Life cycle analysis of environmental impact vs. durability of stabilised rammed earth

Abstract

Rammed earth (RE) has enjoyed a revival in recent decades due to the increasing awareness of environmental issues surrounding the building industry. Although RE in its traditional form is deemed a highly environmentally-friendly material, the same cannot be said for its modern stabilised counterpart. Comprehensive experimental procedures exist to estimate mechanical strength properties of stabilised RE (SRE). However, tests for material durability are far less common. Engineers and practitioners therefore assume that strength and durability are interchangeable properties, i.e. the stronger the material, the more durable. Inflated strengths are recommended to ensure adequate durability, leading to high environmental costs through excessive use of stabilisers. This paper rates the relevance of two acknowledged durability tests (accelerated erosion due to sprayed water and mass loss due to wire brushing) and relates outcomes to the strength and the environmental impact of several SRE mixes. The environmental impact of each mix was estimated using attributional and consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches as well as an assessment of cumulative energy demand. Results demonstrated that it is possible to have durable SRE mixes without paying the cost of using environmentally-expensive stabilisers

Assessing the Rebound Hammer Test for Rammed Earth Material

“…Several research investigations have recently been conducted to study the properties of RE: mechanical characteristics [1,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17], durability [9,18], hygrothermal behavior [6,[19][20][21], and earthquake performance [22][23][24][25]. However, using nondestructive techniques to determine the in-situ characteristics of RE walls is less reported, although several studies can be cited.…”

Life cycle analysis of environmental impacts of earthen materials in the Portuguese context: Rammed earth and compressed earth blocks

“…The use of alternative building materials and techniques such as the vernacular ones (rammed earth, adobe, traditional vaults, etc.) can reduce environmental impacts, as shown by several studies (Praseeda et al, 2014) (Arrigoni et al, 2017;Christoforou et al, 2016;Meli a et al, 2014;Sanz-Calcedo et al, 2012;Shukla et al, 2009;Venkatarama Reddy and Jagadish, 2003). Beyond the environmental advantages, Morel et al (2001) and Ramesh (2012) also concluded that using local materials has socioeconomic benefits, such as to reduce the cost of construction and to foster local economies by paying the cost of the materials and labour locally.…”

“…To change this reality, several authors (Arrigoni et al, 2017;Cabeza et al, 2013;Chel and Tiwari, 2009;Morel et al, 2001;Ramesh, 2012;Shukla et al, 2009;Venkatarama Reddy and Jagadish, 2003) have focused their attention on researching alternatives to current building technologies. Some of these "alternatives" are, in fact, traditional or vernacular construction technologies used by communities for centuries.…”

“…Although these figures reveal the importance of earthen building techniques nowadays, these are being abandoned due to the connotation with poverty and to the dissemination of materials which allow a faster building process, such as the concrete (Leitão et al, 2017). Nevertheless, in the last decades, earthen techniques have re-gained an increasing interest due to the awareness around environmental issues (Arrigoni et al, 2017;Dabaieh, 2015;Jaquin et al, 2008;Leitão et al, 2017). Some studies have shown that the use of earthen materials can significantly reduce the potential environmental impacts of buildings (J Fernandes et al, 2013;Hamard et al, 2016;Meli a et al, 2014;Sanz-Calcedo et al, 2012;Shukla et al, 2009;Venkatarama Reddy and Jagadish, 2003;Venkatarama Reddy, 2009;Venkatarama Reddy and Prasanna Kumar, 2010).…”

Curing effect on the properties of high‐performance mortars incorporating recycled glass powder

“…Among these impact categories, the reason of decreased GWP should be the preperation of raw materials and usage of fuel in production stage. As previously discussed, environmental performance was seriously influenced by the manufacture of HPMs and transportation …”