Thermal Study of a Prototype Sahelian-Type Emergency Humanitarian Shelter, Semi-Durable, Removable, and Made from Biosourced Materials

In Burkina Faso, insecurity has led to massive displacement of rural populations towards the country’s major cities. Humanitarian organizations have worked hard to provide internally displaced people with humanitarian shelters that meet international standards. Despite these enormous efforts, the phenomenon has given rise to a crying need for housing and the proliferation of makeshift emergency shelters, which are confined and precarious, becoming almost like greenhouses in hot weather, as they induce thermal discomfort and overheating. The aim of the study is to propose a prototype for an alternative Sahelian-type emergency shelter that is comfortable, semi-durable, and removable. The aim is to assess the performance and hygrothermal comfort of a standard humanitarian tent made of plastic sheeting (the most widely used in the country) and to compare it with a bioclimatic emergency shelter prototype using local biosourced materials. The study used a dual experimental and numerical approach to measure and simulate the temperature, relative humidity, and hydrothermal comfort of the two shelters. The results showed that the prototype emergency shelter made from local biosourced materials offers better hygrothermal comfort than the humanitarian tent made from plastic sheeting and is more durable and removable. Indeed, in hot weather, it can dampen the thermal wave by an average of 7˚C, induce a thermal phase shift of around 5 hours, and reduce the discomfort rate by 61% compared with the humanitarian tent. Local materials can, therefore, play a strategic role in the construction of emergency shelters in times of crisis or disaster.