A geotechnical perspective of raw earth building

Gallipoli, Domenico; Bruno, Agostino Walter; Perlot, Céline; Mendes, João

doi:10.1007/s11440-016-0521-1

Cited by 100 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Although an excellent review of earthen construction was published recently by Gallipoli et al (2017), it had a much broader scope and the topic of durability was only indirectly touched upon. Ogunye and Boussabaine (2002a) did a rigorous analysis of the durability test methods resulting in a diagnosis of their shortcomings and a development of a refined test method that counterbalances them (Ogunye and Boussabaine (2002b).…”

Section: Previous Reviews In the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yttrup et al (1981) developed the first drip test to provide owner-builders with a simple test to determine the suitability of soils for adobe construction. The test was extended by Frencham (1982) with a classification of erodability based on the correlation of drip test results of bricks taken from 20 existing buildings with the performance of the source buildings, that have existed for at least 60 years. Frencham also proposed the use of two simple factors influencing the field performance namely the exposure and rainfall factors.…”

Section: Development Of the Drip Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Durability of Stabilized Earthen Constructions: A Review

Medvey

Dobszay

2020

Geotech Geol Eng

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It has become general practice to stabilize earthen materials with chemical binders, since one of their main weaknesses is their lack of durability. The most commonly used stabilizer is cement, which reinforces earth by enhancing its strength and water resistance with chemical bonds, while at the same time significantly increases its embodied energy and reduces its sorption capacity. These side-effects greatly reduce the sustainability appeal of earthen materials, leading to a contradiction in this application of cement. Since the researcher community has been aware of this more and more results are published of experiments with alternative stabilizers. This review provides an overview of research about the durability of stabilized earthen walls, the methods used to assess it and parameters that have been shown to affect it. The review features a brief history of this field, but focuses more on recently published data about the water erosion performance of stabilized earthen construction materials. Conclusions about the existing test methods are drawn, with directions for further development suggested.

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Section: Previous Reviews In the Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Development Of the Drip Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Durability of Stabilized Earthen Constructions: A Review

Medvey

Dobszay

2020

Geotech Geol Eng

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“…Thus, gellan gum treatment shows potential to be applied for quick and immediate soil stabilization or improvement purposes in geotechnical engineering practices. Moreover, gellan gum can become a promising binder for the currently increasing demands on eco-friendly raw earth buildings and constructions [33,60].…”

Section: Potential Of Gellan Gum Treatment In Geotechnical Engineerinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shear strength behavior and parameters of microbial gellan gum-treated soils: from sand to clay

2018

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Microbial biopolymers have recently been introduced as a new material for soil treatment and improvement. Biopolymers provide significant strengthening to soil, even in small quantities (i.e., at 1/10th or less of the required amount of conventional binders, such as cement). In particular, thermo-gelating biopolymers, including agar gum, gellan gum, and xanthan gum, are known to strengthen soils noticeably, even under water-saturated conditions. However, an explicitly detailed examination of the microscopic interactions and strengthening characteristics between gellan gum and soil particles has not yet been performed. In this study, a series of laboratory experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of soil-gellan gum interactions on the strengthening behavior of gellan gum-treated soil mixtures (from sand to clay). The experimental results showed that the strengths of sand-clay mixtures were effectively increased by gellan gum treatment over those of pure sand or clay. The strengthening behavior is attributed to the conglomeration of fine particles as well as to the interconnection of fine and coarse particles, by gellan gum. Gellan gum treatment significantly improved not only interparticle cohesion but also the friction angle of clay-containing soils.

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“…Raw earth also exhibits a strong ability to store or release ambient moisture while exchanging latent heat with the surrounding environment. This increases the comfort of occupants and reduces the operational energy required for conditioning indoor temperature and humidity [1,3,4]. Raw earth is not a novel material as it has been used for the construction of human dwellings since thousands of years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of particle grading on the hygromechanical properties of hypercompacted earth

et al. 2019

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Civil engineering research is increasingly focusing on the development of sustainable and energy-efficient building materials. Among these materials, raw (unfired) earth constitutes a promising option for reducing the environmental impact of buildings over their entire service life from construction to demolition. Raw earth has been used since old times but only recently has acquired prominence in mainstream building practice. This is mainly because of the development of novel methods to enhance the mechanical, hygroscopic and durability properties of compacted earth without increasing carbon and energy footprints. In this context, the present paper studies the dependency of the strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability of compacted earth on particle grading. Results indicate that the particle size distribution is a key variable in defining the hygromechanical characteristics of compacted earth. The effect of the particle size distribution on the hygromechanical properties of compacted earth may be as important as that of dry density or stabilisation. This study suggests that a fine and well-graded earth mix exhibits higher levels of strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability than a coarse and poorly-graded one.

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A geotechnical perspective of raw earth building

Abstract: A geotechnical perspective of raw earth building.

Cited by 100 publications

References 26 publications

Durability of Stabilized Earthen Constructions: A Review

Durability of Stabilized Earthen Constructions: A Review

Shear strength behavior and parameters of microbial gellan gum-treated soils: from sand to clay

Influence of particle grading on the hygromechanical properties of hypercompacted earth

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