Study Of Stabilized Mud Block As An Alternative Building Material And Development Of Models

Soil or earth as a building material is available in most areas of the world. In developingrncountries, earth construction is economically the most efficient means for house constructionrnwith the least demand of resources. But, traditional earth construction techniques such as Wattlernand Daub (in Ethiopia “Chika bet’’) and Cob suffer from water attack or erosion by rain andrnshrinkage cracks. Therefore, they need to be continuously maintained in order to keep them inrngood condition.rnThis thesis studies the effect of the proportion between the soil and the stabilizers (such asrncement and straw fiber) on stabilized earth blocks durability. It also compares mechanicalrnproperties (compressive strength and shrinkage) of stabilized earth blocks which are preparedrnusing only local soils (which is taken from Yeka sub city Addis Ababa area) and with thernaddition of stabilizers (cement and straw fiber).rnThis research provides detailed technical information on suitable earth construction such asrnstabilized earth blocks production. These include information on suitable soil types for stabilizedrnearth house construction, stabilizers and production of stabilized earth blocks. Related literaturesrnreview show that soil types, proportions between soil and stabilizer amount and compactionrnpressure applied to the moist soil mix affects the quality of the stabilized earth block.rnSince soil in Yeka area of Addis Ababa is not much exposed to waste products (pollution), thisrnsoil was found to be the most suitable site for the test. Laboratory tests were conducted on Yekarnarea soil and provided detailed information on the soil grading (grain size). The result wasrncompared with standard values to verify suitability of the soil for soil stabilized earth blockrnproduction. It is possible to determine the suitability of other area soils by applying the samerntechnique.rnUsing soil (from Yeka area of Addis Ababa) and stabilizers (cement and straw fiber), sixrndifferent types of samples were prepared. Tests were conducted on these samples in order tornevaluate their performance such as compressive strength and total water absorption on which therndurability of the blocks depend. The effect of the cement and the straw fiber content in stabilizedrnmixture was evaluated and comparisons were made. For all block samples, their shrinkage valuern(after drying process) was calculated in percents and compared with recommended values.rn2rnThe investigation has revealed that, out of all block samples, blocks which are produced fromrn5% cement (5C), 2% cement with 3% straw fiber (2C3S) and 2% cement with 6% straw fiberrn(2C6S) have compressive strength, dry shrinkage and total water absorption values above thernrecommended minimum values for structural work.rnFinally, a possible model for manually operating earth block making machine and sievingrnmachine were modeled and designed using Solid works 2007. These machines could be used inrnproduction of uniform and durable stabilized earth blocks.

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