Construction

and Building

Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127

MATERIALS
www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Durability study of stabilized earth concrete under both

laboratory and climatic conditions exposure
a,*
A. Guettala , A. Abibsi a, H. Houari b

a
Faculty of Engineering, Biskra University, 07000 Biskra, Algeria
b
Civil Engineering Department, Constantine University, Algeria

Received 23 March 2004; received in revised form 29 October 2004; accepted 2 February 2005
Available online 8 March 2005

Abstract

The strength and durability of the earth can be improved considerably by the addition of different stabilizers. In this work, four
stabilizers have been used: cement, lime, cement plus lime and cement plus resin and then evaluated by various laboratory tests as
well as in real climatic conditions. In general, it has been noted that all treated walls showed no signs of deterioration after 4 years
exposure in real climatic conditions even though the laboratory test conditions are more severe compared to the natural climatic
conditions of the region of Biskra where this present work has been carried out. Among the 4 stabilizers tested, the cement plus
resin showed the best durability behavior.

2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Earth; Stabilizers; Laboratory durability tests; Climatic conditions exposure

1. Introduction At present, there is a growing market for earth walled

buildings, with commercial building companies tending
Undoubtedly, earth is the first building material used to more durable stabilized materials, particularly in the
by man. Dethier [1] has indicated that at least 50% of the area of cement stabilized pressed earth bricks and
worldÕs population still live in earth houses. Tradition- rammed earth. Various works have been carried out in
ally, earth has been extensively used for building in order to evaluate different stabilizers [5–9] as well as to
Algeria mainly in the south of the country where itÕs improve the material properties [10–12].
very hot and dry and the rain is very rare. Houben [13] recommends the utilization of an earth
However, the main earth drawback is its deteriora- that does not contain an excess of big elements and an
tion under the action of the climatic conditions. The exposure of a sufficiently smooth face on which water will
main deterioration causes are: shrinkage cracking, ero- have less action in order to get a good resistance with time.
sion, the undermining at the basis and mechanical dete- The various accelerated ageing tests are means of com-
rioration [2,3]. The entire villages constructed by earth paring different stabilizers performances used under labo-
have been destroyed completely during the 1970 inunda- ratory exposure conditions. These tests are fast but are
tions; Nsutam village near Bunso (Ghana) is an example subject to controversy as one cannot simulate in the labo-
[4]. ratory the complex succession of the multiple climatic
phenomenon: rain, sun, temperature, humidity, wind.
However, little work has been done correlating the perfor-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 86 58 40; fax: +33 73 89 86. mance of samples under conditions similar to that of real
E-mail address: abibsi_a@yahoo.fr (A. Abibsi). buildings [3,14–17].

0950-0618/$ - see front matter
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.02.001
120 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127

The present work presents a program aiming at the Table 2

realization of experimental walls carried out in the labora- Soil chemical composition (content, %)
tory of materials at Biskra University, Algeria. This pro- SiO2 AL2O3 Fe2O3 MgO CaO SO3
gram consists of comparing the performances of different 32.22 2.24 0.53 0.03 31.8 5.81
additives: cement, lime, cement + lime and cement + K2O Na2O Cl TiO2 MnO FW*
resin. 0.15 0.03 0.005 0.2 0.02 26.9
*
The project consists of constructing 8 walls on the Weight loss due to fire.
University roof using different stabilized bricks and then
evaluating their performance in real climatic conditions.
The bricks have been also evaluated in laboratory con- 2.1.1. Chemical analysis
ditions in order to establish a correlation between the Clay analysis has been accomplished in the cement
two different methods of evaluation. factory of Hamma Bouziane (Constantine, East of Alge-
ria) using X-ray diffraction, in accordance with NF6 P
15-467 [21]. The obtained soil constituents results are gi-
2. Materials ven in Table 2.

The different materials used in this work are: soil, 2.2. Sand
sand, cement, lime and resin.
Using AFNOR [21] regulations, the sand samples
2.1. Soil have been tested and the following results were found:

Soil samples of the region of Biskra (South East of  Disturbed apparent density (q0) = 1520 kg/m3.
Algeria) have been chosen among three different soils  Specific mass (c) = 2640 kg/m3.
studied in a previous work by the same authors [9,18].  Fineness modulus (FM) = 2.33.
The soil was subjected to several laboratory tests as  Sand equivalence value by sight (SE) = 70.
specified by ASTM standards [19]. The soil characteris-  Sand equivalence value by test (SEt) = 64.
tics are given in Table 1. It is composed mainly of kaolin
(a non-expansive and non-absorbent clay) and illites.
According to Michel [20], the best earth soils for stabil- 2.3. Cement
ization are those with low plasticity index (PI) and the
product (PI · M) in the vicinity of 500–800, where M The cement used is manufactured locally under the
is the percentage of the mortar. In this case, commercial label C.P.J 45 and has been tested in respect
PI · M = 644. to the AFNOR regulations [21] in order to determine its
real class. The tests carried out on mortar cubes have
shown that the strength at 28 days is 46 MPa.

2.4. Resin
Table 1
Soil Characteristics
The resin used for this work has a commercial name
Constituents/ Values Constituents/ Values
properties properties of ÔMEDALATEXÕ, supplied by Granitex; private Alge-
rian company making additives. MEDALATEX is an
Textural composition, Mineralogical
% by weight constituents aqueous dispersion of resin of white color. ItÕs compat-
Kaolin 45 ible with most of cement as well as lime. In general, the
Sand 64 Illites 40 latex content varies between 10% and 20% in respect to
Silt 18 Interstratifiers 15 the cement mass. The latex addition gives a good adher-
Clay 18 Quartz 05
ence to the support. It gives also the impermeability, the
Calcite 10
durability and the improvement in protection of the
Atterberg limits Physico-chemical reinforcement, thus resistance to chemical attacks.
characteristics
Liquid limit, % 31
Plastic limit, % 17 pH 7.1
3. Experimental work
Shrinkage limit 10 Methylene blue 0.2
Plasticity index, PI 14 Organic matter, % 0.15
Water content, % 9.5 Optimum (Wc), % 11.75 For this part of the present work, two different tests
Activity coefficient 0.77 Max. dry density (c), 1877 were programmed: laboratory and real life exposure
kg/m3 tests. All the bricks samples used throughout this work
Product (PI · M) 644
were fabricated under the same conditions using a
 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127 121

prismatic steel mould. These have been prepared using

an earth corrected by 30% sand and compacted using
15 MPa stresses.

3.1. Bricks fabrication

3.1.1. Sand content

According to Houben et al. [13] and Doat et al. [22],
the clayey small elements must be dissociated and not
agglomerated as nodules. The presence of 50% of nod-
ules more than 5 mm in size is susceptible to reduce by
half the compression resistance.
After soil sieving through 5 mm mesh, the presence Fig. 1. Mould used for bricks making.
of clay nodules was noticed. The preliminary tests have
shown that these nodules have an effect on the stabi-
lized earth concrete (SEC) structure (very poor com- >70%) in order to assure a maximum hydration of the
pression resistance). On the other hand, according to used stabilizer.
the ideal granulometric curves [22], 72% of the grains
must be less than 1 mm. This needs a sieving through 3.1.4.2. Humid atmosphere plus immersion in water. In
1 mm mesh instead of 5 mm and a sand granulometric order to determine the behavior of SEC when in contact
correction. with water, samples have been conserved for 27 days in a
humid atmosphere then immersed completely in water
for 24 h at 20 C. The tests were then carried out on
3.1.2. Mixtures preparation
the 28th day.
In this present work, the soil was dried for 24 h at
63 C. The materials (soil + sand + stabilizer) were
3.2. Laboratory tests
mixed in dry state for 3 min then mixed with water at
139 rev/min in a rotating 5 l malaxer during 2 min.
The stabilized bricks have undergone different labo-
The mixture was then placed immediately in the mould
ratory tests: Compressive strength in the dry and wet
and compacted. Four different treatments were made:
sates, Absorption (Capillary and Total), Wetting–
Drying, Freezing–Thawing and Spraying.
1. Cement with two different contents: 5% and 8%.
2. Lime with two different contents: 8% and 12%.
3.2.1. Compressive strength
3. Cement + Lime with two different contents: 5%
These tests were carried out according to a test devel-
cement + 3% lime and 8% cement + 4% lime.
oped by lÕEcole Nationale des Travaux Publiques de lÕE-
4. Cement + Resin (MEDALATEX) with two different
tat (ENTPE) [23] which was then adapted by the
contents: 5% cement + 50% resin (of the compacting
Normes Françaises [24].
water weight) and 8% cement + 50% resin.
3.2.2. Capillary absorption
3.1.3. Samples compaction
Capillary absorption test consists of placing the soil
The compaction is of the static and simple effect type.
sample on a humid surface with voids, constantly water
The 5 elements steel mould of 2.5 mm thick and
saturated, and measuring its weight after 7 days.
10 · 10 · 20 cm volume was assembled by 8 bolts
Absorption is evaluated in percentage of dry weight.
(Fig. 1). The mixed materials used were approximately
2 kg for each brick and a compressive force of
3.2.3. Total absorption
15 MPa. The formed bricks were then removed from
The present test consists of immersing the soil sam-
the moulds and cured accordingly.
ples in water and measuring the increase in weight dur-
ing 24 h. The absorption is evaluated in dry weight
3.1.4. Curing percentage.
In this study, two methods of curing were used: a hu-
mid atmosphere and a humid atmosphere plus immer- 3.2.4. Wetting and drying test
sion in water. This test is carried out according to the ASTM D
559-57 [19]; it consists of immersing the soil samples in
3.1.4.1. Humid atmosphere. After confection, the sam- water for a period of 5 h and then removed to be dried
ples were put on a tray, covered by a plastic sheet and in an oven at 71 C for a period of 42 h. The procedure
then kept in a humid atmosphere (air relative humidity is repeated for 12 cycles; samples are brushed every cycle
122 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127

to remove the fragment of the material affected by the

wetting and drying cycles. For every sample, the varia-
tion in weight is computed after the 12 cycles [13]. The
requirements for the limits on weight loss have been con-
veniently modified/specified by different researchers to
suit the local environmental conditions and require-
ments [25,26].

3.2.5. Freezing and thawing

Following the procedure described by ASTM D560
[19], the Freezing and Thawing test consists of placing
a soil sample on an absorbent water saturated material
Fig. 2. General view of the built walls.
in a refrigerator at a temperature of 23 C for a period
of 24 h and then removed. The sample is then thawed in
a moist environment at a temperature of 21 C for a per- visits and inspections were programmed for a period
iod of 23 h and then removed and brushed. The test is of 48 months.
repeated for 12 freezing–thawing cycles and then dried
in an oven to obtain a constant weight [13]. 3.4. Climatic information

3.2.6. Spray test The collected climatic data were spread over four con-
Doat et al. [23] proposed a test whereby an earth secutive years 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. They reflect a
block is placed on a grid facing a spray jet. The brick very rigorous, cold and dry semi-arid climate in winter,
is vertical, 17 cm away from a horizontal jet of hot and dry in summer, whose features are as follows:
1.6 kg/m2 pressure, during two hours. The erosion resis- The relative humidity also fluctuates. It can vary
tance is evaluated by measuring the holes depth or the from 90% in winter (maximum value in January) to a
brick weight loss. Most of the time, results of this test minimum value of 10% in July and August; a value that
are only indicative. The erosion maximum rate (mm/h) sometimes can spread over the 4 to 5 hot months.
is given simply by the maximum depth of the erosion. The main agents of earth wall erosion are principally
In the case of the sample eroding completely in less than rain and frost, apparently little present in Biskra region.
one hour, the depth is given by the ratio of the brick This does not prevent to neglect the deep damages that
thickness to the spraying time. can be caused by rain dripping and that falls occasion-
ally. During the month of the January 2003, a huge
3.2.7. Water strength coefficient quantity of rain fell during 7 days; about 73 mm, a
This coefficient characterizes materials stability to quantity which represents three quarters of what usually
water. ItÕs determined from the compressive strength ra- falls in one year.
tio for dry and humid states. The use of a ratio between The quantity of precipitation during the years 1999,
‘‘dry’’ and ‘‘wet’’ strengths as a way of controlling the 2000, 2001 and 2002 were 190, 81, 93 and 95 mm,
durability of earth walls is implicit to CraTerre specifica- respectively.
tions for stabilized earth bricks [27]. There are two types of seasonal dominating winds in
the region of Biskra. The cold winds of winter blowing
3.3. Climatic conditions exposure from north-west with an average speed of 35 km/h and
the hot and dusty winds of the south-east and the south-
8 walls (15 cm thick) have been constructed on the west during spring and fall seasons. The winds reach the
Biskra University roof, arranged in a row and suffi- speed of 80 km/h provoking disasters in the region. The
ciently remote from one another in order to avoid mu- region also knows the dry and hot winds that blow during
tual protection. They were oriented South and North summer that can reach a maximum value of 47 km/h.
so that one of their North main faces is exposed to
the dominant rains. The wall joints were of a cement
mortar. Usually the test wall top is covered by a hat 4. Results and discussion
as it would be in reality. However, this is not the case
in this present work as to evaluate the direct effect of 4.1. Laboratory tests
the rainfall. A general view of the built walls is given
in Fig. 2. It can be seen from the different laboratory test re-
A general check up has been made after the construc- sults (Table 3 and Figs. 3–7) that the durability improves
tion in order to detect any defects or damages caused considerably with the stabilizers addition. All the values
during the construction. Then, two month periodical of the compressive strength (Fig. 3) are well superior
 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127 123

Table 3
Test results
Bricks characteristics Different walls treatment
Cement (%) lime (%) Cement (%) + Cement (%) +
Lime (%) Resin (%)
5 8 8 12 5+3 8+4 5 + 50 8 + 50
Compressive strength in dry state, MPa 15.4 18.4 15.9 17.8 17.5 21.5 17.2 19.5
Compressive strength in wet state, MPa 9 12.7 10.1 11.7 12.3 15.6 11.5 14
Water strength coefficient 0.58 0.69 0.64 0.66 0.63 0.7 0.67 0.72
Capillary absorption, % 2.35 2.2 3.7 2.9 2.3 2 2.3 2.1
Total absorption, % 8.27 7.35 9.8 9.02 8.1 7.9 5.9 5.3
Weight loss (wet–dry), % 1.4 1.25 2.3 2.1 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9
Weight loss (freezing and thawing), % 2.35 2.23 3.7 2.9 2.3 2.0 2.3 1.8
Hole depth, mm – After spray test 1.0 0.5 2.2 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.25 0.2
Hole depth,a mm – Real life exposure – – 1.0 0.5 – – – –
a
Values obtained using a comparator.

Cement treatment (dry state)

Almost all bricks can absorb water by capillarity [28].
Cement treatment (wet state)
Lime treatment (dry state)
The total amount of water absorbed is a useful measure
Lime treatment (wet state) of bulk quality. Generally, the less water a block ab-
Cement and lime (dry state) sorbs and retains, the better is its performance likely
Cement and lime (wet sate)
Cement and resin (dry sate)
to be [29]. There was a general decrease in water absorp-
Cement and resin (wet sate) tion (WA) with the different additions as shown in Fig. 5
22.00
and this is in a good accordance with the water strength
coefficient values which increase with the increase of the
20.00
addition content (Fig. 4). The values found as a result of
the present work for total absorption (5.3–9.8%) are well
18.00
within the recommended maximum value which is 15%.
Compressive strength, MPa

The recommended value limit for the capillary absorp-

16.00 tion is 2.5% as specified by the Uniform Building Code,
USA [13]. Ngowi [30] showed that the WA decreases
14.00 with increase in cement content while the lime had the
opposite effect. On the other hand, the addition of
12.00 microsilica reduces considerably the WA, as shown by
Kerali [12].
10.00
According to ASTM standards D-559 [19], the weight
loss limit in regions with annual rainfall less than 500 mm
(150–200 mm for Biskra region where this work has been
8.00
carried out) is 10%. The maximum weight loss value ob-
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Addition content, %
served in this work is 2.3% corresponding to the 8% lime
addition while the best performance was given by the
Fig. 3. Effect of additions on the compressive strength. addition of cement plus resin as illustrated in Fig. 6.
The values for the spray test results (Fig. 7) are
(2–3-fold) to those indicated by the norms which are 6 somewhat small which reflect the excellent performance
and 3 MPa as dry and wet states, respectively [26]. of the tested bricks when considering the severity of the
Kerali [12] found the same results using microsilica as test used in this present work. The test consisted in
addition. With 9% cement plus microsilica addition spraying the bricks vertically, 17 cm away from a hor-
and a compacting stress of 10 MPa, the compressive izontal jet of 1.6 kg/m2 pressure, during two hours.
strength values are of the order of 14 MPa as dry state Grezel [31] had studied the cement effect on the hole
and 16 MPa as wet state. depth using the same test. He found that for the ce-
Again, for the water strength coefficient, the values ment content of the 5–8%, the holes depth remains of
obtained in this present work (Fig. 4) are well above the order of 1 mm. Other researchers use less severe
the value limit fixed by AFNOR [24] which is 0.5. How- tests [32,33]. In this present work, the authors have
ever, Kerali [12] found a more improved value for the used a water pressure of 1.6 kg/m2 and duration of
water strength coefficient with microsilica addition, a va- 2 h in a region characterized by a very rare rainfall
lue of the order of 0.9. (150–200 mm per year).
124 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127

1.00

0.90

0.80

Water Strength Coefficient

0.70

0.60

0.50

0.40
Cement
Lime
0.30
Cement and Lime
Cement and resin
0.20

0.10

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Addition content,%

Fig. 4. Effect of additions on the water strength coefficient.

10.00

8.00
Cement (Capillary Absorption)
Cement (Total Absorption)
Lime (Capillary Absorption)
6.00
Absorption, %

Lime (Total Absorption)

Cement and lime (Capillary Absorption)
Cement and lime (Total Absorption)
4.00 Cement and resin (Capillary Absorption)
Cement and resin (Total Absorption)

2.00

0.00

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Addition content, %

Fig. 5. Effect of additions on the absorption.

Again, there is a good correlation between the 4.2. Climatic conditions exposure
weight loss, the hole depth and the water strength
coefficient results. The weight loss and the hole depth It is important to observe degradation with a maxi-
values decrease with the increase of the addition con- mum quantifiable criteria: degradation type, number,
tent whereas the values for the water strength coeffi- shape and dimensions of cracks; depth of the erosion.
cient increase; the hole depth and the weight All of these will be recorded on cards for each wall
loss are more important for a weak water strength and the degradation evolution will be noted. Photo-
coefficient. graphs were also taken.
 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127 125

Cement (wet-dry) partial crumbling at the north face level of the first
Cement (freezing /thawing) and the second row, after 48 months exposure, as shown
Lime (wet-dry)
clearly in Fig. 8. This deterioration provoked an erosion
Lime (freezing /thawing)
reaching a maximum depth of 1 mm (Fig. 9) and over an
Cement and lime (wet-dry)
area of about 40% of the exposed block surface. On the
Cement and lime (freezing /thawing)
other south face, no deterioration was observed. Appar-
Cement and resin (wet-dry)
ently, this is due to the effect of the dominant wind
Cement and resin (freezing /thawing)
4.00 direction.
For the walls treated with 12% lime, no erosion has
been recorded but a disappearance of small pieces of
the brick of the first row has been noted. At left and
3.00 right angle levels on the north face, Fig. 10. It has also
to be noted that during the winter period, the walls have
all the efflorescence at the base level but in more impor-
Weight loss,%

tant manner for the case of the walls treated with lime.
2.00

2.40

2.20

1.00 2.00 Spray test

1.80 Real life exposure test
1.60
Hole depth,mm

0.00 1.40

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1.20
Addition content,%
1.00
Fig. 6. Effect of additions on the weight loss.
0.80

0.60
3.00
0.40

Cement 0.20
2.50
Lime 0.00
Cement and Lime
8 9 10 11 12
2.00 Cement and resin
Lime content, %
Hole depth,mm

Fig. 8. Effect of lime content on the hole depth.

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00

5 6 7 8 9 10 1a 12
Addition content, %

Fig. 7. Effect of additions on the hole depth – Spray test.

4.2.1. Stabilization using lime

In general, all the walls treated behaved satisfactorily
after 48 months exposure, except those treated with lime
which have shown a slight erosion degradation. It has Fig. 9. 8% lime stabilized wall. Erosion deterioration after 48 months
been observed for the walls treated with 8% lime a exposure.
126 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127

4.2.2. Stabilization using cement 4.2.4. Stabilization using cement and resin
For the walls constructed with 5% cement bricks, no Again, two walls have been prepared using two differ-
deterioration has been observed a part from the light ent mixtures of cement and resin. It has been noted that a
leaching of the joints (Fig. 11). The walls prepared with treatment by the 5% cement + 50% resin in compacting
the 8% cement bricks showed no sign of deterioration. water gave excellent results with a slight signs of leaching.
The same observations can be made for the second treat-
4.2.3. Stabilization using cement and lime ment type; 8% cement + 50% resin in compacting water.
Two experimental walls have been prepared using
mixed additives, cement and lime. It has been noted that 4.3. Validation of accelerated ageing tests
the treatment by 5% cement plus 3% lime has shown a
very good behavior. According to Gresillon [6], the wall bricks without
Exactly, the same remarks can be made about the sec- protection exposed to rain and wind would be soaked
ond treatment concerning the 8% cement plus 4% lime with water. After immersion, Spraying, Wetting and
case. No degradation has been observed. Drying, Freezing and Thawing and Crushing tests are
necessary. However, one might wonder on the validity
of such tests in the region where the present work has
been done.
The immersion of blocks during 24 h appears very se-
vere. No rain is equivalent to such a regime in the region
of Biskra. The spraying is very violent; in this case; we
tend to replace the spraying period by the violence of
the jet.
The wetting–drying test appears also very severe be-
cause the exposed bricks have not undergone a total
immersion. The Freezing–thawing test appears also very
severe because the bricks have not been exposed to tem-
peratures below zero.
Among these accelerated ageing tests used to study
the performance of the earth treated in mass, one can
only keep the spraying test. This latter could establish
a correlation effectively with the natural ageing test be-
cause the experimental walls have undergone neither a
total nor a partial immersion.
The accelerated ageing tests (laboratory tests) are
very severe compared to the natural ageing tests carried
out in this present work. This explains the good behav-
ior of the walls after 48 months exposure to natural con-
ditions of the region of Biskra. Houses in this region
constructed in raw earth with the Adobe technique with-
out any outside protection stayed in an acceptable state
for more than 60 years of their existence.

Fig. 10. 12% lime treated wall. North-face disappearance of small

pieces. 5. Conclusions

Durability improves considerably with the addition

of stabilizers. It is also worth noting that the laboratory
tests conditions seem very severe compared to the natu-
ral climatic conditions of the region of Biskra. This ex-
plains partly the good behavior of the stabilized walls
after four years exposure. A good correlation between
the two different test results as well as between the differ-
ent laboratory tests was observed.
The exposure conditions have been characterized by a
weak quantity of rainfall of about 120 mm/year. How-
Fig. 11. 5% cement stabilized wall. After 48 months exposure. ever, the walls have been exposed to an important and
 A. Guettala et al. / Construction and Building Materials 20 (2006) 119–127 127

unusual rain during the month of the January 2003 for [8] Guettala A, Guenfoud M. Béton de Terre Stabilisée Propriétés
seven days, of the order of 73 mm. Physico-Mécaniques et Influence des Types dÕArgiles. La tech-
nique moderne 1997;1–2:21–6.
In general, It has been noted that all treated walls [9] Guettala A, Guenfoud M. Influence des Types dÕArgiles sur les
showed no signs of deterioration after 4 years exposure Propriétés Physico-mécaniques du Béton de Terre Stabilisée au
in real climatic conditions. However, a light degradation Ciment. Annales du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics 1998;1:15–25.
has been recorded in the case of 8% lime sample. This [10] Moor M, Heathcote K. Earth Building in Australia – Durability
deterioration provoked an erosion reaching a maximum Research. In Proceedings of Modern Earth Building, Germany:
Berlin, 19–21 April 2002. p. 129–39.
depth of 1 mm and covering up to 40% of the surface of [11] Heathcote KA. Durability earthwall buildings. Construct Build-
the exposed brick. ing Mater 1985;9(3):185–9.
As a result of the present work, the following classi- [12] Kerali AG. Durability of compressed and cement-stabilized
fication of the different products used as earth stabilizers building blocks. Ph.D Thesis. UK: University of Warwick, school
can be made; according to their good durability: of Engineering, September 2001.
[13] Houben H, Guillaud H. CRATerre. Earth Construction 1984,
Primer Brussels, CRATerre/PGC/CRA/UNCHS/AGCD.
- cement + resin [14] Rubaud M, Laurent JP. La durabilité de protection sur terre
- cement stabilisée, lÕexpérience des murets de Dreyfus. Cahiers du centre
- cement + lime scientifique et technique du bâtiment 1985:13.
- lime [15] Ghoumari F. Matériau en Terre Crue Compactée, Amélioration
de sa Durabilité à lÕEau. Thèse de Doctorat. France: INSA de
Lyon, 1989.
It is also important to note that the utilization of the [16] Ogunye FO, Boussabaine H. Diagnosis of assessment methods for
resin as a protection material is not economic. It is prac- weatherability of stabilized compressed soil blocks. Construct
tically eight times more expensive than the treatment by Building Mater 2002;16:172–96.
cement. [17] Venkatarama RBV. Long-term strength and durability of stabi-
lized mud blocks. Vietnam International Conference on non-
For the type of soil (sandy clayey) used for this work; conventional materials and technology, Vietnam; 2002. p. 422–31.
it is recommended to manufacture bricks stabilized with [18] Guettala A, Houari H, Mezghiche B, Chebili R. Durability of lime
cement (5%) using a compacting stress of the order of 10 stabilized earth bloks. In: Proceedings of Modern Earth Building,
MPa. With these manufacturing conditions, one can as- Berlin, Germany; 2002. p. 162–9.
sure an acceptable durability. [19] American Society for Testing and Materials, Annual Book of
ASTM Standards, vol. 04.01, Philadelphia, 1993.
[20] Michel J. Etude sur la Stabilisation et la Compression des Terres
Pour leur Utilisation dans la Construction. Annales de lÕInstitut
Acknowledgement Technique de Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics, Série Matériaux
1976;339:22–35.
As we did not have any equipment for measuring the [21] AFNOR, Recueil de Normes Françaises, Bâtiment Béton et
Constituants du Béton Paris; 1984.
meteoroligical parameters on site, we used Biskra region [22] Doat P, Hays A, Houben H, Matuk S, Vitoux F. Construire en
station data. Their generous contribution is most grate- terre. Collection en Architecture, Paris; 1979.
fully acknowledged. [23] Olivier M, Mesbah A, El Gharbi A, Morel JC. Mode opératoire
pour la réalisation dÕessai de résistance sur blocs de terre
comprimée. Materials and Structures/Matériaux et constructions
1997;30:515–7.
References [24] Normalisation Française, AFNOR XP P13-901, 2001.
[25] Fitzmaurice R. Manual on stabilized soil construction for housing
[1] Dethier J. Des architectures de terre. In: Edition de centre 1958, United Nations, New York, USA.
Pompidou, Paris 1986. [26] Lunt MG. Stabilised soil blocks for building construction.
[2] Mariotti M. Programme expérimental sur badigeons de protection Overseas Building Notes 1980(184).
des murs en béton de terre. In: Proceedings symposium Nairobi. [27] Houben H, Verney PE, Maini SCraTerre, Webb DJT. Com-
Kenia : 1983. p. 402–415. pressed earth bricks. Selection of production equipment. Brus-
[3] Heathcote KA. Durability of earthwall buildings. Building Mater sels: CDI; 1989.
1995;3(9):185–9. [28] Keddi J, Cleghorn W. Brick. Manufactrure in developing coun-
[4] Hammond AA. Prolongation de la durée de vie des tries. In: Scottish Academic Press Ltd Scotland: Edinburgh, 1980.
constructions en terre sous les tropiques. CDU 69.03 [29] ILO/UNIDO, Small scale brick making. Technology series,
1973;213:167–97. Memorandum No. 6. Switzerland: International labour organi-
[5] Hakimi A, Yamani N, Ouissi H. Résultats dÕessai de zation, 1984.
résistance mécanique sur échantillon de terre comprimée. [30] Ngowi AB. Improving the traditional earth construction: a case
Materials and Structures/Matériaux et constructions study of Botswana. Contruct Building Mater 1997;11(1):1–7.
1996;29:600–8. [31] Grezel M. LÕexécution dÕun mur dÕessai en béton de terre stabilisé
[6] Gresillon JM. Etude sur la stabilisation et la compression des à Ivry. Comité du bâtiment et de la construction métallique,
terres pour leur utilisation dans la construction. Annales de Circulaire série D 1946(13).
lÕInstitut Technique du Bâtiment et des travaux Publics Série: [32] Cytryn S. Soil construction. Jerusalem: The Weizman Science of
Matériaux 1976;339:21–33. Israel; 1957.
[7] Rigassi V. CRATerre-EAG (Hoehel-Druck). Blocs de terre [33] Bulletin 5, Earth wall construction, 4th edn., National building
comprimée, Manuel de production 1995 (1). Germany. Technology Centre, Sydney, 1987.