Humidity buffering using stabilised rammed earth materials

Allinson, David; Hall, Matthew

doi:10.1680/coma.11.00023

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…MBV results confirmed that unstabilised RE is a good passive air conditioner and that this ability is highly affected by the soil's characteristics [18,42,43]: P and ELS had a very positive MBV but presented a marked difference between the results. The difference among the results was generated by the different porosity and soil mineralogy of the mixtures: P had both a higher bulk and very fine porosity and a more hygroscopic clay fraction (mainly Illite, more hydrophilic than kaolinite, the main component of the clay fraction of ELS [44][45][46]), improving its MBV over ELS.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…A few studies have recently been published focusing on the humidity buffering potential of stabilised rammed earth (SRE) and compressed earth blocks, concluding that modern compressed earth can be a good moisture buffering material [18][19][20]. Other authors studied earthen plasters and advised the addition of aggregates in the mixture, such as natural fibres or synthetic gels, to enhance their hygroscopic properties [21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduction of rammed earth's hygroscopic performance under stabilisation: an experimental investigation

Arrigoni

Grillet

Pelosato

et al. 2017

Building and Environment

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a b s t r a c tOne of the acknowledged qualities of rammed earth (RE) is its moisture buffering capacity. Recently, stabilisation of RE has become a common practice to improve the mechanical resistance but very little is known about the effect that stabilisation has on hygroscopic properties. The present study aims to fill this gap by understanding the role that stabilisation plays in the buffering and sorption capacity of RE. The use of alternative stabilisers such as fly ash and calcium carbide residue and a comparison with traditional unstabilised RE (URE) have also been investigated. Moreover, the effect of weathering, simulated by cyclic wetting-drying, on hygroscopic performance has been analysed. Moisture Buffer Value (MBV) testing, moisture and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms and mercury intrusion porosimetry were performed on stabilised samples to examine microstructural phenomena responsible for behavioural changes. URE was confirmed to be a good-to-excellent passive air conditioner according to the MBV scale but its performance seemed to be highly influenced by the soil particle size distribution and mineralogy. Based on the experimental outcomes of the mixtures investigated, stabilisation had a detrimental effect on the moisture buffer capacity of rammed earth, likely due to the inhibition of the physico-chemical interactivity between moisture and clays. Weathering had a variable effect on the buffering capacity, depending on the availability of unreacted particles in the matrix.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of rammed earth's hygroscopic performance under stabilisation: an experimental investigation

Arrigoni

Grillet

Pelosato

et al. 2017

Building and Environment

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“…More recently non peer reviewed reports were published in Germany by Eckermann and Ziegert [9] on the influence of unfired clay masonry on the interior room climate. Researchers in the UK have investigated the hygrothermal and moisture buffering performance of stabilised rammed earth walls [10,11]. In some cases the clay material was studied in combination with other materials such as organic waste [12] or fibrous materials such as hemp [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The moisture buffering capacity of unfired clay masonry

McGregor

Heath

Shea

et al. 2014

Building and Environment

135

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a b s t r a c tIn this paper, the results of static and dynamic hygric tests on 114 unfired clay masonry samples are presented. Samples were prepared as Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) or plasters. The variability of soils, the soil density and the preparation methods were investigated to determine their influence on the moisture buffering capacity, water vapour permeability and sorption isotherms. The Moisture buffering Value (MBV) was measured according to the Nordtest protocol and the results could therefore be compared to conventional materials. The results indicate unfired clay masonry has a much higher potential to regulate the indoor humidity than conventional construction materials previously reported in the literature. Because of the benefits of humidity buffering, using unfired clay masonry could reduce health risk for inhabitants, reduce mould growth, reduce energy consumption of air conditioning and ventilation systems and increase the durability of building materials. The presented results show that the soil selection (mineralogy and particle size distribution) is more important for humidity buffering than changes than can be made to a particular soil (density, preparation methods or stabilisation) and the information presented will therefore allow designers to maximise the buffering capacity of buildings.

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“…A second feature of earthen materials is their well-established ability to store Fifth International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies. http://www.claisse.info/Proceedings.htm and manage heat which guarantee interior comfort in shelters (Heathcote, 2011;Allinson and Hall, 2012;Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali, 2012;Soudani et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cement stabilization effect on mechanical and hygric properties of compacted earth

Haffar¹,

Fabbri²,

McGregor³

et al. 2019

Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies (SCMT)

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Experimental investigations were carried out in this work to evaluate the impact of stabilisation on the mechanical and hygric properties of a reference soil-cement couple. Unstabilized and stabilized soils with two amounts of cement were examined. Compacted earth samples were prepared at their optimum water content and dry density. The effectiveness of stabilisation were verified by simple compressive strength tests conducted on cylindrical samples at different ages of curing. In a second step, the water vapour resistance factor was determined following the so-called "wetcup" method at the age of 28 and 90 days. Then the moisture buffering value was measured according to the Nordtest protocol. On one hand, compressive strength had been shown a dependency on the cement amount and the curing age. On the other hand, it has been found that increasing cement amount increase the vapour resistance, but it has a limited impact on the measured MBV.

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Humidity buffering using stabilised rammed earth materials

Cited by 27 publications

References 11 publications

Reduction of rammed earth's hygroscopic performance under stabilisation: an experimental investigation

Reduction of rammed earth's hygroscopic performance under stabilisation: an experimental investigation

The moisture buffering capacity of unfired clay masonry

Cement stabilization effect on mechanical and hygric properties of compacted earth

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