265 Ing. Lucia Kidalova, Ing. Jozef Junak, PhD., prof. RNDr. Nadezda Stevulova, PhD. Technical University of Košice, Civil Engineering Faculty, Institute of Architectural Engineering HEMP AS UNCONVENTIONAL MATERIALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION © Kidalova Lucia, Junak Jozef, Stevulova Nadezda, 2012 У контексті питань, пов’язаних з навколишнім середовищем, рівень зацікавле- ності дослідників у біоматеріалах швидко зростає завдяки їх перевагам, як в поновлюваність ресурсів, низька вартість, біорозкладання тощо. Є багато можливостей використання природних сировинних матеріалів для виготовлення біокомпозитів. Описано експериментальні дослідження композитів на основі прядива (пеньки) з метою визначення фізико-механічних властивостей цих композитів. Часткові результати вказують на можливість використання бетонів на основі прядива (пеньки) як не несучих навантаження будівельних матеріалів. Ключеві слова: волокна, композит, міцність на стиск. In the context of environmental issues, bio-based materials are attracting increasing levels of research interest, because of their numerous advantages: renewable resource, low cost, biodegradability and so on. Natural raw materials have a lot of possibilities utilization in biocomposites preparing. This paper describes in an experimental study of hemp composites with regard to physico-mechanical properties of composites. Partial results indicate the potential using of hemp concrete such as non-load bearing building materials. Key words: hemp shives, composite, compressive strength. Introduction. The term industrial hemp is applied to varieties of Cannabis Sativa that have been specifically produced by plant breeders to have a tetra hydro cannabinnol (THC) level of 0.2% or less. Hemp is a ‘bast’ fibre crop with two constituent parts: a fibre sheath around a woody core called shiv, shive or hurd [1]. Hemp cultivation in Europe has increased from approximately 5000 hectares in 1993 to over 15,000 hectares in 2004 [2]. This rapid growth is continuing: 30,000 tones of hemp hurd/shiv were produced in 2003. In 2005, 60,000 tones of hemp straw were processed in France [3]. Hemp is growing also on the increase in Ireland and hemp-processing facilities are planned. Hemp fibre is used increasingly in the automotive sector, primarily in the manufacture of internal door panels and other parts. Demand for hemp products is also growing in construction where the shives is used as an energy efficient building material and the fibre is used as natural fibre insulation. The composite material combines fast-growing renewable and carbon sequestrating plant-based aggregates (hemp shives) with a lime-based binder to form a lightweight material that is suited to various construction applications, including solid walls, roof insulation and under-floor insulation and as part of timber-framed building. It also offers good thermal and acoustic performance and the ability to regulate internal relative humidity through hygroscopic material behaviour, contributing to healthier building spaces and providing effective thermal mass [1]. In our previous paper [4], the effect of using different binding agents (hydrated lime, cement, zeolite) in combination with hemp shives in composites was examined. Our research is also focused on the use of MgO as cement replacement in composites based on hemp shives [5, 6] because MgO has rich resources in our country. This material was also studied with emphasis on comparison influence of thermal loading, water absorption on mechanical, thermal and structural properties of composites. In this paper, we studied mixtures with two different of volume percentages of hemp shives in regard to comparison of strength characteristics. Lviv Polytechnic National University Institutional Repository http://ena.lp.edu.ua