Is the Soil-Cement Brick an Ecological Brick? An Analysis of the Life Cycle Environmental and Energy Performance of Masonry Walls

Leão, Adriano Souza; Araujo, Monique Cerqueira; Jesus, Thiago Barbosa de; Almeida, Edna dos Santos

doi:10.3390/su141912735

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…From the viewpoint of environmental impact, lime-based construction materials as well as a few other binders have been fairly well researched, typically via life cycle assessments (LCA) [4][5][6][7][8]. LCA assesses sustainability through CO 2 emissions and the footprint of materials from their extraction to manufacturing, use in construction, and disposal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The focus of this research article, therefore, is on the mechanical performance of unreinforced brick masonry as a function of the type of mortar used in it, especially focusing on the presence of lime. The reason for this is that while lime/cement-mortared masonry is easily accessible and used across different geographical regions of the world, and there are existing studies that have focused on the environmental assessment of such materials [4][5][6][7][8], there is still limited research that studies the effects of lime at the masonry level. As illustrated in the following text, most research has focused on the impacts at the mortar level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Influence of Lime on Strength of Structural Unreinforced Masonry: Toward Improved Sustainability in Masonry Mortars

Ramesh,

Parente,

Azenha

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The choice of a sustainable construction material needs to take into account not just the environmental impact of the material, but according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the UN, one also needs to consider ease of access, the utilization of locally available materials, and the durability and reliability of the construction itself. Mortared masonry has been used around the world for several hundred years as an accessible type of construction. In masonry mortars, lime and cement are often integrated together for combined advantages: enhanced workability, breathability, and better environmental performance due to the former, and higher strength and shorter setting duration due to the latter. However, despite being extensively studied for their effects on the mechanical properties of mortar, not much is known about the impact of varying lime and cement ratios in the binder on the mechanical performance of masonry as a whole. Variations in the properties of mortars do not always have a significant impact on the mechanical behavior of masonry structures. Therefore, this article details an experimental campaign to measure the compressive strength, E-modulus, flexural strength, and shear bond strength of masonry samples containing two distinct lime–cement mortars (1:2:9 and 1:1:6 cement:lime:sand) and one cement mortar (1:0:5). The results show that more than the presence of lime in the mortar, the strength of the mortar influenced the flexural strength of the masonry ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 MPa. No discernable correlation was observed between the presence of lime in the mortar and the cohesion in the masonry (0.29 to 0.41 MPa). The values of the compressive strength (6.0 to 7.2 MPa) and E-modulus (3.8 to 4.5 GPa) of the masonry decreased and pre-peak ductility increased with an increase in the quantity of lime in the mortar. The recommendations of Eurocode 6 for the flexural strength of the initial shear bond strength were found to be conservative for different mortar strength classes, and significantly unconservative for compressive strength (by 50% to 70%).

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Lime on Strength of Structural Unreinforced Masonry: Toward Improved Sustainability in Masonry Mortars

Ramesh,

Parente,

Azenha

et al. 2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Characteristics of the açai seed (Euterpe precatoria Martius) after thermal processing and its potential in soil-cement brick

Garcez,

dos Santos Lima,

Ribas

et al. 2024

Case Studies in Construction Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ecological Footprint of Construction Materials—A Standardized Approach from Hungary

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the large volume and mass of materials used, the construction industry is one of the sectors with the highest environmental impact. However, to provide good quality, affordable, and low-energy housing, the business case must be maintained. Accordingly, we aimed to develop and test a calculator to measure the ecological footprint of the embodied carbon in materials used in construction projects in a standardized way, without the need for environmental or even civil engineering expertise, and thus in a way that is accessible to SMEs. The novelty of our research is that although there are calculators for measuring the environmental impact (e.g., carbon footprint) of the construction industry, and there is a methodology for calculating the ecological footprint of construction, there is no free, easy-to-use, online calculator for calculating the ecological footprint of embodied carbon in materials available to all enterprises. In other words, this approach extends our previously developed corporate ecological footprint calculator with the environmental impacts of material usage. The study summarises the baseline research for an ecological footprint calculator, tested on two new condominium buildings and the energy renovation of five condominium buildings, built with a prefabricated technology typical in Hungary and other post-socialist countries. Based on our results and in accordance with former literature sources, most of the ecological footprint of new construction projects is determined by materials with high mass and volume, in particular, concrete, steel, and masonry; so it is not necessary to take into account all construction materials in a calculator in a detailed way. We also conclude that renovation and ongoing maintenance, as well as preservation, are recommended for structurally sound buildings, as embodied carbon in materials in the case of an energy upgrade of an existing condominium building has an environmental impact of 0.3–0.8 global hectares per dwelling, depending on the technical content, while in the construction of a new building, this value is between 10.49–14.22 global hectares. Our results can help investors and clients in their decisions, and policymakers in determining urban development directions.

show abstract

Is the Soil-Cement Brick an Ecological Brick? An Analysis of the Life Cycle Environmental and Energy Performance of Masonry Walls

Cited by 3 publications

References 36 publications

Influence of Lime on Strength of Structural Unreinforced Masonry: Toward Improved Sustainability in Masonry Mortars

Influence of Lime on Strength of Structural Unreinforced Masonry: Toward Improved Sustainability in Masonry Mortars

Characteristics of the açai seed (Euterpe precatoria Martius) after thermal processing and its potential in soil-cement brick

The Ecological Footprint of Construction Materials—A Standardized Approach from Hungary

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About