O telhado fornece a principal proteção contra a radiação solar direta em galpões para animais. Propriedades térmicas apropriadas dos materiais contribuem para o melhor conforto térmico no interior das construções. Telhas sem amianto reforçadas com polpa de celulose de sisal (Agave sisalana) e com adição opcional de fibras de polipropileno foram produzidas pela técnica de mistura e sucção do excesso de água. Telhas corrugadas de cimento amianto, telhas cerâmicas e telhas à base de cimento reforçadas com polpa de celulose (com ou sem adição de fibras sintéticas) foram comparadas quanto às suas propriedades térmicas. A condutividade térmica e a difusividade térmica foram determinadas pelo método do fio quente paralelo, assim como a temperatura da superfície inferior das telhas foi avaliada em diferentes períodos. Telhas de cimento reforçados com polpa de sisal apresentaram as melhores propriedades térmicas em temperatura ambiente (25ºC), enquanto aquelas reforçadas com polpa de sisal associada a fibras de polipropileno apresentaram melhor desempenho térmico a 60ºC. As telhas sem amianto forneceram proteção mais eficiente contra a radiação térmica do que as telhas corrugadas de amianto.

Roofing provides the main protection against direct solar radiation in animal housing. Appropriate thermal properties of roofing materials tend to improve the thermal comfort in the inner ambient. Nonasbestos fiber-cement roofing components reinforced with cellulose pulp from sisal (Agave sisalana) were produced by slurry and dewatering techniques, with an optional addition of polypropylene fibers. Nonasbestos tiles were evaluated and compared with commercially available asbestos-cement sheets and ceramic tiles (frequently chosen as roofing materials for animal housing). Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of tiles were determined by the parallel hot-wire method, along with the evaluation of the downside surface temperature. Cement-based components reinforced with sisal pulp presented better thermal performance at room temperature (25ºC), while those reinforced with sisal pulp added by polypropylene fibers presented better thermal performance at 60ºC. Non-asbestos cement tiles provided more efficient protection against radiation than asbestos corrugated sheets.

The present work describes non-conventional sisal (Agave sisalana) chemical (organosolv) pulp from residues of cordage as reinforcement to cement based materials. Sisal organosolv pulp was produced in a 1:1 ethanol/water mixture and post chemically and physically characterized in order to compare its properties with sisal kraft pulp. Cement based composites reinforced with organosolv or kraft pulps and combined with polypropylene (PP) fibres were produced by the slurry de-watering and pressing method as a crude simulation of the Hatschek process. Composites were evaluated at 28 days of age, after exposition to accelerated carbonation and after 100 soak/dry cycles. Composites containing organosolv pulp presented lower mechanical strength, water absorption and apparent porosity than composites reinforced with kraft pulp. The best mechanical performance after ageing was also achieved by samples reinforced with kraft pulp. The addition of PP fibres favoured the maintenance of toughness after ageing. Accelerated carbonation promoted the densification of the composites reinforced with sisal organosolv + PP fibres.

The purpose of this work is to show the correlation between the fractal dimension, D, and mechanical properties such as work of fracture, gammawof, and fracture toughness, K Ic. Alumina-mullite-zirconia composites were characterized by the slit-island method, SIM, to obtain values of D and its fractional part, D*. The fracture surface roughness was also evaluated using a cyclic voltametric method. It will be shown that there is a positive experimental dependency of gammawof on D* and that there is not an evident correlation between K Ic and D*.