I Problems encountered during testing This section is included to help those who wish to further the study of the thermal properties of straw bales. The intent is to have learned from the mistakes made during this study.
Straw is an anisentropic material.
The insulating value is different if heat is flowing with the grains of the straw or against it. For the testing this provided problems in determining constant heat flux lines. The heat flux would radiate out from the heat source in a 3-dimensional pattern. Heat flux was not constant at different levels in the bale or polystyrene materials. A cold surface was installed to force the flux in a specific direction with no additional beneficial effect, in fact it made the heat flux in the center of the bale less than it had been without the cold surface.