishedDate:"August 31st 2016",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/5211.jpg",numberOfDownloads:22584,numberOfWosCitations:40,numberOfCrossrefCitations:16,numberOfCrossrefCitationsByBook:0,numberOfDimensionsCitations:56,numberOfDimensionsCitationsByBook:0,hasAltmetrics:1,numberOfTotalCitations:112,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"October 23rd 2015",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"November 13th 2015",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"February 9th 2016",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"March 10th 2016",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"July 27th 2016",currentStepOfPublishingProcess:5,indexedIn:"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8",editedByType:"Edited by",kuFlag:!1,featuredMarkup:null,editors:[{id:"128532",title:null,name:"Sudheer",middleName:null,surname:"Neralla",slug:"sudheer-neralla",fullName:"Sudheer Neralla",profilePictureURL:"https://mts.intechopen.com/storage/users/128532/images/system/128532.png",biography:"Dr. Neralla\\'s research interests include synthesis of novel nanomaterials, thin films, nanoindentation, friction and wear, and corrosion study of coatings and biodegradable Mg-based alloys.",institutionString:null,position:null,outsideEditionCount:0,totalCites:0,totalAuthoredChapters:"0",totalChapterViews:"0",totalEditedBooks:"2",institution:null}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,coeditorOne:null,coeditorTwo:null,coeditorThree:null,coeditorFour:null,coeditorFive:null,topics:[{id:"492",title:"Solid-State Chemistry",slug:"chemistry-inorganic-chemistry-solid-state-chemistry"}],chapters:[{id:"51161",title:"Preparation and Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers and its Composites by Chemical Vapor Deposition",doi:"10.5772/63755",slug:"preparation-and-characterization-of-carbon-nanofibers-and-its-composites-by-chemical-vapor-depositio",totalDownloads:1931,totalCrossrefCites:3,totalDimensionsCites:6,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Hydrocarbon gas or carbon monoxide was pyrolyzed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and carbon nanofiber (CNF) synthesis was performed using transition metals such as Ni, Fe, and Co as catalysts. When synthesizing carbon nanofibers using the CVD method, experimental variables are temperature, catalysts, source gas, etc. Especially, the particle size of the catalyst is the most important factor in determining the diameter of carbon nanofibers. Hydrocarbon gases, such as CH4, C2H4, benzene, and toluene are used as the carbon source, and in addition to these reaction gases, nonreactive gases such as H2, Ar, and N2 gases are used for transportation. Synthesis occurs at a synthesis temperature of 600–900°C, and catalyst metals such as Ni, Co, and Fe are definitely required when synthesizing CNFs. Therefore, it is possible to synthesize CNFs in selective areas through selective deposition of such catalyst metals. In this study, CNFs were synthesized by CVD. Ethylene gas was employed as the carbon source for synthesis of CNFs with H2 as the promoting gas and N2 as the balancing gas. Synthesized CNFs can be used in various applications, such as composite materials, electromagnetic wave shielding materials, ultrathin display devices, carbon semiconductors, and anode materials of Li secondary batteries. In particular, there is an increasing demand for light-weight, small-scale, and high-capacity batteries for portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers or smartphones along with the recent issue of fossil energy depletion. Accordingly, CNFs and their silicon-series composites are receiving attention for use as anode materials for lithium secondary batteries that are eco-friendly, light weight, and high capacity.",signatures:"Chang-Seop Lee and Yura Hyun",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51161",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51161",authors:[{id:"180792",title:"Prof.",name:"Chang-Seop",surname:"Lee",slug:"chang-seop-lee",fullName:"Chang-Seop Lee"},{id:"185376",title:"Dr.",name:"Yura",surname:"Hyun",slug:"yura-hyun",fullName:"Yura Hyun"}],corrections:null},{id:"51399",title:"Non-Classical Crystallization of Thin Films and Nanostructures in CVD Process",doi:"10.5772/63926",slug:"non-classical-crystallization-of-thin-films-and-nanostructures-in-cvd-process",totalDownloads:1805,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:5,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Non-classical crystallization, where crystals grow by the building blocks of nanoparticles, has become a significant issue not only in solution but also in the gas phase synthesis such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Recently, non-classical crystallization was observed in solution in-situ by transmission electron microscope (TEM) using a liquid cell technique. In various CVD processes, the generation of charged nanoparticles (CNPs) in the gas phase has been persistently reported. Many evidences supporting these CNPs to be the building blocks of thin films and nanostructures were reported. According to non-classical crystallization, many thin films and nanostructures which had been believed to grow by individual atoms or molecules turned out to grow by the building blocks of CNPs. The purpose of this paper is to review the development and the main results of non-classical crystallization in the CVD process. The concept of non-classical crystallization is briefly described. Further, it will be shown that the puzzling phenomenon of simultaneous diamond deposition and graphite etching, which violates the second law of thermodynamics when approached by classical crystallization, can be approached successfully by non-classical crystallization. Then, various aspects of non-classical crystallization in the growth of thin films and nanostructures by CVD will be described.",signatures:"Jae-soo Jung and Nong-moon Hwang",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51399",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51399",authors:[{id:"142625",title:"Prof.",name:"Nong Moon",surname:"Hwang",slug:"nong-moon-hwang",fullName:"Nong Moon Hwang"}],corrections:null},{id:"50428",title:"MOCVD Grown HgCdTe Heterostructures",doi:"10.5772/62952",slug:"mocvd-grown-hgcdte-heterostructures",totalDownloads:1739,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"HgCdTe heterostructures are widely applied for IR (infrared) detector constructing. Donor‐ and acceptor‐doping researches in (100) and (111) oriented HgCdTe layers grown by MOCVD have been studied. Fully doped HgCdTe heterostructures with acceptor concentration range between 1014 and 5 × 1017 cm-3 and donor concentration range between 1014 and 1 × 1018 cm-3 and without post‐grown annealing have been reported. The electrical and chemical characterizations of HgCdTe structures grown at 360°C on GaAs substrates using DIPTe have been described. Infrared photodiodes with different composition x were constructing on the basis of obtained heterostructures enabling signal detection of any wavelength from 1 µm to above 20 µm covering SWIR, MWIR and LWIR spectral ranges. Presented experimental results show that MOCVD technology enables to grow HgCdTe structures dedicated for HOT devices.",signatures:"Pawel Madejczyk, Waldemar Gawron, Artur Keblowski and Adam\nPiotrowski",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50428",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50428",authors:[{id:"181177",title:"Dr.",name:"Pawel",surname:"Madejczyk",slug:"pawel-madejczyk",fullName:"Pawel Madejczyk"}],corrections:null},{id:"51175",title:"Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition: Enabling the Scalable Synthesis of Bilayer Graphene and Other Carbon Materials",doi:"10.5772/63921",slug:"hot-filament-chemical-vapor-deposition-enabling-the-scalable-synthesis-of-bilayer-graphene-and-other",totalDownloads:1835,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:5,hasAltmetrics:1,abstract:"The hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique is limited only by the size of the reactor and lends itself to be incorporated into continuous roll-to-roll industrial fabrication processes. We discuss the HFCVD reactor design and the interplay between the reactor parameters, such as filament and substrate temperatures, filament-to-substrate distance, and total pressure. Special attention is given to the large-area synthesis of bilayer graphene on copper, which is successfully grown by HFCVD with transmittance greater than 90% in the visible region and no gaps. We also discuss the HFCVD synthesis of carbon nanotubes, microcrystalline diamond, and nanocrystalline diamond.",signatures:"Frank Mendoza, Tej B. Limbu, Brad R. Weiner and Gerardo Morell",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51175",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51175",authors:[{id:"181459",title:"Dr.",name:"Frank",surname:"Mendoza",slug:"frank-mendoza",fullName:"Frank Mendoza"},{id:"185938",title:"Mr.",name:"Tej",surname:"Limbu",slug:"tej-limbu",fullName:"Tej Limbu"},{id:"185939",title:"Dr.",name:"Brad",surname:"Weiner",slug:"brad-weiner",fullName:"Brad Weiner"},{id:"185940",title:"Dr.",name:"Gerardo",surname:"Morell",slug:"gerardo-morell",fullName:"Gerardo Morell"}],corrections:null},{id:"50293",title:"In Situ Observation of Chemical Vapour Deposition Using Langasite Crystal Microbalance",doi:"10.5772/62389",slug:"in-situ-observation-of-chemical-vapour-deposition-using-langasite-crystal-microbalance",totalDownloads:1803,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"A method of in situ observation using langasite crystal microbalance (LCM) is described for chemical vapour deposition (CVD). First, the frequency behaviour of the LCM is expressed using the equation having the optimized coefficients in a wide range of gas-phase conditions for the CVD. Next, by the LCM frequency behaviour, the existence of surface chemical reactions in a CVD reactor is determined. Additionally, the LCM can determine the lowest temperature for initiating the film deposition. In the last part, the temperature change related to the film formation process is described.",signatures:"Hitoshi Habuka",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50293",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50293",authors:[{id:"17197",title:"Prof.",name:"Hitoshi",surname:"Habuka",slug:"hitoshi-habuka",fullName:"Hitoshi Habuka"}],corrections:null},{id:"51153",title:"Low‐Temperature PureB CVD Technology for CMOS Compatible Photodetectors",doi:"10.5772/63344",slug:"low-temperature-pureb-cvd-technology-for-cmos-compatible-photodetectors",totalDownloads:1547,totalCrossrefCites:2,totalDimensionsCites:2,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"In this chapter, a new technology for low‐temperature (LT, 400°C) boron deposition is developed, which provides a smooth, uniform, closed LT boron layer. This technology is successfully employed to create near‐ideal LT PureB (pure boron) diodes with low, deep junction‐like saturation currents, allowing full integration of LT PureB photodiodes with electronic interface circuits and other sensors on a single chip. In this way, smart‐sensor systems or even charge‐coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) ultraviolet (UV) imagers can be realised.",signatures:"Vahid Mohammadi and Stoyan Nihtianov",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51153",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51153",authors:[{id:"161988",title:"Dr.",name:"Vahid",surname:"Mohammadi",slug:"vahid-mohammadi",fullName:"Vahid Mohammadi"},{id:"182920",title:"Dr.",name:"Stoyan",surname:"Nihtianov",slug:"stoyan-nihtianov",fullName:"Stoyan Nihtianov"}],corrections:null},{id:"50628",title:"Silicon-Rich Oxide Obtained by Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition to Develop Silicon Light Sources",doi:"10.5772/63012",slug:"silicon-rich-oxide-obtained-by-low-pressure-chemical-vapor-deposition-to-develop-silicon-light-sourc",totalDownloads:1581,totalCrossrefCites:1,totalDimensionsCites:8,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Off stoichiometric silicon oxide, also known as silicon-rich oxide (SRO), is a light-emitting material that is compatible with silicon technology; therefore, it is a good candidate to be used as a light source in all-silicon optoelectronic circuits. The SRO obtained by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) has shown the best luminescent properties compared to other techniques. In spite of LPCVD being a simple technique, it is not a simple task to obtain SRO with exact silicon excess in a reliable and repetitive way. In this work, the expertise obtained in our group to obtain SRO by LPCVD with precise variation is presented. Also, the characteristics of this SRO obtained in our group are revised and discussed. It is demonstrated that LPCVD is an excellent technique to obtain single layers and multilayers of nanometric single layers with good characteristics.",signatures:"J. Alarcón-Salazar, R. López-Estopier, E. Quiroga-González, A.\nMorales-Sánchez, J. Pedraza-Chávez, I. E. Zaldívar-Huerta and M.\nAceves-Mijares",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50628",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50628",authors:[{id:"102037",title:"Dr.",name:"Mariano",surname:"Aceves-Mijares",slug:"mariano-aceves-mijares",fullName:"Mariano Aceves-Mijares"},{id:"143728",title:"Dr.",name:"Ignacio Enrique",surname:"Zaldivar Huerta",slug:"ignacio-enrique-zaldivar-huerta",fullName:"Ignacio Enrique Zaldivar Huerta"},{id:"182001",title:"Dr.",name:"J.",surname:"Alarcón-Salazar",slug:"j.-alarcon-salazar",fullName:"J. Alarcón-Salazar"},{id:"182010",title:"Dr.",name:"R.",surname:"López-Estopier",slug:"r.-lopez-estopier",fullName:"R. López-Estopier"},{id:"182011",title:"Dr.",name:"E.",surname:"Quiroga-González",slug:"e.-quiroga-gonzalez",fullName:"E. Quiroga-González"},{id:"182012",title:"Dr.",name:"Alfredo",surname:"Morales-Sánchez",slug:"alfredo-morales-sanchez",fullName:"Alfredo Morales-Sánchez"},{id:"182013",title:"MSc.",name:"J.",surname:"Pedraza-Chávez",slug:"j.-pedraza-chavez",fullName:"J. Pedraza-Chávez"}],corrections:null},{id:"50832",title:"High‐Density Plasma‐Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of Si‐Based Materials for Solar Cell Applications",doi:"10.5772/63529",slug:"high-density-plasma-enhanced-chemical-vapor-deposition-of-si-based-materials-for-solar-cell-applicat",totalDownloads:1516,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:1,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"High‐quality and low‐cost fabrication of Si‐based materials, in which many fundamental and technology problems still remain, have attracted tremendous interests due to their wide applications in solar cell area. Low‐frequency inductively coupled plasma (LFICP) provides a new and competitive solution, thanks to its inherent advantages of high‐density plasma, low sheath potential, and low electron temperature, etc. The plasma characteristic‐dependent microstructures, optical and electronic properties of the LFICP CVD‐based hydrogenated amorphous/microcrystalline silicon and silicon oxides are systematically studied. Remote‐LFICP combing the high‐density plasma nature of ICP and mild ion bombardment on growing surface in remote plasma allows the deposition of high‐quality Si‐based materials providing excellent c‐Si surface passivation. The mechanism of surface passivation by LFICP CVD Si‐based materials, interaction between plasma species and growing surface are analyzed in terms of the plasma properties. These results pave the way for LFICP CVD utilization in Si‐based high‐efficiency and low‐cost solar cell fabrication.",signatures:"H. P. Zhou, S. Xu and S. Q. Xiao",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/50832",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/50832",authors:[{id:"175166",title:"Prof.",name:"Shuyan",surname:"Xu",slug:"shuyan-xu",fullName:"Shuyan Xu"},{id:"181844",title:"Dr.",name:"Haiping",surname:"Zhou",slug:"haiping-zhou",fullName:"Haiping Zhou"},{id:"185593",title:"Dr.",name:"Shaoqing",surname:"Xiao",slug:"shaoqing-xiao",fullName:"Shaoqing Xiao"}],corrections:null},{id:"51302",title:"Applications of CVD to Produce Thin Films for Solid‐State Devices",doi:"10.5772/63964",slug:"applications-of-cvd-to-produce-thin-films-for-solid-state-devices",totalDownloads:1110,totalCrossrefCites:0,totalDimensionsCites:0,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Thin films of Pt‐YSZ and Pd‐ZrO2 cermets by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from metallorganic precursors (MOCVD) were evaluated as electrode in solid‐state devices. Morphology and structural characteristics were studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical performance was determined using Tafel and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods. Metallorganic precursors were used (metal‐acetylacetonates), and argon and oxygen were used as the carrier and reactive gases, respectively. The particle average size was less than 20 nm, with high and uniform particle dispersion according to TEM measurements.",signatures:"A.M. Torres‐Huerta, M.A. Domínguez‐Crespo and A.B. López‐\nOyama",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51302",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51302",authors:[{id:"12300",title:"Prof.",name:"Aide",surname:"Torres-Huerta",slug:"aide-torres-huerta",fullName:"Aide Torres-Huerta"}],corrections:null},{id:"51808",title:"Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition: Where we are and the Outlook for the Future",doi:"10.5772/64654",slug:"plasma-enhanced-chemical-vapor-deposition-where-we-are-and-the-outlook-for-the-future",totalDownloads:7723,totalCrossrefCites:8,totalDimensionsCites:28,hasAltmetrics:0,abstract:"Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a technique for the fabrication of thin films of polymeric materials, which has successfully overcome some of the issues faced by wet chemical fabrication and other deposition methods. There are many hybrid techniques, which arise from CVD and are constantly evolving in order to modify the properties of the fabricated thin films. Amongst them, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is a technique that can extend the applicability of the method for various precursors, reactive organic and inorganic materials as well as inert materials. Organic/inorganic monomers, which are used as precursors in the PECVD technique, undergo disintegration and radical polymerization while exposed to a high-energy plasma stream, followed by thin film deposition. In this chapter, we have provided a summary of the history, various characteristics as well as the main applications of PECVD. By demonstrating the advantages and disadvantages of PECVD, we have provided a comparison of this technique with other techniques. PECVD, like any other techniques, still suffers from some restrictions, such as selection of appropriate monomers, or suitable inlet instrument. However, the remarkable properties of this technique and variety of possible applications make it an area of interest for researchers, and offers potential for many future developments.",signatures:"Yasaman Hamedani, Prathyushakrishna Macha, Timothy J. Bunning,\nRajesh R. Naik and Milana C. Vasudev",downloadPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-download/51808",previewPdfUrl:"/chapter/pdf-preview/51808",authors:[{id:"181604",title:"Dr.",name:"Milana",surname:"Vasudev",slug:"milana-vasudev",fullName:"Milana Vasudev"}],corrections:null}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"},subseries:null,tags:null},relatedBooks:[{type:"book",id:"2165",title:"Nanocrystals",subtitle:"Synthesis, Characterization and Applications",isOpenForSubmission:!1,hash:"bfa205b3db30a560eabb2d46136b8ee0",slug:"nanocrystals-synthesis-characterization-and-applications",bookSignature:"Sudheer Neralla",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/2165.jpg",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"128532",title:null,name:"Sudheer",surname:"Neralla",slug:"sudheer-neralla",fullName:"Sudheer Neralla"}],equalEditorOne:null,equalEditorTwo:null,equalEditorThree:null,productType:{id:"1",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited 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Al-Shail, Ahmed Hassan, Abdullah Aldowaish and Hoda Kattan",dateSubmitted:"November 8th 2011",dateReviewed:"June 14th 2012",datePrePublished:null,datePublished:"July 11th 2012",book:{id:"2663",title:"Child Abuse and Neglect",subtitle:"A Multidimensional Approach",fullTitle:"Child Abuse and Neglect - A Multidimensional Approach",slug:"child-abuse-and-neglect-a-multidimensional-approach",publishedDate:"July 11th 2012",bookSignature:"Alexander Muela",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/2663.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"138437",title:"Dr.",name:"Alexander",middleName:null,surname:"Muela Aparicio",slug:"alexander-muela-aparicio",fullName:"Alexander Muela Aparicio"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:[{id:"85712",title:"Dr.",name:"Ahmed",middleName:"M.",surname:"Hassan",fullName:"Ahmed 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2011",dateReviewed:"June 14th 2012",datePrePublished:null,datePublished:"July 11th 2012",book:{id:"2663",title:"Child Abuse and Neglect",subtitle:"A Multidimensional Approach",fullTitle:"Child Abuse and Neglect - A Multidimensional Approach",slug:"child-abuse-and-neglect-a-multidimensional-approach",publishedDate:"July 11th 2012",bookSignature:"Alexander Muela",coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/2663.jpg",licenceType:"CC BY 3.0",editedByType:"Edited by",editors:[{id:"138437",title:"Dr.",name:"Alexander",middleName:null,surname:"Muela Aparicio",slug:"alexander-muela-aparicio",fullName:"Alexander Muela Aparicio"}],productType:{id:"1",title:"Edited Volume",chapterContentType:"chapter",authoredCaption:"Edited by"}},authors:[{id:"85712",title:"Dr.",name:"Ahmed",middleName:"M.",surname:"Hassan",fullName:"Ahmed Hassan",slug:"ahmed-hassan",email:"amh_64@hotmail.com",position:null,institution:{name:"King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research 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\r\n\tOver these last decades, ionic liquids were found suitable in the world of industry. Due to their specific properties such as very low volatility, high thermal stability, and their ability to dissolve a wide variety of compounds, this family of solvents appears to meet the rigorous criteria of industrial applications. Among others, ionic liquids appear to be efficient for gas capture, biomass pretreatment, separation problems, electrochemistry; they are also used in electrolytes, as lubricants, as catalysts, or as antistatic agents.
\r\n\r\n\tThis book welcomes topics related to biomass pretreatment, separation processes, analytical chemistry, energy applications, and biomedicine applications using ionic liquids. A short chapter will be devoted to the physicochemical properties of ionic liquids as well as to the predictive models for the estimation of thermodynamic properties useful in the industry. This book is recommended for researchers to whom ionic liquids are an area of interest.
",isbn:"978-1-80356-222-3",printIsbn:"978-1-80356-221-6",pdfIsbn:"978-1-80356-223-0",doi:null,price:0,priceEur:0,priceUsd:0,slug:null,numberOfPages:0,isOpenForSubmission:!0,isSalesforceBook:!1,hash:"b0b5157bf9b4aa15409335e4e08f1506",bookSignature:"Dr. Fabrice Mutelet",publishedDate:null,coverURL:"https://cdn.intechopen.com/books/images_new/11558.jpg",keywords:"Extraction, Cellulose, Liquid-Liquid Extraction, Desulfurization, Stationary Phases, Chromatography, Energy Storage, Heat Pump, COSMO Approaches, Phase Diagrams, Drug Delivery, Nanocarriers",numberOfDownloads:null,numberOfWosCitations:0,numberOfCrossrefCitations:null,numberOfDimensionsCitations:null,numberOfTotalCitations:null,isAvailableForWebshopOrdering:!0,dateEndFirstStepPublish:"February 8th 2022",dateEndSecondStepPublish:"April 12th 2022",dateEndThirdStepPublish:"June 11th 2022",dateEndFourthStepPublish:"August 30th 2022",dateEndFifthStepPublish:"October 29th 2022",remainingDaysToSecondStep:"a month",secondStepPassed:!0,currentStepOfPublishingProcess:3,editedByType:null,kuFlag:!1,biosketch:"Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, Dr. Mulet received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Lorraine in 2001. 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In the first part, the characteristics and importance of caves and bats will be elaborated for interested readers who are not experts in these subjects. In the following sections, geomorphology and biogeography of Turkey and Turkish Thrace are discussed in detail, and the characteristics that make the region important are also underlined. In conclusion of the chapter, more detailed data about Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave in Turkish Thrace will be presented, and the importance of these caves for the future of the bats in the region will be revealed. This chapter presents a summary of related previous studies. The aim is to raise awareness about the protection of bats and caves rather than be a reference for similar topics.
In simple terms, cave is defined as an underground hollow that is large enough for a person to enter; however, cave has various definitions in terminology. Caves are formed as a result of the dissolution of carbonated and sulfated rocks with a series of physiochemical processes by underground waters. Caves contain the past and current data of the geological, geomorphological, hydrological, and ecological characteristics of the region where they are located [1]. Caves are not only the underground hollows formed in the rocks but also the unique habitats that host many organisms and natural values. Caves are important ecosystems in terms of both cave-dwelling species, and geological, historical, anthropological, archaeological, ecological, and cultural values.
Caves are very specific and susceptible ecosystems, because they have some extreme features that force life such as darkness, low temperature, high humidity, and limited nutrients [2–4]. Because of their darkness, caves are devoid of plants, which are the main producers of the food chain. For this reason, all the organic materials are brought from the outside into the cave in various ways. The main factors that provide nutrient entry into the caves are the air flows and the water currents in the caves. Besides these, guano, the main energy source in the growth of many organisms, is the most important nutrient in caves [5]. Lack of light, low temperature, high humidity, and the restriction of nutrients can be seen as important limiting factors in many caves [3, 4]. In the caves, living organisms are resistant or adapted to the scarcity of nutrients and other limiting factors. The essential condition for organisms to survive in the cave is energy saving. For this reason, the cave organisms are as small as possible and they move as little as possible.
The most important difference between underground and terrestrial habitats is the stable environmental conditions of caves. Unlike terrestrial conditions, caves have an almost constant temperature and humidity throughout the year. All these differences and characteristics make cave habitats unique and very sensitive. Any changes in the conditions of the cave ecosystems threaten the lives of the cave inhabitants. Despite challenging living conditions such as darkness and limited nutrient sources, caves accommodate many species [3, 4]. Because of these negative conditions in the cave, the cave dwellers have developed various ways of adaptations to survive. For example, the sense of sight of organisms adapted to life in caves has either weakened or completely disappeared in the evolutionary process. On the other hand, most of these species have developed their antennas longer than their relatives outside. Similarly, some species that adapted to the cave life usually appear white or transparent because they lack pigment.
Caves are initially creepy, but the mystery of the darkness and the past in caves is the most important features that attract people into caves. And also, in the caves formed as a result of a very slow and long process, stalactites, stalagmites, and travertines come in various formations, which attract people visually. In addition, underground waters, rivers, and lakes within caves are another beauty. So, it is possible to see that cave tourism, which is called as alternative tourism, has improved all over the world. The visual, sportive, religious, historical, and cultural characteristics of the caves provide a potential for tourism. However, it is also known that caves are used for different purposes such as shelter, barn, and storage. For this reason, it is inevitable that underground habitats, which are natural habitats of organisms, are damaged by human pressures over time.
Underground habitats around the world are under constant threat due to human pressures such as cave tourism, treasure hunting, guano mining, stone quarries, and water dams. The use of caves by humans can cause significant harmful effects on caves [6–8]. It should not be forgotten that these natural values, gradually formed in millions of years, will not come back again in a short time. For this reason, the identification and investigation of important cave habitats are essential for the future of these habitats and organisms living there.
Bats (Chiroptera) are among the most diverse and widely distributed groups of mammals and can be found in most continents. Bats consist of greater than 1300 species worldwide and comprise approximately one quarter of mammalian species richness [9–11]. The order Chiroptera is subdivided into the Megachiroptera and the Microchiroptera. The Megachiroptera is represented by only one family, whereas the Microchiroptera comprise 17 families. Megabats are also called as fruit bats. Fruit bats mostly roost in trees and shrubs. Megabats are frugivorous and nectarivorous, and they eat fruit or lick nectar from flowers. Microbats are called as insectivorous, and they mostly feed on insects, and use echolocation. Insectivorous bats use a wide variety of roosts such as caves, trees, and manmade structures.
Bats are the only flying mammals and they have a wide range of feeding and roosting habits, social behaviors, and reproductive strategies. Flying ability made bats become one of the most common groups of mammals [6]. Most of bat species use echolocation to navigate and forage. Echolocation allowing bats to see their surroundings by sound is actually an adaptation. Bats emit calls out to the environment through their nostrils and mouth, and then they find their direction by listening to the echoes of the calls returning from the objects around them. Thus, bats get information about the location, position, and shape of objects in the surroundings by processing these echoes [12, 13]. When food quantity decreases, bats have to make a choice: to hibernate or to migrate. Hibernation involves a reduction in metabolic rate that allows bats to survive for a long time without food [14]. Many species of bats migrate between summer and winter roosts. Some migrations are made to reach for more abundant food sources in warmer locations, while others are made to obtain roosts that have optimal microclimate for hibernating in winter or raising offspring in summer [14, 15].
Bats have acquired a wide variety of characteristics in parallel with the lifestyle they are adapted. Although the patterns of feeding, roosting, and reproduction of the bats differ between species, some basic adaptations are similar. Most bat species are nocturnal, and they forage during the nights. Bats feed with a wide variety of foods such as insect, fruit, flower nectar, small vertebrate, and blood [12, 15]. In the daylight, bats pass into torpor in roosts such as foliage, caves, hollows of trees, rock crevices, and various manmade structures. The most prominent predators of bats are owls, hawks, snakes, raccoons, and martens [15]. Female bats have some strategies that they can control the timing of their pregnancy to give birth at an appropriate time [13]. Females generally give birth to one offspring every year, and they nurse their young until they get mature to feed on their own [15].
Bats that play a key role in many ecosystems are an important group of mammals with species diversity, abundance, and distribution all over the world. Bats have important ecological roles that are critical for human and ecosystem health, including the pollination and dispersal of many plants, and the control of insects [16, 17]. Bats are primary predators of insects that are harmful for human health and agriculture. Thus, bats play an important role in human health and biological pest control by balancing harmful insect and microorganism populations [15]. Guano mined from caves is provided by bats and used as a natural fertilizer on agricultural crops. Guano is a primary source of nutrition that allows the development of a great diversity of organisms such as arthropod, fungi, bacteria, and lichen.
Bats are one of the most sensitive mammal groups to varying weather conditions with their peculiarities in physiology, thermoregulation, and life cycle. Bats prefer different roosts depending on the season and spend more than half of their lives in roost. Most species of bats have specific requirements in terms of roost conditions such as microclimate and environmental stability [18]. Roosts protect bats from bad weather conditions and their predators, so roost selection is essential to sustain the life of the bats [13]. Therefore, the presence of suitable roost is an important factor affecting the social structure and the distribution of bats [18–20]. The identification of these roosts is essential for the protection of bats. Bats have been known as cave dwellers for a long time, because caves that provide stable environmental conditions and protection throughout the year are pretty suitable roosts for bats. All over the world, caves and mines are used as shelter by large bat populations, but particularly sensitive species are highly dependent on only a few of these underground shelters [9, 18, 21]. However, most caves are used only by a small number of bats. Only a few caves provide convenient conditions to host thousands of bats, especially during hibernating and breeding periods. These caves are vital to bat populations [9, 18, 20, 22].
Microclimatic conditions are often particularly important for habitat quality of bats [23]. Therefore, the seasonal use of roosts by bats is profoundly associated with its microclimatic conditions and these conditions form the assembling patterns of bats. The particular roost requirements of bat species restrict the permanent shelters that are used by bats. Thus, the environmental stability and protection provided by caves make them highly suitable roost for bats throughout the year. Most bat species make use of caves as roost for various purposes during some phases of their annual cycle [22].
Microclimatic requirements of bats show seasonal variations according to their annual life cycle. Therefore, the availability of a cave by bats is increased by providing alternative microclimatic conditions compared to season. Caves may serve as one of the most adequate roosting sites for bats because of the relatively stable microclimatic characteristics. Therefore, natural caves and artificial underground sites are widely used as roosting sites by bats and may be occupied by large breeding and/or hibernating populations [9]. The distribution and availability of suitable roosting sites is a limited resource for some cave-dwelling bat species [20]. Besides, cave-dwelling bats are mostly threatened by visitors and human activities.
The distribution areas of animals depend on their biological requirements and environmental conditions. Because of the variety of such conditions, the caves, which are potential roosts for bats, can serve as a good model for studying the relationship between the regional settlement and the structure of the environment [24]. Bats have to find special periodic roosts according to the requirements of hibernation or breeding, so knowing the roosting requirements of bats is vital for conservation and management works. Identifying and surveying these sites will help to understand the habitat requirements of species [25].
Bats form the largest mammalian assemblages on earth, and one place may be a shelter for a significant portion of the total populations of some species [26]. Such places have a great importance for bats and may be limiting for their population size and distribution. Most bat species rely on underground shelters to maintain their lives. Cave disturbance and destruction is one of the biggest problems that cause the decline of bat populations all over the world, so the identification and protection of such important sites has vital importance for the future of bats [8].
When compared to the regional countries, Turkey has a special biogeography due to its large surface area, different geomorphologic structure, different climatic conditions, and transition position between the continents [27]. As a result of these features, Turkey has a rich biodiversity and a variety of ecosystems that almost a continent can have. The geomorphological structure of Turkey is one of the main factors in having various biogeographic areas [27].
The soluble karstic rocks such as limestone, gypsum, and dolomite, which are suitable for cave formation, constitute approximately 40% of Turkey’s surface area [28]. One of the most important formations in the karstic areas of Turkey is caves. Because of the insufficiency of cave explorations, not all of the caves in Turkey have yet been examined; it is not possible to give a definite figure about the number of caves in our country. However, it is estimated that more than 20,000 caves can be found in Turkey according to the size of the area covered by the soluble rocks and the ratio of the number of caves detected in these areas [28]. However, many of the caves in Turkey are still not identified. In parallel, research on caves in Turkey is extremely inadequate. The research carried out until now is mostly focused on the caves in the touristic areas. Approximately 3000 of these caves were surveyed by caving associations, clubs, communities, and organizations. Until today, 31 caves in Turkey have been opened as tourist attractions [29].
Thrace is a geographic region located in southeastern Europe within the territories of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Thrace lies in the northeastern Greece, the southeastern Bulgaria, and the European part of Turkey (Figure 1). Turkish Thrace, which constitutes about 3% of Turkey’s surface, is not very high (average altitude of 180 m) and only 15% of the region is covered by forest in north and south. When evaluated in terms of geological, geographical, and tectonic features, it is seen that the Thrace region is different from the other regions of Turkey. Karst formation in Turkish Thrace is characterized by Eocene limestone, but a few caves developed within the marbles of the Paleozoic metamorphic basement, which is limited in the region [30].
The location map of Thrace, and the positions of Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave in Turkish Thrace.
Thrace is one of the major biogeographic zones in Turkey and, due to its karst formation, more than 50 caves have been formed in the region. Most of these caves, which form horizontally, are fossil-typed caves that have completed development. The caves in Turkish Thrace are concentrated at elevations between 150 and 200 m in Yıldız Mountains. The two longest caves explored were İkigöz Cave (4816 m) and Dupnisa Cave System (2720 m) in length with altitudes of 70 and 345 m, respectively [30, 31].
Despite the presence of thousands of caves in Turkey, there are few studies of the cave fauna, and most are old and based on the limited sampling. However, in recent years, the caves in Turkish Thrace have been slightly more surveyed in terms of the bats. Bilgin [32] has examined some of the caves in the region and provided information on the summer population sizes and habitat preferences of the bat species. Furman and Özgül [33, 34] have investigated the population sizes of bat species in many caves in the region and also stated that they should be protected by identifying important underground shelters in the region. In particular, two caves in the region, Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave, have been investigated in detail by the author based on regular and long-term monitoring (Figure 1) [35–38]. In recent years, many studies have been conducted throughout Turkey to determine other underground habitats that are important for bat populations. These studies provide important contributions to the identification and conservation of the bat populations and roosts in Turkey [39, 40].
Due to its location and different climatic zones, Turkey has become a homeland and shelter for many species affected by geological and climatic changes in the past. For this reason, Turkey, which has a rich biodiversity, is also very rich in terms of bat species. Turkey is the country with the highest bat diversity in the region with 39 species identified so far. In Turkish Thrace, 27 of these species have been recorded. Dupnisa Cave System, Koyunbaba Cave, and Kocakuyu Cave are the most important shelters for bats in the Thrace region of Turkey [32–38].
Besides the lack of suitable shelters, today\'s rapidly growing urbanization, population growth, and the increased interest of humans intended for nature are causing damage and gradual decline of natural habitats of bats, and thus bat populations are at risk of extinction. Cave-dwelling bats are mostly threatened by visitors and human activities. Treasure hunting, quarrying, and cave tourism are the main threats to caves in Turkish Thrace. Knowing and protecting of roosts are essential to bat conservation. The use of caves by bats is shaped by microclimatic, morphological, and ecological conditions provided by the caves, because species have specific requirements for roosts in terms of shelter. Roost selection of bats differs in particular parts of caves and changes according to their annual life cycle. Therefore, knowledge about roost requirements and roost switching of the bat species in Turkish Thrace is required to any plan of the protection of the bats.
In this study, Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave in Turkish Thrace were investigated based on a long-term monitoring. The data given in this chapter belong to the years 2002–2010 for Dupnisa Cave System and 2007–2008 for Koyunbaba Cave. The roosts used by bats in both the caves were determined. In each survey, the species composition, colony structure, seasonal population numbers, and roosting habits of the bats were recorded. Roost temperature and humidity were regularly measured in each survey. Collected data were evaluated in two periods as winter/hibernation (November–March) and summer/nursery (April–October). Species identifications were done by following the identification keys [41]. Small colonies were counted directly and large colonies were counted using photographs. Also, some of these data have been previously presented by the author at congresses and articles [36, 38, 42].
Dupnisa Cave System is located south of Sarpdere Village (Kırklareli) in Thrace, the European part of Turkey (Figure 1). The cave system lies in the forested Yıldız (Strandja) Mountains. Dupnisa Cave System is the second largest cave in Thrace region with a total length of 2720 m long. This cave system, which developed as a result of the disintegration of the Pliocene relief system in the upper part of the Yıldız Mountains with the Quaternary rivers, has the polycyclic development feature [31]. The cave system, which has four entrances, has developed horizontally and its formation process still continues. Dupnisa Cave System is regarded as a cave system because it is formed by two floors and three interconnected caves. These caves have different features. In this system, the active main gallery through which an underground stream flows is called Sulu Cave, while the totally fossilized ones above are called Kuru Cave and Kız Cave (Figure 2) [31].
Dupnisa Cave System: the location of the three main caves, the areas open to tourists, and the gated and ungated entrances [
Sulu Cave has the longest gallery of these caves with a length of 1977 m, and has only one entrance and one corridor. The height and width of this corridor are up to 40 and 15 m, respectively, and there is a very large hall of 125 m long, 80 m high and 35 m wide in this corridor. Kuru Cave, with a total length of 480 m, has two entrances and two corridors. In addition, a large hall was formed at the junction of these two corridors. Kuru Cave is connected with Sulu Cave by a narrow corridor. Kız Cave, 263 m in length, has one entrance and a small hall after the entrance. Kız Cave, which is covered with a thick fossil layer mixed with large blocks, gravel, and sand, is connected to Sulu Cave below at two points (Figure 2) [31].
Dupnisa Cave System is the first cave in the Thrace region that was opened to visitors in July 2003. This cave is also the first cave in Turkey to be opened to visitors with a program and gate construction according to the seasonal use of the cave by bats based on long-term-monitoring program [38]. Tourist circuits were constructed with the first 200 m of Sulu Cave and the first 230 m of Kuru Cave. However, Kız Cave is closed to visitors (Figure 2). The cave system has been visited by about 35,000 visitors each year after it was opened to visitors. The cave system has four entrances and two of these entrances, which are located on the tourist area, are closed to control human entry (Figure 3). Gates are constructed with a design of the horizontal angle iron bars that have 200-mm spacing between bars. The other entrances of the cave system, outside of the tourist area, where human entry is difficult, have been left to the natural state to minimize the negative effects of the two doors on the bats (Figure 3) [38].
The gated entrances of Sulu Cave (a) and Kuru Cave (b), used to control the entry of tourists. The ungated entrances of Kuru Cave (c) and Kız Cave (d), remained to minimize the negative effects of the gates on the bats.
Koyunbaba Cave is located in the province of Kırklareli in Thrace of Turkey at 155 m altitude (Figure 1). Its length is 532 m, horizontally developed, and a fossil cave [31]. Depending on its development, the cave consists of different parts with various characteristics. There are seven stations used as roost by the bats in Koyunbaba Cave. These stations have different characteristics in terms of roost type, height, and microclimate (Figure 4).
Koyunbaba Cave: the location of the seasonal roosts used by the bats, the three entrances of the cave. Adapted from Ref. [
Koyunbaba Cave developed on a prominent northwest-southeast direction fault line on the Eocene limestone. The fractured structure of the limestone resulted in the formation of many cavities and recess ledges in the cave. The cave initially developed in the northwest-southeast direction and takes the northeast-southwest direction from the middle section. At the intersection of these two sections, a large subsidence hall with a width of 50 × 60 m and a ceiling height of 30 m has developed (Figure 4). The formation of dripstone in Koyunbaba Cave, which has its base covered with a thick fossil layer consisting of soil, gravel, rubble block, and guano, is almost inexistent [31].
Koyunbaba Cave has three entrances, which are linked with different characteristics. The main entrance is the largest one. It is horizontally formed and its entry is very easy. Koyunbaba Cave is closed to visitors, but this area of the cave is used by local people as an animal shelter during the summer. The second and third entrances of the cave are vertical. Because they are quite dangerous, these entrances cannot be used by local people (Figure 5). The cave is located in a relatively flat area consisting of farmland and pastures. This area is outside the Strandja Forest tree line. There are important water resources (Teke stream and Kayalı dam) around the cave.
The three entrances of Koyunbaba Cave: the main entrance (a), the second entrance (b), and the third entrance (c).
Dupnisa Cave System, which has four entrances and three parts with different characteristics, provides seasonally different microclimatic conditions in the different parts (Table 1). Paksuz et al. [36] stated that the temperature varies between the different parts of the cave system, as well as by season. While the winter temperature ranges from −1 to 12°C in Sulu Cave, 8 to 14°C in Kuru Cave, and 10 to 14°C in Kız Cave, the summer temperature varies from 9 to 14°C in Sulu Cave, 13 to 22°C in Kuru Cave, and 13 to 18°C in Kız Cave. In winter, the mean temperature of Sulu Cave is significantly lower than from Kuru Cave and Kız Cave. During summer, the mean temperature in Kız Cave and Kuru Cave is significantly higher than in Sulu Cave. In Sulu Cave, the average temperature in winter is 7.4°C, in summer 10.7°C; in Kuru Cave in winter 11.4°C, in summer 16.3°C; in Kız Cave in winter 11.9°C, in summer 15.9°C. Humidity also varies depending on the caves and the seasons. The humidity in Dupnisa Cave System varies from 57 to 100%. The mean humidity in winter is similar and higher in Sulu Cave and Kız Cave, while it is lower in Kuru Cave. During summer, the humidity is similar in all three caves.
Caves | Length (m) | Summer temp. (°C) | Winter temp. (°C) | Summer hum. (%) | Winter hum. (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sulu Cave | 1977 | 10.7 | 7.4 | 84.6 | 91.5 |
Kuru Cave | 480 | 16.3 | 11.4 | 77.3 | 80.9 |
Kız Cave | 263 | 15.9 | 11.9 | 80.7 | 87.6 |
The length measurements and mean microclimate data of Dunisa Cave System.
Up to now, 17 species of bats have been recorded in Dupnisa Cave System, which is the most studied cave in Turkey in terms of bats. Five of these species belong to Rhinolophidae family (
The maximum monthly number of bats recorded in a single survey in the three parts of Dupnisa Cave System. The data were collected from 2002 to 2010.
In Dupnisa Cave System, 99% of bat colonies are composed of six species,
While
The hibernation colonies of the bats in Dupnisa Cave System: a mixed colony of species
The observation that the bats in the cave system always formed colonies at the same points depending on the seasons led to the belief that the rock characteristics, temperature, and humidity are the factors affecting roost selection. Paksuz et al. [36] emphasize that the main factor shaping the use of the cave system by the bats at various degrees is the microclimate. The temperature of Sulu Cave is low for breeding while the temperature of Kuru Cave is high for wintering. Although the winter temperature is higher in Kız Cave than in Kuru Cave, Kız Cave is used for hibernating by the bats. The two entrances of Kuru Cave and its connection with Sulu Cave indicate that it may be more affected by temperature fluctuations and airflows, which may be the reason why the cave is preferred less than the other caves for hibernating. The humidity in winter is variable in all the three caves, while it is similar in summer. The specific roost requirements of bat species limit the use of many caves by bats. Thus, providing alternative conditions makes caves pretty appropriate roost for bats throughout the year. Therefore, Dupnisa Cave System, which offers alternative microclimatic conditions in the different parts, may be an important opportunity for many bats because the appropriate roosts will be more limited in the future, as global warming will become increasingly prevalent.
In Dupnisa Cave System, a conservation plan is applied for the protection of the bats and the cave system according to the seasonal use of the cave system by bats. This protection plan includes an appropriate visitor schedule and gate construction. The visitor schedule was arranged according to the seasonal use of Dupnisa Cave System by bats. The entrances of cave system where tourist circuits placed in were closed with horizontal angle iron gates to control the human disturbance. The other entrances of the cave system, outside of the tourist area, have been left to the natural state to minimize the negative effects of the two doors that can disturb the bats. In addition to these, some arrangements have been made for visitors and the use of lighting system. The protection of the caves and the bats will be possible only if the precautions that are taken and the suggestion that have been made are applied carefully [38].
Paksuz and Özkan [38] stated that the seasonal usage patterns of the parts in Dupnisa Cave System by the bats are completely preserved in periods of before and after tourist mobility (Figure 8). The authors also emphasized that there is no decrease in the total number of the bats in Dupnisa Cave System following the opening period tourist mobility. Moreover, they found a statistically significant increase after the tourist mobility only in Kız Cave, which is closed to tourism and ungated. This increase may indicate that the bats prefer to use the caves which are not visited by humans and tourist mobility. It seems as if Kız Cave, which is closed to tourism and ungated in Dupnisa Cave System, is a good opportunity to minimize the potential negative effects of the tourism activities in Sulu Cave and Kuru Cave on the bats. These results show that the protection program prepared for the protection of Dupnisa Cave System and bats is sustainable and must be applied meticulously.
The monthly population sizes of the bats in the periods before and after tourist mobility in Dupnisa Cave System.
Koyunbaba Cave has different microclimatic conditions according to stations and seasons (Table 2) [37]. While the summer temperature in Koyunbaba Cave varies from 10 to 24°C, the winter temperature varies from 5 to 16°C. In summer, while the highest mean temperature is in station 4 (17.1°C), the lowest mean temperature is in station 7 (12.3°C). The highest (15.2°C) and lowest (5.2°C) mean temperatures in winter are in station 1. The humidity in Koyunbaba Cave varies from 58 to 98% depending on seasons and stations.
Stations | Roost location | Summer temp. (°C) | Winter temp. (°C) | Summer hum. (%) | Winter hum. (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hall | 17.0 | 9.3 | 66.7 | 68.6 |
2 | Room | 15.1 | 12.8 | 83.7 | 89.6 |
3 | Corridor | 12.6 | 8.1 | 75.9 | 86.0 |
4 | Hall | 17.1 | 9.4 | 68.9 | 76.2 |
5 | Room | 13.7 | 11.4 | 88.4 | 95.0 |
6 | Hall | 13.8 | 9.5 | 91.6 | 89.6 |
7 | Corridor | 12.3 | 7.9 | 75.7 | 80.4 |
The mean microclimate data and location of the roosts in Koyunbaba Cave.
In the studies conducted until now, 11 species of bats have been recorded in Koyunbaba Cave. Five of these species belong to Rhinolophidae family (
The maximum monthly number of bats recorded in a single survey in Koyunbaba Cave. The data were collected from 2007 to 2008.
Seven species constitute 98% of the bat colonies in Koyunbaba Cave,
The cave is used by species of
The breeding/nursing colonies of the bats in Koyunbaba Cave: a mixed colony of species
The roosts in Koyunbaba Cave are used by bats for various degrees and purposes according to species. The rooms and halls of Koyunbaba Cave are used as summer roost, while the corridors are used as winter roost. The selection of roost location in the cave by bats differed according to the species.
These data show that Koyunbaba Cave is an important nursery roost for large populations of many bat species in the summer, as it has appropriate microclimatic conditions, large roosts, and entrances.
Turkish Thrace, located in the north-west of Turkey, served as a bridge between the Balkans, Anatolia, and Mediterranean. Thrace is one of the major biogeographic zones in Turkey and, due to its karst formation, there are many caves with different characteristics in the region. Due to these features, Thrace region, which has been an important glacial refuge for bats in the past, still provides a pretty opportunity to be hosted particularly for obligatory cave-dwelling bats. Turkish Thrace hosts large populations of many bat species [32–38].
Roost selection is essential for bats that spend more than half of their lives in roost [13]. Caves may serve as one of the most adequate roosting sites for bats because of the relatively stable microclimatic characteristics. Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave are the most important underground habitats for bat populations in southeastern Europe [34–38]. The hosting of large populations (56,600 hibernating bats and 11,000 breeding/nursing bats) of many bat species (18 species) is an indicator that Dupnisa Cave System is the most important shelter in the region. In addition to this, Koyunbaba Cave, which is used by a large breeding/nursing population (29,500) consisting of 11 bat species, is the most important summer roost in the region. Some bat species are listed as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List, because of their declining populations in most of the European countries [43]. However, the populations of these species in Balkans and Turkey are stable [43], because Turkish Thrace provides many appropriate shelters to use by bats such as Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave.
Many species have very specific microclimatic requirements for roosts [18]. Microclimatic requirements of bats show seasonal variations according to their annual life cycle. Microclimatic conditions of roost and microclimatic requirements of species may contribute to patterns of association of bats [18, 23, 44]. Therefore, cave availability for bats is increased by providing alternative microclimatic conditions according to seasons. Most of the caves in Turkish Thrace are appropriate shelters for winter colonies of bats and also for their nurseries. When there are alternative roosts, bats prefer the most appropriate ones to others. Therefore, Dupnisa Cave System is mainly used as a winter roost by bats, whereas Koyunbaba Cave is mainly used as a summer roost. Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave have different roost characteristics and microclimates and are used by different bat species for different purposes at different levels according to seasons. Therefore, they are alternative roosts to each other for bat population throughout the year. These caves, which complement each other in terms of seasonal use, are a chance for bats that have limited roosts. This makes these caves more important for the future of the bats in the region.
Growing urbanization across the world is resulting in negative impacts on bats and their key roosting habitats. Disturbance and destruction at caves is a widespread and major threat for cave-dwelling bats. Populations of some bat species are threatened globally due to human disturbance and roost lost caused by the increase in human population and land use. The protection of caves should be the most effective of bat conservation programs because a single cave can shelter thousands of bats from various species. Our findings related to these caves give some important clues for the population status and roost ecology of the bat species in Turkish Thrace. Also, it is very important for the implementation of any plans contributing to the protection of the roosts. The conservation of the caves, primarily Dupnisa Cave System and Koyunbaba Cave, whose importance for bats and other cave inhabitants was scientifically proven, is very important for the future of endangered species. Such preservation actions are made obligatory by international agreements including Turkey.
This chapter is produced from the following theses of the author. Master thesis (2004): Dupnisa Mağara Sistemi Yarasaları (Mammalia: Chiroptera). Doctoral thesis (2009): Koyunbaba Mağarası (Kırklareli-Türkiye) Yarasa Faunasının Mevsimsel Populasyon Değişimleri ve Tünek Seçimi.
Natural fibers, whether of plant, animal or mineral origin, are widely available throughout the world. The diversity and abundance of plant fibers make them a highly renewable resource. And while some plant resources need to be preserved to ensure a sustainable global food supply, a very large quantity of plant fibers remains available. This concerns invasive plants that disrupt natural ecosystems and threaten biodiversity in the long term, as well as waste fibers. Waste fibers are mostly agricultural by-products or residues from industrial manufacturing processes. They constitute a renewable resource that amounts to millions of tons per year, of which only a small part is presently recovered.
The recycling of waste fibers is a part of an environmental strategy for sustainable waste management and implements the three Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle. It aims to reduce waste, preserve natural resources, save space for disposal and/or landfill and prevent the burning and incineration commonly applied to these waste fibers thus limiting CO2 emissions. In many cases, the voluntary incineration of waste fibers results in the production of ash which, due to its chemical properties, can be used as a binding material as an addition to the components of cement or as a substitute for it [1]. However, the ecological impact of this disposal process is quite negative. It has been observed that for some fibers, waste or not, it is possible to design innovative products with high added value. However, their recovery has a cost and requires energy and the use of other raw materials: bio-based composite materials for the automobile and other modes of transport, furniture, packaging, nanofibers, building materials [2]. However, it is the most basic building materials, i.e., bricks, blocks and tiles, that appear to be best suited to recycle natural fibers, whether short or long, intact or crushed. The incorporation of waste fibers in the manufacturing of these basic materials has little effect on the production process while improving some of the properties and eliminating the waste without additional greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, if the brick is unfired, as is the case with fiber-reinforced bricks or blocks made from cementitious products, it is important to minimize the use of ordinary Portland cement with a high clinker content, i.e., OPC CEM I cement. The use of cement made from industrial by-products up to low-carbon binders allows to limit or even drop the carbon footprint. And for these bricks and binders, the economic cost can be reduced by eliminating one or more waste products, fibers and industrial byproducts. This is how the concept of co-valorization was developed [3, 4], which is both economic and ecological: eliminating waste, saving natural resources and limiting the carbon footprint. The crude brick reinforced with waste fibers makes it a perfectly ecological construction element without firing and without the use of binders. It is based on the principle of eco-valorization, which is founded on the integration of the circular economy, sustainable development, the conservation and the renewability of natural resources, and ultimately the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions. This is illustrated in Figure 1. Eco-valorization is intended to be more environmentally friendly. The soft material of these crude bricks that bind the fibers most often comes from clay-loam soils, but the introduction of waste soils is preferable, such as sediments or dredged sludge.
Circular economy, eco-valorization, sediment and fiber waste, earth reinforced bricks [
The waste fibers that can be recycled into eco-friendly building materials are numerous and diversified. Their quantity is closely linked to the world production of agricultural plants. Some of the fibers are consumed almost entirely by livestock (food such as straw and flour) and industry (textiles such as flax), but the rest are considered as waste, such as palm oil or coconut fibers. In the last decade, there has been a disproportionate growth in the agro-industry, which has resulted in an expansion of crops and consequently the production of waste fibers, as shown in Table 1 for oil palm fibers. In the same Table 1, it can be seen that natural fibers of tropical origin alone constitute a huge potential of fibrous materials for recycling.
Year | Tropical natural fibers | Other natural fibers* | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banana | Coconut | Palm oil fruit | Sugar cane | Flax | Hemp | Wheat | |
2009 | 103 | 61 | 216 | 1673 | 0.661 | 0.485 | 683 |
2019 | 116 | 62.4 | 411 | 1950 | 1.085 | 0.174 | 765 |
Production of main agricultural products as a potential natural fiber resource in Mt. [6].
subtropical and temperate climate zones.
The recycling of waste fibers into building materials implies an industrial process to use a sufficient quantity of fibers over time i.e., renewability of the resource, which is why natural tropical fibers are of great interest. To ensure and maintain a quality manufacturing process, a methodology must be followed. It can be simply illustrated as in Figure 2.
A certain methodology for recycling waste natural fibers in building materials.
This chapter demonstrates the importance of natural fibers in renewable and environmentally friendly building materials and also, the availability of fibers (introduction). Section 2 discusses the variability of shape, i.e., aggregates or fibers, structure (internal and external), intrinsic properties and applications of natural fibers. Section 3 gives background information on the process of fiber extraction, processing and methodologies for determining the main characteristics of fibers useful for use in building materials. Two applications are thoroughly described, one for a fiber-reinforced mortar (Section 4) and the other for fiber-reinforced raw earth, a truly ecological material (Section 5). The chapter concludes with a discussion on the advantages and shortcomings of tropical natural fibers as reinforcement materials.
In detail and accordance with Figure 2, the identification of the resource is necessary before any action of recycling waste fibers, this is the focus of Section 2 of the chapter “natural fibers and tropical fibers”. This identification must be more complete with the knowledge of the properties of the waste fiber and its intrinsic characteristics useful for its future material recovery. These characteristics are obtained from specific tests carried out on these fibers and in particular, on natural tropical fibers such as oil palm and coconut fibers, see Section 3. The material recovery considered for these tropical waste fibers concerns the production of eco-materials for applications that are primarily local, i.e., close to the sources of waste fiber collected. A case study of a mortar based on coconut fibers is reported in Section 4. In particular, this mortar uses calcium sulfoaluminate cement with a 37% smaller carbon footprint than Portland cement. The development of mud bricks based on oil palm waste fibers incorporated into dredged river sediment is an example of a possible eco-valorization in Section 5. These two studies demonstrate that the recycling of waste fibers into building components is potentially possible and beneficial for sustainable development.
The use of these fibers has been temporarily set aside in preference to so-called modern cementitious materials (concretes, mortars, plasters). The usage of fibers, due to their renewability and their eco-friendly nature, is raising new interest among builders because they have interesting properties for construction. A new category of fiber-based construction materials is emerging in the field of construction and restoration: these are bio-sourced materials. Natural fibers are diverse and available in large quantities, mainly from the residues of large-scale agricultural production. The most commonly used natural fibers in building materials are, whether tropical or not, are straw (wheat, rice), flax, hemp, reed, sugar cane, jute, sisal, coconut and bamboo, as listed in Table 2.
Type of fibers | Density (g/cm3) | Absorption coefficient (%) | Elasticity modulus (GPa) | Tensile strength (MPa) | References |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Temperate climate and subtropical fibers | |||||
Bamboo | 0.45–1.3 | 40–145 | 2.82–54 | 39.5–1000 | [7, 8, 9] |
Cotton | 1.21–1.6 | — | 1.1–13 | 265–800 | [10] |
Flax | 1.19–1.55 | 63–330 | 4.4–110 | 93–2000 | [2, 11, 12, 13] |
Hemp | 1.07–1.50 | 85–415 | 10–90 | 159–1264 | [2, 10, 14] |
Jute | 1.23–1.50 | 84–281 | 2.5–78 | 300–800 | [2, 10, 15] |
Palm date | 0.92 | 133–140 | 1.9–85 | 58–678 | [16] |
Ramie | 1–1.58 | — | 23–128 | 400–1620 | [10] |
Reed | 0.54–0.94 | — | 35.9 | 112–503 | [17] |
Rice straw | 0.86–1.11 | 52–84 | 3.3–26.3 | 435–450 | [18] |
Sisal | 1.2–1.50 | 110–230 | 1.46–38 | 80–1002.3 | [2, 10, 14] |
Wheat straw | 1.14–2.05 | 96–320 | 1.4–4.8 | 3.45–140 | [19] |
Tropical fibers | |||||
Banana spine | 0.31–1.36 | 134–282 | 3–32 | 49.3–914 | [2, 10, 17] |
Coconut-coir | 0.67–1.52 | 63–180 | 0.628–28 | 15–593 | [2, 14, 20] |
Palm oil* | 0.1–1.55 | 54–120 | 0.5–25 | 147–400 | [2, 5, 21] |
Sugar cane | 0.31–1.31 | 102–219 | 15–27.1 | 20–290.5 | [2, 10] |
A review of physical and mechanical properties of natural fibers.
Palm oil flower and fruit are all considered.
The natural fibers considered in this chapter come from plants and trees and are therefore of plant origin. They are essentially so-called cultivated plants and trees, i.e., they are a renewable resource whatever their periodicity, annual for plants and several years for trees. These natural fibers are composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectin and impurities. While cellulose is the highest constituent in mass fraction for some plant fibers, it is much lower for woody plants where the lignin content increases or even exceeds the cellulose content (coconut, wood). The stem of the plant provides the main part of the plant fibers, whereas the leaves, fruits, seeds, bark and inter-fiber impurities are considered as plant aggregates.
Plant fibers are widely used as a building material. Over the centuries, long, flexible fibers have been used in their raw state as roofing material for rural habitats. These include wheat straw, rice straw, rushes and reeds, bamboo … and not included in the use of plant leaves such as palm leaves, banana leaves … But it is by combining soils and short fibers (a few centimeters) that building materials have been developed at a regional scale. They are made up of raw short fibers mixed with soils that are sometimes clayey and silty with the presence of coarse grains. These are filling materials such as cob and wooden beams; raw earth materials for the construction of load-bearing walls such as cob and prefabricated materials in the form of raw earth bricks such as adobe, see Figure 3. In recent decades, these plant fibers have given rise to investigations leading to more efficient construction materials, especially in terms of thermal insulation (plant fiber panels and blocks) and strength by reinforcing fibers in composite materials with a soil or cement matrix. Figure 4 shows these different materials, noting that rice husk is a plant aggregate.
Raw plant fibers in building materials: a-roofing, b-cob and wood, c-cob wall and d-adobe bricks.
Ready-to-use fiber-based insulating blocks (a-lime and hemp shiv and b-compressed coconut fibers), rice husk-based raw earth (c-rice husk) and composite mortar undergoing flexural testing (d-jute fiber [
Fiber-based materials are now available in various types and shapes for construction. They are natural fibers alone, matrices of ready-to-use materials (cob), so-called efficient materials depending on the properties developed (bricks, panels, blocks), as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.
Generally, plant fibers have intrinsic properties such as those related to their internal structure which gives them a high absorption capacity and hygroscopic properties. These properties are sometimes in conflict with the desired performance of the composite material being made, especially the strong performance. To achieve this, the fibers undergo a more or less chemical treatment to make them hydrophobic and improve their adhesion properties. Indeed, the external structure of the fibers plays a role in the adhesion of the fibers to the binding matrix (soils, hydraulic and similar binders, geopolymers, biopolymers, etc.). This treatment can take place at the time of the defibration process, i.e., the shaping of the fibers. In certain cases, it would delay the degradability of the fibers, and thus, improving the durability of the material.
The selection and performance of building elements from among bio-based materials depend on the intrinsic characteristics of the fibers incorporated and the matrix containing them. These properties are thermal, acoustic, mechanical and hygroscopic. The hygroscopic character is related to both the fibers and the binding material (cob). The microstructure and biochemical composition of the fibers affect their properties as well as the treatment applied to them before their incorporation (destruction of the structure), see Figures 5 and 6. These fibers as mechanical reinforcement (density, length, interfacial adhesion) improve strength and performance of building materials.
SEM images of a flax straw (a) and a reed fiber (b).
Typical stress-strain relationships for (a) coconut raw and treated fibers (length 10 mm, speed rate test 0.5 mm/min, [
Plant fibers have interesting physical properties for building materials. Due to the structure observed in Figure 5, these fibers have a relatively low specific density compared to metal reinforcement fibers. This is an advantage for their use, as they can produce lightweight composite materials. The bulk density is difficult to estimate due to the nature of the fiber itself as well as the geometry of the fibers, i.e., diametral dimension, cross-sectional shape. This difficulty also affects the determination of mechanical properties. The interest in plant fibers comes from their good mechanical properties, in particular a very high tensile uniaxial strength. As noted above, the determination of the ultimate strength of a fiber depends on its geometry, morphology, test operating mode (free length of the fiber, installation, loading rate), the variety of fiber plant and the unit character of the fiber (extraction mode).
The behavior of the fibers in uniaxial tension can differ depending on the fiber structure as shown in Figure 6 where a linear behavior is observed for treated and untreated coir fibers and an elasto-visco-plastic behavior for flax fiber. The determination of the deformation modulus in the case of Figure 6b is problematic. Depending on the behavior, the moduli of deformation may correspond to either the initial or final slope or a linear fit over the whole curve. Both the modulus of elasticity and the ultimate tensile stress is expressed as a range of data for a fiber type due to the natural variability of fibers.
Table 2 gives an overview of these data ranges for density, absorption coefficient, modulus of elasticity in tension and tensile stress at failure for different natural and tropical fibers. Fibers in building materials are widely used as the main component either as a protective covering (braided, woven fibers) or as an insulating material (pressed, heat-bonded, impregnated fibers). But they are also used in smaller quantities in the composition of building materials as reinforcing material. They are then randomly mixed into a binding matrix (soils, mortars or concretes).
This section includes the discussion on the physical and mechanical characteristics of natural fibers which are important for their recycling in construction materials. Water absorption of fibers has a significant influence on the strength of building composites as swelling and shrinkage of fibers with their interaction with water introduce cracks in building composites. There is also a competition between the water required for hydration in the case of cementitious matrices reinforced with natural fibers and the water absorption-desorption of the incorporated fibers. Natural fibers have a low density which makes them suitable additives in lightweight building composites. Geometrical characteristics of fibers include length, diameter, surface roughness and cross-section. Increasing fibers length has a positive impact on the tensile strength of building composites however their compressive strength decreases with long fibers. Diameter of technical fiber increases with increasing elementary fibers which increases the tensile strength of technical fibers. Alignment of elementary fibers at different microfibers angles is also important for tensile strength of fibers. Higher tensile strength of fibers increases the tensile strength and toughness of composite materials. Surface roughness of fibers is essential for bonding between matrix and fibers in composites. The pull-out strength of the fibers shows how the interfacial bonding of the fibers with the matrix behaves. Failure and sliding of fibers at different loads and depths change the resistance and failure mechanism of building composites. Life and performance of fibers decrease with time. This is rapid in an alkaline environment associated with concrete structures. Treatment of fibers improves the shelf life and resistance.
Natural plant fibers are used or recycled with or without treatment. Whatever their future use, they are subject to biochemical and physical, morphological and mechanical characterisations. The biochemical characterization concerns the evaluation of the quantities of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, lignin, impurities and water. The physical parameters investigated include density, dimensional aspect, geometry, microfibrillar angle and water absorption capacity. The analysis of the morphology of the fibers focuses on the microstructure, the dimensional variations (diameter, length and section). The mechanical parameters sought are most often related to the traction of the fibers (isolated or anchored in a matrix). In this section, only a few procedures (treatment) or characterization tests intended for the use or recycling of fibers in construction materials are mentioned.
The treatment of natural fibers is part of the preparation process. It takes place at the level of defibrillation (fiber separation), removal of impurities (fiber cleaning), reduction of absorption capacity (fiber hydrophobicity) and improvement of fiber adhesion to the matrix of a composite material (surface roughness and fiber bonding). Immersion in an alkaline solution (NaOH) reveals well the cleaning of the fibers which can be observed on a bamboo fiber as well as the change in roughness for a coir fiber as shown in Figure 7. Fiber treatments with water, boiling water, water with organic solvents or acidic agents such as ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) are the most eco-responsible treatments [8, 10, 14, 20]. Physical treatments are to a lesser degree environmentally acceptable but energy consuming (autoclave treatment, steam explosion, plasmas, Corona technique …). But chemical treatments based on Na2S, Na2CO3, NaOH solutions pose the problem of wastewater treatment. Some other treatments include impregnation, coupling, grafting, acetylation, benzoylation, esterification, etherification, liming …. In the most applications, alkaline solutions (Figure 7) and coupling techniques are the most applied. A promising technique based on enzymatic transformations would allow a more ecological treatment. These biological treatments are naturally focused on the development of biocomposites.
Aspect of treated fibers: (a) raw bamboo fiber and (b) bamboo fiber treated for 3 days in 1% NaOH solution [
The benefits of these treatments are hydrophobicity, modification of the external surface of the fibers for better adhesion and improvement of the durability. The geometry of the fibers changes (decrease of diameter), they lose their flexibility but the mechanical characteristics are more or less similar.
Natural fibers have a very high-water absorption capacity, due to their microstructure. This absorbed water poses a problem in the elaboration of fiber-reinforced composite materials with a cementitious matrix (mortar, concrete) or raw fiber earth (adobe, cob). For the former, the water in a mixture must participate in the hydration and in the raw earth, the percentage of water is necessary for the kneading and the preparation for optimal compaction. But in the drying phase, whatever the type of material, the water contained in the fibers will be extracted and the fibers will shrink with a risk of loss of adhesion between the fiber and the matrix as shown in Figure 8. This amount of water absorbed must be known when making the material-fiber mixtures and the parameter to be determined is the water absorption capacity Wa expressed in %, defined by:
Behavior of a fiber at the interface of a matrix, from the mixing phase to the curing and/or drying: illustration in the case of a cementitious material [
The methods of water absorption determination are not always standardized. They consist of immersion in water and then measuring the mass of the fibers as a function of time. Each time the mass of the fibers is measured as a function of a time step, it is necessary to wipe them out (Figure 9). Various procedures are used such as the use of filter paper, fine synthetic fabric as a bag, tweezers or tea balls or manual wiping of the fibers. However, one protocol can be recommended for bio-based materials: RILEM TC 236-BBM (immersion and then dewatering for 15 seconds at 500 rpm, by means of the centrifuge). Some ranges of Wa values are given in Figure 9.
Fabric bags and clips (a) for plant aggregates, tea baskets (b) for plant fibers, fiber bags (c) for centrifugal spinning and Wa ranges for different fibers [
Alfa fiber | Banana | Coir | Date palm | Flax | Hemp | Jute | Hay | Kelp | Kenaf | Rice husk | Sisal | Straw |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
460-640 | 134-282 | 63-180 | 133-140 | 63-330 | 85-415 | 84-281 | 78-90 | 80 | 285 | 52-84 | 110-230 | 96-320 |
The measurement of the absolute density or the material constituting the fiber is normally done using a helium pycnometer. But some authors still use the water pycnometer. The problem is that water, depending on the structure of the fiber, does not penetrate all the pores (underestimated density) and the absorption capacity of the fibers may overestimate the density. To avoid these phenomena, gas pycnometer (helium) is more realistic. Specific gravities differ from each type of fibers as reported in Table 2 from the literature.
The dimensions useful for defining the geometric parameters of a fiber are its length and diameter. The length is measured after the fibers have been cut to length by a manual (laboratory scale) or mechanical (industrial scale) process. It can be measured directly on a number of selected fibers (manual procedure) or in a more representative way, the distribution of the fibers is analyzed from a volume or a large number of fibers. This distribution gives rise to a statistical analysis (histograms, distribution law, median length…). The measurement of the diameter is more problematic because of its microstructure (compressibility, porosity) and morphology (shape). The shape of the fibers can be circular, an ellipse, an oblong shape … depending on the type of fiber but also on the mechanical treatment: separated, crushed, shredded fiber, …. The measurement of diameters, of orthogonal axes allows to define the cross-sectional area of a fiber. But if the shape is arbitrary, the most suitable means of measurement is image analysis using a digital optical microscope associated with image processing software. From microscope images, several geometric quantities can be defined: the largest and smallest dimension (flattening coefficient), the perimeter, the area of the fiber. A more advanced exploitation allows to approach the porosity at the level of the cross-section observed. The length and the diameter of the fibers can be measured with the help of a steel rule and digital caliper respectively for diameters of the fibers as shown in Figure 10a. With these measurements, the fiber aspect ratio, i.e., ratio of the length to the diameter of the fiber can be determined and it is useful in the implementation of fiber composites materials.
Dimensions measurements: fiber diameters with digital caliper [
Also, to determine the ultimate tensile stress at failure, it is necessary to know the fiber cross-section. Two methods are proposed depending on the type and shape of fibers. The first consists of taking two measurements using a caliper with a usual accuracy of ±0.01 mm that makes it possible to obtain the dimensions of the two axes of a disk or an ellipse (assumed cross-sections). The second method more representative of the shape of fibers, is essentially based on microscope image observation. Indeed, once the fiber is broken, an optical microscope is used to obtain an image of the cross-section. This image is then processed by computer-aided drawing software to determine the area of the fiber cross-section as shown in Figures 10b and c. This second method is applied in studies of the distribution and orientation of fibers within fiber-reinforced cementitious matrices or crude earth. Fiber counting in a cross-section of the composite material allows the counting of fibers in the cross-section but also the study of the observed shapes gives the orientation of fibers in the matrix. The measurement of fiber orientation by the image analysis technique requires the preparation of a material sample cross-section depending on the technique used according to Fu et al. [27]. The spatial position of a fiber can be defined by the two Euler angles θ and φ as shown in Figures 11a and b, where θ is the angle that the fiber makes with the normal direction 1 of a plane on which the fiber orientation will be observed. φ is the angle of the fiber projected in the 2–3 direction plane. θ is given by the inverse cosine of the ratio b/a (ellipse axes) and φ by the orientation of ellipse axis a to the 2-axis.
An example of definitions and determination of the fiber orientation θ and ϕ angles according to Hine [
One of the mechanical properties of interest is the ultimate tensile strength of the fibers. This strength value is useful in the development of composite materials. But knowing the tensile behavior law of a free fiber (or gauge fiber) is needed for any development of numerical modeling for these materials. This behavior law is often defined by the stress-strain relationship. It is obtained from the tensile force-displacement relationship recorded during a tensile test on a fiber. To carry out the tensile tests, it is necessary to install the fiber on specific support if the fiber flexibility is limited and becomes too brittle. If the fiber is sufficiently flexible, the fiber can be clamped directly in the jaws of the testing machine. The clamping system is mechanical (M) or pneumatic (P) as shown on Figure 12a. But usually, for short fibers, a cardboard is used to hold the fiber before testing (Figures 12b and c). To install fiber on a cardboard frame, squares or rectangles of card stock are cut and prepared with internal dimensions depending on the free length of fiber testing. The test procedure is presented in Figure 12c and is as follows: installation of fiber on cardboard, clamping the cardboard on the machine, cutting the cardboard, putting the fiber under tensile loading till failure. The data recorded concerns load versus axial displacement and mainly the ultimate tensile strength as well as the maximum elongation at failure. Usually, tensile tests are carried out on different machines using different sensors. The test is performed at various constant speed rates ranging from 0.5 mm/min to 5 mm/min. Also, the machines are equipped with different more or less accurate sensors. Tests are conducted in constant room thermo-hygrometric conditions (temperature around 20–25°C). For short fibers (total length ≤ 50 mm), the free length varies from 10 to 20 mm.
Tensile strength test: possible elementary fiber installation [(a) [
Once the test is validated (failure in the part of free fiber) the stress-strain curve is analyzed and another parameter is determined: the modulus of elasticity if the fiber has an elastic or pseudo-elastic behavior. Depending on the behavior of the fiber, a linear part exists or not. It can be defined then an initial tangent modulus Et (Figure 13a), or the modulus of deformation can be defined on the linear part just before the failure as shown in the same Figure 13a (modulus Ef). And this choice can be justified by the fact that a cyclic test can demonstrate elastic behavior as for a flax fiber, see Figure 13a. Furthermore, the determination of the ultimate stress in a fiber under traction requires the knowledge of the cross-section at the moment of rupture, although there is a constriction of the cross-section as shown in Figure 13b, for which the determination of the cross-section is made by using microscope image and image analysis software.
(a) Flax fiber behavior under tension cycle [
The pull-out strength of the fibers in the matrices in which they are incorporated is another mechanical parameter necessary for the formulation of composite materials. In particular the shear stress at the fiber/matrix interface. It plays a major role in the case of short fibers [27]. It is also used to evaluate the critical fiber length. The critical fiber length (Lc) is the minimum length required to effectively strengthen and stiffen the material. It is defined by:
where σtf is the ultimate tensile strength of the fiber, D is the fiber diameter, and τ is the interfacial shear strength at the fiber/matrix interface, see Figure 14e.
(a) Crude earth specific wooden mold for pull out a test of hemp fiber, (b) crude earth sample with different hemp fibers before pull out testing, (c) pull out test of hemp fiber, (d) coir polyester composite specific mold for pull out test [
The critical fiber length can be estimated using the measured fiber diameter D and the values of σtf and τ issued from experimental tests or literature. The isolated (single) fiber pull out test requires a particular molding of anchored unit fibers of length Lf as shown in Figure 14e. The unit fibers are distributed along with a cast matrix (in the case of a cementitious or polyester resin-based material, Figure 14d) or crude earth (Figures 14a and b). The samples thus produced (Figures 14c and d) are submitted to a tensile test until the fiber is pulled out (Lf < Lc) or the fiber breaks (Lf > Lc). The test machines are the same as those used for the fiber tensile tests (Section 3.6).
Natural fibers from the Tropics for use in building materials are relatively abundant, as the data in Table 2 show. But among the fibers incorporated in building materials are coconut, sugarcane, sisal, palm fibers and to a lesser degree banana spine fiber. These are also the most widely investigated fibers in building materials at present. More recent interest has focused on the recycling of natural fibers considered as waste, such as oil palm fibers after the production of oil from the fruit. The characteristics of tropical fibers detailed below have been the focus of studies conducted by the authors. They are the most widely used fibers in building materials and in particular, the use of palm fibers constitutes an innovation in eco-friendly building materials.
Table 2 shows great variability in the data related to natural fibers, which is explained by the morphology and composition of each fiber, whether treated or not. Five types of tropical natural fibers were specifically investigated which are palm oil flower (POFl), palm oil fruit (POFr), coconut from the outer shell (Cn), sugar cane bagasse (Sc) and banana stem (Bs) fibers. These fibers are taken from the state of Tabasco in Mexico. Sugarcane fibers are separated into coarse (Scg) and fine (Scf) fibers for the study. Palm oil flower and fruit fibers are also separately considered even if some of their properties are closely related, see Table 3. They were not processed but extracted manually. Only the banana rachis required soaking in water and then drying of the isolated fibers.
Fibers | Density (g/cm3) | Wa (%) | K (W/mK) | Cellulose (%) | Avg. area (mm2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
POFL | 1.37 | 235 | 0.058 | 48.84 | 0.070 |
POFR | 1.36 | 258 | 0.055 | 37.36 | 0.027 |
Some bio-physical properties of palm oil flower and fruit fibers.
Note: Wa = water absorption, K = thermal conductivity, and Avg. = average.
Table 3 shows the bio-physical properties of palm oil fibers such as density, water absorption, thermal conductivity, cellulose content and area. The low density of fibers makes them a suitable additive in manufacturing lightweight building composites. Natural fibers are hydrophilic materials and higher water absorption of fibers in composite leads to micro-cracks growth in composites. Natural fibers have a low thermal conductivity which has a positive influence on the thermal behavior of building materials. Higher cellulose content of fibers contributes significantly to the tensile strength of fibers. The area of fibers is important to study the mechanical characteristics of fibers such as tensile strength. Tensile strength of fibers is heavily influenced by the area of fibers as technical fibers tested in this study are consist of the number of elementary fibers.
The five types of fibers were subjected to a tensile test. The length of the fiber chosen is 20 mm (free or gauge length) for a total length of 30 mm. The constant test speed was 0.5 mm/min at a room temperature of 22 ± 2°C and relative humidity of 40–50%. A minimum of 10 fibers were tested for each series. The minimum, average and maximum tensile strength of Mexican tropical fibers is presented in Figure 15. The tensile and strain loading curves reveal different mechanical behaviors depending on the fiber. Pseudo-elastic, visco-elastic or elasto-plastic behavior with a strain-hardening effect can be observed in Figure 16.
Tensile strengths observed on typical tropical fibers from Mexico.
Typical stress-strain relationships for different tropical fibers.
The tensile strength of fibers discussed in Figures 15 and 16 is one of the most important parameters for their use in bricks as fibers act as reinforcement. The higher tensile strength of fibers increases the tensile strength of building composites.
An innovative solution to reduce the negative impact on the environment is the production of structural reinforced composites from these natural fibers. Section 4 introduced an alternative binder to improve the durability of these plant fibers in an alkaline environment of cementitious composite. CSA cement was used in coconut fiber-reinforced mortar to totally replace the traditional cement. This section is divided into 2 parts including the
Among the natural fibers, coconut fiber is considered is a potential candidate for reinforcement in cement matrix due to its most ductile and energy absorbent properties compared to other plant fibers. Incorporation of natural fibers into cementitious composite could, therefore, constitute an alternative solution to waste management and contribute to the development of reinforced mortars by improving comfort performance in buildings. Besides, it is necessary to use alternative binders to improve the durability of these plant fibers into composites and reduce the negative impacts on the environment. In this section, the new formulations of mortar are proposed, in which the Portland cement is totally replaced by calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA cement). CSA cement, consisting of nearly 55% of calcium sulfoaluminate, could be considered as a clean, green and alternative binder due to its environmentally-friendly features [31]. Additionally, CSA cement contains a lower alkali content compared to PC, i.e., the pH ranges of CSA cement and PC are 10–11 and 12–13, respectively. As a consequence, the lower pH value of CSA cement can also lead to the less natural degradation rate of the fibers in the alkaline environment of the cementitious matrix.
The mechanical properties of fibers-reinforced mortars depend on various parameters such as intrinsic properties of fibers, fiber contents, fiber distribution, fiber orientation, interfacial transition zone (ITZ), i.e., fibers and cementitious matrix adhesion. The decrease in the compressive strength of mortars with increasing fiber content is observed. A part of the explanation is that the pectin, ash, and other impurities are included in the fiber component, inducing the reduction of the bond between fibers and cementitious matrix. Additionally, the higher air content and porosity, relative to the increase in fiber content, involve a decrease in compressive strength. The combination method of coconut fibers and CSA cement in mortar significantly increased flexural strength of mortar, up to approximately 17%, which meets the desired mechanical performance since fibers are used as reinforcement. However, at the higher content of fibers (≥3% by mass of cement), the flexural strength starts suffering a slight decrease due to much more fibers being in the restricted area of the brittle cementitious phase, which leads to the significant cumulative effects on the strength of the material. In addition, frictional energy losses considerably in the wake of pulling out of fibers due to the debonding at the interface, which is partly responsible for the failure.
Figure 17 shows the typical evolution graphs of the force applied as a function of the displacement at mid-span of the specimen for unreinforced and 2% fiber-reinforced mortars. To clarify the understanding of the different periods of crack initiation and propagation in bending, five particular points corresponding to five load steps are noticed for reinforced mortar. Point A is at the end of the non-linear elasticity period (so A is also at the first of the linear period). This point shows how the normal displacement evolves in the elastic period during the flexural test. Crack has not occurred in this step, although the load reaches 55% of the maximum load. In the next step, point B represents the displacement in the linear part of the curve and corresponds to the point where crack starts appearing at the load of 85% the maximum. It should be noted that the formation and development of cracks also depend on the characteristics of supporting (two) and loading (one) rollers of the flexural test. If one of them is capable of tilting or sliding slightly, a uniform distribution of the load over the width of the specimen is well applied. And thus, this induces the appearance of a single crack. Otherwise, multi-cracks would have occurred, and flexural behavior will be affected if all supporting rollers cannot freely rotate. Therefore, the scatter of cracks is observed on the cross-section of the sample in this case [33]. In the third step, point C corresponds to the peak of the force-displacement curve, i.e., the maximum of the flexural load. As the sample partly suddenly fails, point C′ is reached to introduce the residual force. The load reaches the maximum load, and some fibers begin pulling out from the cementitious matrix and then slip inside the mortar, as clearly shown by the drop from point C to point C′. The period from point D to point E is along the residual force step which mobilizes the shear resistance of fibers. This step describes a nearly constant load period while the bending displacement continues increasing due to the remaining fibers. The crack initiates at the base, i.e., an opposite plane to the applied load, of the sample and propagates toward the direction of loading in the wake of the appearance of the initial crack. In this stage, the contribution of fiber to preventing brittle fracture suddenly is shown clearly. Additionally, resisting fragmentation is observed as there is no spalling at the surface of the specimen due to the bridging effect of the fiber distribution. For control mortar, the bridging effect could not be observed. The sample shows a sudden drop at about 80% of the maximum applied force. The strain development of the control mortar is characterized by a non-linear elastic part followed by a nearly linear behavior before sudden failure occurs (fragile behavior). The single crack appears at the base of the samples on which it is believed to have the maximum bending moment and no shear load. The reinforced mortars show that a progressive load decrease is likely associated with a progressive rupture of the fiber-matrix interface and then limits a brittle fracture. The addition of fibers into mortar has remarkable effects on the cracking behavior of mortar. Fiber acts as a crack-arrester since the presence of fibers could contribute to preventing brittle fracture suddenly after the first crack appears. Also, the bridging effect of the fiber distribution induces a decrease in the crack width and length compared to the control sample at the same level of loading. The enhancement of toughness and preventing the development of cracks inside reinforced mortars are the most important contributions of fibers.
Typical curves of behavior in 3 points bending of mortars [
In terms of durability, the usage of CSA cement with low alkali content could lead to a significant decrease in carbonation resistance owing to the lower content of CaO compared to conventional cement. Additionally, several previous studies [34, 35] also pointed out the negative effects of the Ca/Si ratio on the carbonation resistance performance. They believed that a rapid carbonation degree was acquired in consequence of the rapid decalcification of calcium silicate hydrate gel (CSH) at the higher ratio of Ca/Si. Additionally, the formation of carbonation products that result from the decomposition of ettringite, which is the principal phase of CSA cement, and contributes to boosting the carbonation depth in mortar specimens. This observation also proves that the dense microstructure formed by ettringite has negligible effects on the carbonation resistance of the CSA cement-based matrix. Besides, incorporating fibers could improve the carbonation rate due to the high air content (the fibers act as channels and entrain air), encouraging CO2 penetration happened could be easier [36].
The various effects of carbonation on the performances of mortar were obtained. In detail, the compressive strength increased by approximately 9 and 33% for conventional cement-based mortars incorporating and no fibers, respectively. In contrast, the carbonation process could induce a slight decrease by 1–3% in compressive strength of CSA specimens with and without fibers, respectively. The pore structure of composite, which acquires significant changes after accelerated carbonation, is partly responsible for these results. It should be noted that a higher carbonation depth is found in CSA specimens. Therefore, the relationship between carbonation resistance and mechanical strength seems to be significantly dependent on the binder type used in composite [37]. Carbonation-induced strengths of mortar are various due to the cumulated effect of fibers incorporated. Mechanical behavior, hence, could not be a substantial factor in deciding the carbonation resistance of the cementitious composite.
The process of carbonation also induces a slight decrease in the thermal resistance ability of the matrix. For instance, non-carbonated zones have a strong ability to resist temperature than others in carbonation. In detail, at elevated temperature (~900°C), the carbonated area lost up to 14% of its mass. Meanwhile, the mass loss value of the non-carbonated area is below 10%. This observation is the result of CaCO3 formation during the carbonation process. This compound is thermally decomposed at a temperature higher than 650°C. Otherwise, the calcium-carbonated filler, which is generated in conventional cement production, is the main phase decomposed at this temperature.
Mechanical properties of composite materials need to be assured considering the environmental vulnerability. Generally, exposure in wetting and drying cycles has strong effects on the mechanical properties of samples due to the repetition of the negative environment on the interfacial bonding between fibers and cementitious matrix. After the sample is exposed to wetting and drying cycles, compressive strength is the most critical factor in assessing the performance of composite materials [38]. The wetting and drying repetition has adverse effects on the mechanical performance of mortar, regardless of the number of fibers, and reduces both compressive and flexural strengths. Generally, losses in mechanical properties of CSA-based mortars were higher than that of PC-based mortars. However, it should be noted that the maximum compressive strength was observed after one cycle since complete hydration of cement was reached due to the addition of water during the wetting process. In the next cycles, due to the formation of crystallized hydrate products [39], more micro-cracks appeared gradually inside the mortar structure and induced a decrease in compressive strength. Both strength and deformation of mortar samples decreased at the higher level of porosity and the higher number of cycles. The loss of strength was observed when fibers were incorporated into the mortar. More pores in fine aggregate mortar appear due to adding coconut fibers, which creates a convenient environment for the deep penetration of ambient air and water. The change in mechanical strength with predicted tendency was governed by the porosity, the number of cycles and fiber content as well, i.e., the higher fiber content, the higher porosity, the higher number of wetting and drying cycles, the lower mechanical strength.
In conclusion, for natural fibers reinforced composite to become widely used construction materials, consistent and predictable results need to be obtained. To achieve these outcomes, further studies are required on these composite performances by testing and modeling, which are necessary to help the application of this material for the building materials widely. These outcomes might contribute to environmental benefits and sustainable development of the construction industries in the future.
The emission of greenhouse gases, global warming and environmental concerns associated with modern construction materials have forced us to look for environmentally friendly construction materials. Construction materials such as concrete, cement and fired bricks manufacturing consume a higher amount of energy and are responsible for a considerable amount of CO2 emission. Moreover, these materials have higher thermal conductivity. On other hand, adobe bricks are environment-friendly building materials manufactured with sediments and waste natural fibers. Dredged sediments and natural fibers are renewable waste materials, easily available in most regions of the world. Disposal of waste fibers and dredged sediments have negative impacts on the environment as they are the source of air, water and land pollution. Dredged sediments and natural fibers valorisation in adobe bricks generates sustainable and green construction material as adobe bricks manufacturing does not consume energy. Adobe bricks are sun-dried and they have a low thermal conductivity which reduces the energy consumption for heating and cooling.
Adobe bricks are the cheap and oldest construction materials, used in historical buildings. Adobe bricks are manufactured with soil and natural fibers. Soil suitability for adobe bricks is observed with standards such as AFNOR and MOPT [40, 41]. Sediment’s mineralogy, molding moisture content, compaction energy, clay and sand content have a significant influence on the characteristics of adobe bricks. The strength and durability limitations of adobe bricks are the obstacles to their large-scale use. The addition of natural fibers and the use of stabilization techniques reduce these drawbacks to some extent.
Natural fibers are agricultural waste generated by food industries such as sugar cane, palm oil, etc. Natural fibers act as reinforcement in adobe bricks and increase their tensile strength. The low thermal conductivity and density of natural fibers make them suitable additives for adobe bricks and composite materials. Distribution, orientation, quantity and length of fibers are some important parameters that affect the quality and performance of adobe bricks. Fibers are randomly distributed in crude bricks, and it is difficult to control their orientation. The longitudinal distribution of fibers parallel to the bricks axis increases the tensile strength of bricks while their distribution perpendicular to the bricks cross-section does not contribute to the tensile strength of bricks. The quantity of fibers has also a significant impact on the performance of composite materials. The quantity of fibers used in adobe bricks usually varies from 1–5% by mass. The length of fibers is another factor that influences the tensile and compressive strength of bricks. Length of fibers varies with the choice of fibers and available fibers cutting mechanism. The distribution of fibers in bricks is homogenous with fibers of short length. The tensile strength of bricks increases with increasing fibers length however, longer fibers harm the compressive strength of bricks. The presence of knots and weak bond in long fibers affects their performance. Therefore, the use of appropriate length fibers is suggested. The common length range of natural fibers for crude bricks varies from 2 cm to 10 cm in literature studies.
The stabilization of bricks is achieved either by compaction or by using binding materials such as lime, cement and gypsum. As the use of binders involves the cost and contributes to global CO2 emissions. Therefore, bricks stabilization with compaction is a reasonable option. Compaction of bricks can be achieved by static loading, dynamic compaction, and tamping. The compaction of bricks removes the voids inside the bricks and improves their mechanical characteristics along with durability [42]. However, compaction of bricks with dynamic loading and tamping causes the upward movement of fibers along with water which may perturb the distribution of fibers. The durability of adobe bricks is also a challenge as the performance of fibers decreases with time due to degradation. Treatment of fibers improves their characteristics but it has environmental concerns.
Adobe bricks are manufactured by mixing sediments, fibers and water. Molding moisture content varies with the type of sediments and natural fibers. It is important to respect the water absorption coefficient of natural fibers. As water absorption of natural fibers is not instantaneous, prior fibers saturation helps to make homogenous sediments and fibers mixture.
Dredged sediments from the Usumacinta River and palm oil flower fibers (POFL) from the Tabasco State of Mexico were investigated to use them in adobe bricks. Usumacinta River sediments (USU) are shown in Figure 18a. Sediment’s characteristics such as granulometry, density, Atterberg limits, optimum moisture content, carbonate content, pH, XRF and organic matter were analyzed. Sediment characteristics are summarized in Table 4.
Adobe bricks manufacturing, (a) dry sediment and fibers, (b) miniature proctor for prismatic sample, and (c) molded crude bricks.
Sediments | LL (%) | ρsed (g/cm3) | Clay (%) | Sand (%) | pH (−) | OM (%) | MBV (g/100 g) | CaCO3 (%) | Wopt (%) | SSA (m2/g) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J3-9C | 37.74 | 2.63 | 5.9 | 52.8 | 7.5 | 4.48 | 2.73 | 7.84 | 19.3 | 28.20 |
Usumacinta sediments characteristics.
Note: LL = liquid limit, OM = organic matter, MBV = methylene blue value, and SSA = specific surface area.
Palm oil flower fibers were used as reinforcement in adobe bricks. POFL fibers are obtained from palm oil empty fruit bunches which are waste material from the palm industry. Empty fruit bunches were cut with a knife mill by using a grid of 3 cm. POFL fibers are shown in Figure 18a. Due to the grinding of fibers in the knife mill, there is length variation for grid-3 cm long fibers. The average length of fibers is 11.54 mm.
Fiber’s characteristics such as length, cross-section, tensile strength, water absorption, chemical composition and thermal conductivity are important for their use in crude bricks. Cellulose is the main component of POFL fibers which play a key role in the tensile strength of fibers. The tensile load behavior of POFL fibers is elastoplastic behavior. Characteristics of POFL fibers are shown in Table 3.
Crude bricks were manufactured with POFL fibers and Usumacinta River sediments. Manufacturing of fired bricks consists of mixing sediments and fibers, molding, compaction and drying. USU sediments were crushed, grinded and passed through a 2 mm sieve. Sediments were mixed with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% saturated POFL fibers. 450 g sediments are recommended for prismatic bricks of size 4*4*16 cm3. The quantity of fibers for each brick can be calculated by Eq. (3).
where msed is the mass of dry sediments, mfibers the mass of fibers and % of fibers, the percentage of fibers used. The optimum moisture content of sediments was found by the Proctor test and its value is 19.3%. It was used as molding moisture content. The quantity of water for the mixture can be calculated by Eq. (4).
where msed is the mass of dry sediments, mwater the mass of water and % of water, the optimum water content.
USU sediments and POFL fibers were poured into a mixing bowl followed by the addition of water. Sediments and fibers were mixed with an electric mixer for 10 minutes. Sediment mixing was followed by molding. Sediment’s mixture was molded into prismatic bricks of size 4*4*16 cm3 which is commonly used for manufacturing composite materials at laboratory scale [11]. Bricks were compacted with dynamic compaction. Compaction energy used is similar to the Proctor test energy, i.e., 600 kN.m/m3. The compaction of adobe bricks is shown in Figure 18b. After compaction bricks were unmolded and oven-dried at 40°C and sun-dried. Bricks were kept in the oven until their mass variation was below 1%. It was observed that sun-drying of bricks at room temperature (20°C ± 2°C) takes 2–3 weeks while oven drying can be achieved in 3–4 days. Figure 18c shows oven drying of adobe bricks.
Adobe bricks characteristics include tensile strength, fibers distribution, thermal conductivity, shrinkage and density, etc. Characteristics of bricks are strongly influenced by fiber content. Tensile strength and toughness of bricks increase with fiber content up to optimum moisture content. Fibers contribute to the tensile strength of bricks and transform the brittle failure into ductile failure by increasing the post-peak load-bearing capacity of bricks. The higher quantity of fibers produces fibers clusters in the matrix and reduces the bonding between fibers and sediments which decreases the tensile strength and toughness of bricks. The indirect tensile strength of bricks is determined with a three-point bending test according to ASTM standard [43]. The toughness index of bricks is also be determined with a tensile strength test. The tensile strength and toughness index of Usumacinta sediments bricks at different fiber content are shown in Table 5.
DCi% | DC0% | DC1% | DC2% | DC3% | DC% | DC5% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
σt (MPa) | 1.79 | 1.79 | 2.56 | 3.19 | 2.02 | 2.59 |
Toughness | 1 | 2.58 | 4.18 | 4.42 | 2.83 | 3.89 |
Mechanical characteristics of bricks.
Note: DCi% = dynamic compaction of crude brick with i (%) of fiber content, and σt = tensile strength at failure.
Table 5 shows that the tensile strength and toughness of Usumacinta sediments bricks increases with fiber content up to the optimum fiber content. Tensile strength of fiber-reinforced crude bricks, i.e., adobe bricks, reported in the literature and different standards vary from 0.04 to 2.05 MPa [44].
Physical characteristics of bricks include mass, density, shrinkage, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and thermal conductivity. The addition of fibers decreases the density of bricks and makes them lightweight construction material. On the other hand, Ultrasonic pulse velocity of bricks also decreases with increasing fibers content due to the presence of voids as saturated fibers swell initially and shrink after drying the bricks which produce small cracks. Shrinkage is another important property of bricks which increases with higher molding moisture content and higher clay content of sediments.
Physical characteristics of adobe bricks made with USU sediments at optimum fiber content are summarized in Table 6.
Bricks | Mass (g) | Density (kg/m3) | Shrinkage (%) | K (W/mK) | UPV (m/s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USU | 370 | 1524 | 2.25 | 0.23 | 924 |
Physical characteristics of adobe bricks.
Note: K = thermal conductivity, and UPV = ultrasonic pulse velocity.
Uniform distribution of fibers inside the bricks is important. The distribution of fibers inside bricks can be observed with ImageJ software [5]. Crude bricks are divided into 4 parts with 6 cross-sections. A microscopic image of each brick cross-section is analyzed with ImageJ software to find the number of fibers, their area and orientation in bricks. Upward movement of fibers in composite materials with dynamic compaction can be observed with image analysis.
This section includes a detailed analysis of the physical and mechanical characteristics of natural fibers especially tropical fibers for their recycling in construction materials such as crude bricks. Crude bricks specimens were manufactured at different fibers content and their characteristics were analyzed. The Addition of natural fibers in construction material has a positive impact on the tensile strength, density and thermal properties of these materials.
This chapter focuses on the recycling of waste natural fibers in composite materials used for construction. Fiber’s recycling eliminates agriculture waste and contributes to conserving natural resources used in building materials and sustainable development.
For fibers recycling, the study of their biochemical, physical, morphological, microstructural and mechanical characteristics is essential. In addition, durability analysis of fibers helps to determine the long-term evolution of these characteristics. This chapter reviews the characteristics of natural fibers suitable for building composites such as tensile strength, water absorption, modulus of elasticity and density. Moreover, characteristics of tropical fibers are also discussed for their reuse in earth bricks.
Analysis of natural fibers characteristics used in building materials shows the great variability in their intrinsic properties. The development of composite materials such as reinforced cementitious mortars or fiber-reinforced raw earth must consider this variability.
Natural fibers addition in building composites improves the tensile strength of these materials. Moreover, natural fibers improve the thermal and acoustic performance of composite materials.
Case studies for the recycling of natural fibers in mortar and earth bricks are also discussed. Natural fibers addition reduces the density of earth bricks and mortar. The tensile strength of earth bricks increases significantly with the addition of natural fibers. Natural fibers act as reinforcement and transform the brittle behavior of mortar and earth bricks into ductile behavior.
A part of this research work reported in this chapter has been funded by the project “From traditional uses to an integrated valorisation of sediments in the Usumacinta river basin (VAL-USES)” from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche of France (ANR-17-CE03-0012-01) and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología of Mexico (FONCICYT-290792).
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It deals with the progress of cobalt chemistry. Cobalt has been substantial in both chemical reactions and within many compounds. Some of them are heterocyclic reactions, cobalt-based catalyst and cobalamin. Also, it discusses variety of applications of cobalt in a wide range of areas and toxicity of cobalt. The studies carried out in this area so far have enabled and will be continued to be responsible for producing unknown and difficult reactions. 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The first section of ninth chapter of this book introduces utilization of apatite ores for manufacturing of phosphorus. The second part deals with production of phosphoric acid via wet and thermal process and utilization of byproducts such as phosphogypsum, phosphorous slag and ferrophosphorus. The last section of this chapter describes the methods for production of fertilizers, such as supephosphates, Thomas slag, ammonium phosphates, thermophosphates, etc., and the chapter ends with environmental demand of phosphate fertilizers.",book:{id:"4783",slug:"apatites-and-their-synthetic-analogues-synthesis-structure-properties-and-applications",title:"Apatites and their Synthetic Analogues",fullTitle:"Apatites and their Synthetic Analogues - Synthesis, Structure, Properties and Applications"},signatures:"Petr Ptáček",authors:[{id:"76186",title:"Associate Prof.",name:"Petr",middleName:null,surname:"Ptáček",slug:"petr-ptacek",fullName:"Petr Ptáček"}]},{id:"49970",title:"Introduction to Apatites",slug:"introduction-to-apatites",totalDownloads:3007,totalCrossrefCites:4,totalDimensionsCites:0,abstract:"Apatite is the generic name, which was first introduced by German geologist A.G. Werner. 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