Physical Characterization of Alterites for the Manufacture of Compressed Earth Blocks

Introduction: In the present work, the physical characteristics of two alterites (S1 and S2) used for Compressed Earth Blocks (CEB) manufacture were studied. The results obtained have shown that S1 and S2 consist of inorganic clays. Methods: The material S1 is a plastic soil of very soft consistency and S2 is a low plastic soil of very soft consistency. It was shown that the natural alterites studied are not suitable for the CEB manufacture. In order to improve the granulometry of these materials, a physical correction by adding sand in various proportions were proposed. With the aim of verifying the validity of the elaborated proposals, samples of CEB manufactured from materials stabilized with sand were manufactured and tested in the laboratory. Results and Conclusion: The results obtained show that, concerning the S1 material, the tensile strength is satisfactory for the sand/soil ratios of 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3. The abrasion resistance and the water absorption coefficient are satisfactory for the ratios of 1/3 and 1/2, respectively. For all the sand/soil ratios, the compressive strength has remained lower than that required for CEB as materials for load-bearing walls. For the S2 material, all the sand/soil ratios enable the improvement of the CEB characteristics, but these still below the required values. From all the foregoing, it follows that the studied alterites, improved by the addition of sand, can be used for the manufacture of compressed earth blocks to be used for the construction of non-load bearing walls.