Experimental Investigation on the Properties of Compressed Earth Blocks Stabilised with a Liquid Chemical

Abstract

Soil blocks are usually stabilised with cementing materials, fibres or chemicals to improve their performance properties for construction purpose. This study investigates the properties of compressed earth blocks stabilised with a liquid chemical (Pidiproof LW+). Experiment was conducted using 0.5, 1 and 1.5% weight contents of Pidiproof LW+ to produce compressed earth blocks and cured at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. The blocks were tested for density, absorption coefficient, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength. It was found that with the exception of density test, the chemical inclusion in the other tests significantly improved the performance properties of the compressed earth blocks. Furthermore, the higher chemical content (1.5%) inclusion in the compressed earth block provided better performance properties. The paper concludes that the inclusion of the liquid chemical in the compressed earth blocks generally improved the performance properties of the blocks. Recommendation is made to the use of other chemicals for applicability in earthen construction.

Suitability of Soil for Earth Construction as Building Material

“…These results indicate the suitability of soil types for only one technique of earth construction. There were a number of soil samples in previous studies that could be recommended for two techniques of earth construction, such as soil samples used in studies [6,7,19,33,38,39,45,46,54,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77]. Other soil samples from the previous studies could be recommended to be used for three techniques of earth construction [44,45,49,51,58,59,63,73].…”

“…Earthen construction has been one of the most largely used construction techniques in different historical ages [5]. Earthen materials are still widely used worldwide because of their low-cost, abundance, availability and low environmental impact [6,7]. Earth as a building material is increasingly being studied for its low environmental impact and its availability [8].…”