Improving Water Resistance of Compressed Earth Blocks Enhanced with Different Natural Fibres

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown a great potential for the use of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) as a sustainable building material due to its economic, environmental and social benefits. Objective: This study investigates the water resistance characteristics of CEBs reinforced with different natural fibres. Methods: The fibres were sourced from coconut husk, sugarcane bagasse and oil palm fruit at 1 wt% added to two soil samples. The CEB specimen size of 290 × 140 × 100 mm was made at a constant pressure of 10 MPa and dried in the sun for 21 days. Accelerated erosion test was conducted to determine the resistance of the specimen to continuous rainfall condition. Results: It was discovered that the fibres helped in reducing the erodibility rate of the blocks, though there were some degrees of damage. The difference between the water resistance of the unreinforced and fibre reinforced CEBs were found to be statistically significant. Furthermore, the surface of the fibre reinforced blocks eroded rapidly in depth than the internal part, and there was reduction in the depth difference of the erosion with increase time of water spraying on the specimens. Conclusion: The study concludes that though the addition of fibres in soil blocks does not completely prevent the block from erosion, the impact of the fibres on the blocks significantly reduces the erosion.

Compressed earth block reinforced with coconut fibers and stabilized with aloe vera and lime

“…For a higher content than 1%, they reported an increase of the CEB porosity producing a destabilization and compressive strength reduction, especially in humid regions. Other researchers support this behavior not only for coconut fibers but also for different kinds of natural fibers studied as construction materials (Danso, 2017; Danso et al , 2017; Laibi et al , 2018; Sujatha and Devi, 2018; Thanushan et al , 2019; Wang and Chouw, 2017). The 70:20:10 ratio was established from previous work with these kinds of soils, where the experiments demonstrated the best mechanical properties (Aranda-Jiménez and García-Izaguirre, 2016; Aranda-Jiménez and Suárez-Domínguez, 2014, 2020; Roux-Gutiérrez, 2002; Roux-Gutiérrez and Gallegos-Sánchez, 2015; Roux-Gutiérrez and Espuna-Mujica, 2013; Roux-Gutiérrez and Gallegos-Sánchez, 2015; Roux-Gutiérrez and García-Izaguirre, 2014).…”

“…For a greater concentration, the dispersion of the fibers is less effective because they tend to form agglomerates. The fibers’ length should also be considered if assumed that larger fibers affect the net-like structure formation (Danso, 2017; Danso et al , 2017; Gunasekaran et al , 2011; Laibi et al , 2018; Roux-Gutiérrez and Espuna-Mujica, 2013; Sujatha and Devi, 2018; Taallah and Guettala, 2016; Thanushan et al , 2019; Wang and Chouw, 2017).…”

“…One of the most researched layouts of earth construction is compressed earth blocks (CEB), which has proven to be much better than conventional building blocks in terms of reducing emissions to the environment (Danso, 2017; Laibi et al , 2018; Thanushan et al , 2019). According to Roux-Gutiérrez and Gallegos-Sánchez (2015), CEB outstanding property is its thermal insulator capacity (45% lower than traditional blocks) that would allow a decrease in the resources outlay in house construction.…”

Suitability of Soil for Earth Construction as Building Material

“…However, there are other soil samples in previous studies that could be recommended for two different techniques of earth construction. Examples are soil samples used in studies [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Some of the soil samples from the previous studies [54] could further be recommended for use for three different techniques of earth construction.…”