Paper Title
Utilizing Local Materials to Produce Bricks for Enhancing The Energy Efficiency of Buildings (Eastern Morocco)

Abstract
The use of local materials as an alternative solution of building materials, contributes effectively to reduce construction costs. The objective of this research is to make a comparative study on the geotechnical, mineralogical and thermos-physical properties of two types of soils of the North-East of Morocco. To identify the soils, geotechnical and mineralogical analyses were carried out. For the Midar and Zegangan soils, the particle size distribution revealed a clay content of 28% and 24,3%, respectively. In addition, both soils have a moderate plasticity according to the plasticity tests. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the mineralogical composition of the soils was almost identical.Thermal transport properties were performed using the Hotdisk method. The results showed that the Midar clay soil has a lower thermal conductivity than the Zegangan soil.This is a sign that it is better to choose the Midar floor to construct a building if a thermal insulation as important as necessary.The results obtained were used to perform a dynamic thermal simulation using EnergyPlus software to analyze the heating and cooling consumption of a building constructed with bricks Midar and Zegangan. The results show that brick Midar is more thermally efficient. Keywords - Energy efficiency, Plasticity,Mineralogical, Thermo-physics, Fired bricks.