Addition of Sawdust and Polystyrene in the Elaboration of Adobe Blocks for Single-Family Homes and its Effect on Temperature Variation and Acoustic Conditioning in Ambato, Tungurahua

Abstract

This experiment evaluates the use of sawdust and expanded polystyrene (EPS) in the elaboration of adobe blocks as thermal and acoustic constructive elements with low environmental impact. To begin with, a soil selection and analysis process were carried out based on E-080 standard, then traditional adobe blocks with a percentage of 5%, 10% and 15% of sawdust and EPS were added in each mix. A suitable chamber was built to carry out the tests, based on specific standards, the chamber was divided into two rooms by a wall of the abode block with the addition of sawdust and expanded polystyrene using a 5mm layer of mortar to correct joint errors, this was considered appropriate for making temperature and sound measurements with the SPARK LXi Data logger (PS-3600A). Based on the Ecuadorian Construction Standard, comfortable reference values were determined for the measurements. After 28-day elaboration, the blocks were tested under compression. This test showed that all the analyzed samples exceeded the minimum resistance of 1MPa established in the E-080 standard. It was the highest compressive strength obtained in blocks with 5% of sawdust and EPS with a maximum resistance of 2.66 MPa. In addition, it was obtained that the wall made of 10% and 15% of adobe sawdust and EPS present the best performance to thermal variation and acoustic conditioning based on the standards NCh 352, NCh 851 -NCh 849 and NCh 2865.