Is stabilization of earth bricks using low cement or lime contents relevant?

Kouka Amed Jérémy Ouedraogo (1) , Jean-Emmanuel Aubert (1) , Christelle Tribout (1) , Gilles Escadeillas (1)

1 LMDC - Laboratoire Matériaux et Durabilité des constructions

The starting premise of this article is that it is not environmentally consistent to stabilize earth by using more than 4% of mineral binder (cement or lime). Thus, this paper presents a study of the effects of low mineral binder contents (2 and 4%) on the properties of earth bricks. The results obtained on two different soils show that the effects are not observable for dry compressive strengths or for dry thermal conductivities but the addition of small amounts of mineral binders significantly modifies the resistance to water and the Moisture Buffer Value.

Mots clés: Earth bricks; Stabilization; Cement; Hydrated lime; Compressive strength; Water resistance; Thermal conductivity; Moisture buffer value

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Génie civil

Kouka Amed Jérémy Ouedraogo, Jean-Emmanuel Aubert, Christelle Tribout, Gilles Escadeillas. Is stabilization of earth bricks using low cement or lime contents relevant?. Construction and Building Materials, 2020, 236, pp.117578. ⟨10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117578⟩. ⟨hal-02520183⟩