BAHI

RDARUNI
VERSI
TY
I
NSTI
TUTI
ONOFLANDADMI
NISTRATI
ON
DEPARTMENTOFARCHI
TECTURE
COURSE:BMC
TI
TLE:MUDOREARTH
NAME I
D
ABNETKI
NDEHUN.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.1600594
ABELYAZE.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
1601027
AYNEW DESSE.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.1600704

SUBMI
TTEDTO:ABUBEKER
SUBMI
SSI
ON DATE: / /

1
 Cont
ent
I
ntr
oduct
ion.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.3
Or
igi
nofmudandhi
stor
icalbackgr
ound.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.4
Composi
ti
on.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
7
Pr
oper
ti
esofmud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.8
Char
act
eri
sti
csofmud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
9
St
andar
dsofMud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
10
Ty
pesofmud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.11
Appl
icat
ionofmud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
12
MudConst
ruct
ionPr
ocess.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.13
Pr
epar
ati
onofmud.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
.17
Concl
usi
on.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
18
Ref
erence.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
19

2
I
NTRODUCTI
ON
Architect urei nv ol
vest heuseofv ari
ousanddi fferentconst ruction
mat eri
alsthatr equi reauni queconst ruct
iont echnique.Butmostoft hese
constructi
ont echni ques.ar eener gyintensivet echniques.Al lthenat ural
resourcesar edepl et i
ngwhi chhasmadei tmandat oryt hatwechoosemat eri
als
andconst ruct i
onsy stemswhi chrequirelessener gyf oritsexecut ion.Mud/ earth
constructi
onsy stem i slessener gyintensiveandv eryef f
ectivei ndi ff
erent
cli
mat i
ccondi ti
ons.Ear thi soneofman' sol destbuildingmat erialsandmost
ancientcivi
lizat i
onsusedi tinsomef orm.I tiseasilyav ai
lable, cheap, andstrong
andr equir
edonl ysimpl et echnology.InEgy ptt hegrainst oresofRamasseum
buil
tinadobei n1300BCst i
llexi
st;theGr eatWal lofChi nahassect i
onsbui l
tin
rammedear t hov er2000y earsagoI ran,India,Nepal ,Yemenal lhav eexampl esof
ancientciti
esandl ar gebui l
dingsbui l
tinv ari
ousf ormsofear thenconst ruct
ion.I
t
i
ssi gnif
icantt hatt heol destsur vivi
ngexampl esoft hisbui l
dingf orm ar eint
he
mostandar easoft hewor ld.

I
nEt hi
opia,basedoncl imat i
ccondi t
ionsandal ti
tude,tr
aditi
onal house
const r
uctioninEt hi
opi aaredi v
idedi ntohousesofLowLands- “Kol la”(<1400m) ;
housesofHi ghlands-“ WoinaDega”( 1400- 2700m)andhousesofHi ghlands
“Dega”( 2700abov eseal evel)[4].
InEt hi
opia, soilisusedextensiv elyint he
traditionalmudhouseconst r
uct i
on( “Chikabet ”)inthe“ Koll
a”,“
Woi naDega”and
“Dega”ar ea,especial lyinthecent ral,northeast, nort
hwestandi nt hesout her
n
east ernr i
ftvall
eyar eaoft hecount ry.“ Chika”isami xtureofClay ,fineandshor t
strawoft heEt hiopiancommoncer eal,‘
‘Teff’’(Eragroeti
sAby ssinica)andwat er
[4].Themi xture,aft
eri thasthor oughl ybeenmi xedbyt readi
ngwi tht hehuman
feet, i
sei t
heri mmedi atelyused, orisl ef
ttof ermentf orsomet i
mebef oreiti
s
usedasaf i
l
lingmat erialoftheopeni ngbet weenwoodpol esandf inall
yas
plast er.

3
 ORI
GINANDHI
STORI
CALBACKGROUND
Or
igi
n
Mudi sf ormedwhent inypart i
clessti
cktoget herafterbecomi ngwet .The
parti
clesthatmakeupmudcancomef rom av ariet
yofsour ces,i
ncluding
Weat herOv erti
me,wi nd, r
ain,i
ce, andsnowcanbr eakdownl argerrocksint
o
smal l
erpar t
icl
es.Fungi andmi crobesTheseor gani smscanal sobreakdown
rocktof orm mud.Plant sOncepl antsarri
vedonl and, theyheldsedi mentsin
place,brokedownr ock, andr eleasedchemi calsthatf urthercrumbledit.Mudis
oftenfoundaf terr
ainfallornearwat ersources.Ov ertime, muddeposi tscan
hardenintosedi mentaryr ock,suchasshal eormudst one.Beforeplant
sarri
vedon
l
and,mudwasar ound—i twasj ustmost lysenttotheseafloorbyr i
vers.Onceplants
showedup,t
heynotonl yheldsediment sinplacebuttheirrootsalsophy si
call
ybroke
downrockandreleasedchemi calsthatfurt
hercrumbledit.Intheseway s,plant
s
accel
erat
edwhatgeol ogi
stsrefertoast he“cont
inental
mudf actory.
”

Mudi sloam, si
ltorclaymixedwit
hwater.I
tisusuall
yf ormedafterrainf
all
or
nearwat ersour ces.Anci
entmuddepositshardenedov ergeol
ogicaltimetofor
m
sediment aryrocksuchasshal eormudstone(generall
ycall
edlutit
es).When
geological deposit
sofmudar eformedinestuari
es,theresul
tantlayersare
termedbaymuds.Mudhasal sobeenusedforcenturiesasaconst ructi
on
resourcef ormost l
yhousesandalsousedasabi nder .

Mudhouseconst
ruct
ioni
nhi
stor
y
Ear thhasbeenusedi ntheconst ruct ionofanci enthousesf ort housand
year stoget herwi thot her
snat ur almat erialssuchaswoodandst one.The
const r
uctional technol ogies( t
echni ques)usedf ortheear t
hhousesconst r
ucti
on
varywi t
ht hegeogr aphicalzoneandwi t ht hehi stor
ical period.Thet echnology
called‘ ‘
torchis’’isbasedont heuseofbr anchesofshr ubt obui ldt hef rameoft he
habi tati
onandt hemudi susedt ofil
lthecav it
ybet weent hebr anches.I nanot her
technol ogy ,called‘ ‘
pisè’’
,theear thwal l i
smadebycompact ingt heear th(mud)
i
nt owoodf ormwor ks.At ypical t
echnol ogy ,
called‘‘
amal t
oni’’
,isusedi nt hepast
cent uryint her ural areasoft heMar cher egion( I
tal
y)andi tischar acterizedby
theuseofcy l
indr i
cal element sofear thbl ocks.Theconst ruct i
vesy stem called
‘
‘adobe’ ’isbasedont heuseofmudbr ickst omakeear thbui l
dingsandi thas
beenut il
izedi nt heMedi t
er r
aneanar easi ncet heanci enter a.Theor i
ginsoft he
compr essedear thblockt echni quecanbet racedbackt housandsofy earstothe
mol dedsun- driedear thbrick,bet t
erknownbyt henameof" adobe" .Thissun-
driedear thbr ickmar kshi storicalstagesi nt heev ol
ut i
onoft hehumanr ace.The
oldestonecanst i
llbeseeni nEgy pt,nearLuxor ,whi chwasbui l
tar ound1300BC:

4
thetombsofRamasseum (
fi
g.1)
.Itwasbui
l
twi
thadobes,
thesundr
iedmud
bri
cks.

Fi
g.1TheGr
eatSphi
nxandt
ombsofRamass

Mudhouseconst
ruct
ionatpr
esent
Cur rently, around30%oft hewor ld’spopul at i
onsl ivei nearth-
made
const ruct i
on.Appr oximately50%oft hepopul ationi ndev elopingcount ries,
i
ncl udingt hemaj ori
tyofther ural popul ationandatl east20%oft heur banand
subur banpopul ation,li
veinear thenhouses. Gener all
y; l
ow-incomeur banand
rural popul at i
onsmai nlyuset hi
st y peofhouse.Theuseofadobei sv ery
commoni nsomeoft hewor ld’smosthazar dr egions, suchasLat inAmer ica,
Africa, theI ndiansubcont inentandot herpar tsofAsi a,theMi ddleEast ,and
sout hernEur ope.Ther ecentpr ogr essiont owar dst hecompr essedear thbl ockis
alogi cal ext ensionoft hebenef itsoft heindust r
ial r
ev oluti
onwhi chbr oughtt he
significantdev el opmentoft hef i
redbr ick.Theneedt oimpr ovet hequal ityof
mat er i
alsandt hedur abi
li
tyofbui ldi ngsi sli
nkedt obet t
erpr oductivi
ty.

Tr
adi
ti
onalmudhouseconst
ruct
ioni
nEt
hiopi
a
InEthiopia,basedoncl imaticconditi
onsandal ti
tude,tr
adi
tional house
constructioninEt hi
opi aaredivi
dedi ntohousesofLowLands- “Kol la”(<1400m);
housesofHi ghlands-“ WoinaDega”( 1400- 2700m)andhousesofHi ghlands
“Dega”( 2700abov eseal evel
)[4].
InEt hi
opia,soilisusedextensiv elyint he
tr
aditi
onal mudhouseconst r
ucti
on( “Chikabet”)inthe“ Kol
l
a” ,“Woi naDega”and
“Dega”ar ea,especiallyinthecentral,northeast
, nort
hwestandi nt hesout her
n
easternr i
ftval
leyar eaoft hecountry.“Chika”isami xt
ureofCl ay,fineandshor t
strawoft heEt hiopiancommoncer eal,‘
‘
Tef f’
’(Eragroet
isAby ssinica)andwat er
.

5
Themi xt
ure,af t
eri thast horoughlybeenmi xedbyt readingwi t
hthehumanf eet
,
i
sei therimmedi atelyused, orislefttofermentf orsomet i
mebef orei tisusedas
afil
lingmat erial oftheopeni ngbet weenwoodpol esandf i
nallyasplast er.
Unfor t
unately,thet raditi
onalbui l
dingtechni
quesadopt edf ormudwal lsin
Ethiopiahav eser iousdef ectsasshowni nfi
g..Themudwal lssufferfrom
extendedshr inkagecr acks,whi chweakent hewal ls.Mudwal lscaneasi lybe
erodedbyr ai
n.Somet i
mes, themudwal l
shav ebeencov eredwi t
hpr otecti
ve
coatingconsi stingofani mal dung.Thi swasi ntendedt oser veasawear i
ng
surface.Thepr otectivesur f
aceneededcont i
nuedmai ntenanceandsomet i
mes
renewal almostev eryy ear.Theseent i
redrawbacksl eadmostoft hepeopl eto
themi sconcept iont hatbui l
dingswi t
hsoilareofi nferi
orqual ityandshoul dbe
avoided

6
Composi
ti
on
Phy
sical
composi
ti
on

Mi neral
s: Theresul
tofr ocksbr eakingdowni ntosmal lerpiecest hrough
weat heri
ng.Themi neral porti
onofsoi lcani ncl
udepar ti
clesofdi ff
erentshapes,
sizes,andchemi calcomposi t
ions.Or ganicmat ter:Comesf r
om thedecayof
plantandani mal r
emains, aswel lasmi cr
obialtissues.Wat er:
Comesf rom the
atmospher eandchemi cal,physical,andmi crobialreactionsint hesoil.Ai
r:
Comesf rom theatmospher eandr eactionsofr oots,mi crobes,andchemi calsi
n
thesoi l
.Por espace:Thespacel eftafterpackingt ogetheral lt
hesoi lpart
icles.
Thisspacecanbef i
l
ledwi thwat er,air,
orbot h.

Thepercentagesofthesecomponentsinsoi
lcanv ar
y,butatypi
cal
soili
smade
upofroughly45%mi neral
s,5%organi
cmat t
er,
20-30%wat er,
and20-30%ai
r.
Theamountofwat erandgasi nsoi
lcanchange,butthetot
alamountofsol
i
ds
andvoidsremainsroughlyt
hesame.

Chemi
calcomposi
ti
on
98.4%oft heEar t
h'scr ustconsi stsofoxy gen,sil
icon,alumi num,ir
on,cal ci
um,
sodi um,pot assium,and magnesi um.Mud i s a compl ex mi xtur
e ofwat er,
mi nerals,organicmat t
er ,andf inepar ti
clessuchascl ay,silt
,andsand.I ts
chemi calcomposi t
ioncanv ar
ysi gnif
icantlydependi ngont hesource,butt he
typicalcomponent sincludeSi li
cat es:Quar tz( Si
O₂)isof tenpr esentassandor
silt.Claymi neral
s:Commonexampl esarekaol i
nit
e,mont mor il
loni
te,andi l
li
te.
Thesear eprimaril
ycomposedofal uminum si l
i
cates.Car bonatesCal cit
eand
dol omi t
emaybepr esenti nsomemuds.Or ganicMat terDecomposedpl antand
ani malr emainscont r
ibutet oor gani ccontent ,especiall
yi nsediment slikemud
from wet l
andsorr i
verbeds.Wat erMudcont ainswat er,whichact sasamedi um
forpar ticl
esuspensionandgi vesiti tssemi-fluidconsistency .

OtherElementsandCompounds: I
ronoxides:Responsibl
eforredoryell
ow
huesinsomemuds( e.
g.,
hemat it
e,Fe₂O₃).Sul
furcompounds:Sulf
idesl
ikepyr
ite
()inanoxiccondi
ti
ons.Sal
tsSodium chloride()orothersol
ublesal
tsinmari
neor
sali
nemud.Tr aceelements:Potassium, magnesium,andtracemetals(
e.g.
,zi
nc,
copper,andmanganese)ar eoft
enf oundi nsmallamounts.Gases:Mudmayalso
trapgasessuchasmet hane.

7
 Pr
oper
ti
esofmud/
ear
th

*Thermalmass:
Mudwall
scanabsorbandstor
eheatdur
ingt
heday
,rel
easi
ngi
t
atni
ght,
keepi
ngthet
emperat
urecomfor
tabl
e.

*Fi
repr
otect
ion:
Ear
thdoesn'
tbur
n,somudbui
l
dingsar
enat
ural
l
yfi
rer
esi
stant
.

*Soundpr
oof
ing:
Mudbr
ickwal
l
scanhav
eexcel
l
entsoundi
nsul
ati
onpr
oper
ti
es.

*Lowcost
:Mudi
sanat
ural
resour
cet
hat
'
sreadi
l
yav
ail
abl
e.

*Lowmai
ntenance:
Rammedear
thbui
l
dingsr
equi
rel
owmai
ntenance.

*Dur
abl
e:Rammedear
thbui
l
dingsar
est
ronganddur
abl
e.

*Pestpr
oof
:Rammedear
thbui
l
dingsar
epestpr
oof
.

*Loadbear
ing:
Rammedear
thbui
l
dingsar
eloadbear
ing.

*Ver
sat
il
e:Rammedear
thbui
l
dingsar
ever
sat
il
e.

Dr
awback

*Lowtensi
lest
rengt
h:Mudhasl owtensi
lest
rengt
h,somudwal
l
scancome
apar
teasi
lyandaresuscept
ibl
etorodent
s.

*Dif
fi
cultt
oconst
ruct:Mudroof
sar
edi
ff
icul
ttoconst
ructandof
tenneedt
obe
combinedwit
hanothermater
ial
.

*Requi
resregul
armai
ntenance:
Mud/
ear
thbui
l
dingsr
equi
rer
egul
ar
maint
enance

8
 Char
act
eri
sti
csofmud

Mudi sanaturalmat er
ialthatexhi
bit
sawider angeofphysi
cal
,chemical,
and
biol
ogicalcharacter
ist
ics.Thesepr oper
ti
esvarydependi
ngoni t
sorigi
n,
envir
onment ,andcomposi t
ion.Belowisadetai
ledexpl
anati
onofthemai n
characteri
sti
csofmud

1.Phy
sicalChar
act
eri
sti
cs

Textur eMudhasaf ine-grainedt extur eduetot hepr edomi nanceofcl ayandsi l

t
particles( small
erthan0. 075mm) .Itcanal socont ai
nv ar
y i
ngamount sofsand,
whi chgi vesitagritt
ierf eel.
ColorMud' scol ordependsoni t
smi neralcont entand
oxidationst ate:
Red/y ellowhues: Richi nironoxi des.Gr ay/bl
ackhues: High
organi cmat terorsulfides, commoni nanaer obic( oxy gen-deprived)condi ti
ons.
Plast i
cityMudi splast i
cwhenwet ,meani ngitcanbemol dedi ntoshapesand
retainst hem upondr ying, achar acteristicduet ot hecl aymi neralsit
cont ai
ns. WaterRetent ionMudhasahi ghwat err etentioncapaci tyduet oitsfine
particlesizeandcl aycont ePer meabi lityI
tistypicallylow-per meabili
ty,meani ng
wat ermov esslowlythr oughi t.Densi ty Thebulkdensi tyofmudv ar
ies,dependi ng
onwat ercont entandcompact ion, buti ti
sgener allylowert hant haofsand.
Cohesi onWetmudi scohesi veduet ot heelectrostaticf or
cesbet weencl ay
particlesandt hebindi ngef fectofor gani cmat ter.

2.Chemi
calChar
act
eri
sti
cs

pHMud' spHcanr angef rom acidictoalkaline,dependingoni t

senv i
ronment :
Acidi
cmudmayoccuri npeatbogs.Al kali
nemudi scommoni nenv i
ronment s
ri
chincar bonates.
Mi neralComposi tionThemostcommonmi neralsinclude
quart
z, f
eldspar,mica,andcl aymi neralssuchaskaol ini
te,i
ll
it
e,and
montmor i
l
lonit
e.OrganicMat terCont ai
nsdecomposedor gani
cmat erial
, which
contr
ibutest onutri
entcontentandcanpr omot emi crobialact
ivi
ty.I
onExchange
CapacityMud, especiall
yclay -
ri
cht ypes,hasahi ghcat i
onexchangecapaci ty
(CEC),all
owingi tt
oadsor bandr el
easenut rientsorcont aminantsli
kepot assi
um,
magnesi um, orheavymet als.Sal
init
yMudi nmar i
neorest uari
neenv i
ronment s
oft
encont ainsdissolvedsalts,suchassodi um chlori
de.

3.Mechani
calchar
act
eri
sti
cs

ShearStrengthThestrengt
hofmuddependsoni t
swatercontentand
compaction.Drymudhashi gherst
rengththanwetmud.Compr essi
bil
i
tyMudi
s
hi
ghlycompr essi
bleduetoitsfi
neparti
clesandwatercontent
,makingit
suscept
ibletocompactionunderpressur
e.Settl
i
ngBehav i
orWhensuspendedin

9
wat
er,
mudpar
ti
cl
esset
tl
esl
owl
yduet
othei
rsmal
lsi
zeandl
owdensi
ty.

St
andar
dsofMud

Mudspecif
icati
onrefer
stot hedet
ail
sr egar
dingthemixofdri
ll
ingflui
dtobe
usedinaspecif
ictr
enchlesspipel
ineinstal
l
ationproj
ect
.Ever
yt r
enchless
proj
ecti
sdiff
erentandsubjectt
odiffer
ingsub-surf
acegeol
ogicalcondit
ions.

Inaddit
ion,dif
fer
entproject
spassthroughdi
ffer
enttopologyandenvironment
al
sensit
ivi
ty.Keepi
ngallthesefact
orsi
nmi nd,
specif
icat
ionsarepreparedfor
dri
ll
ingfl
uidsthatwil
lbecost -
eff
ect
iveandenvir
onmentallyf
ri
endly.

Dril
li
ngmudsar eeitherwat er -
basedoroi l
-based,mi xedwi t
happr opriate
additi
v es.Thety petobeuseddependsont heformat ionthroughwhi cht hebor e
willpassandal soonf luiddisposalpostuse.Theaddi ti
vesindr i
ll
ingflui
dpr ovide
essent ialchar
act er
isti
cssuchasf il
tr
ationandsuspensi onandpr eventfrack-out,
heav i
ngorset tlementofgr oundsur f
aceandf ail
uredur i
ngpul lback.Appr opri
ate
calculationsandpr opergeot echni
calsiteinvesti
gat i
onincludinglaborator y
testi
ngofsoi l
sampl esshoul dbemadet oensur et hedril
li
ngmudspeci f
icationis
goodenought osuccessf ullycompletet heproject.Thewr ongmudspeci ficati
on
canhav enegativereper cussionscostingtimeandmoneyandi nsomecases
l
ingeringl awsuits.

10
Ty
pesofmud

Dri
ll
i
ngfl
uidsaregenerall
ycat
egori
zedas“
wat
er-
based”or“
oil
-based”
,andas
“wei
ght
ed”or“unweighted”muds.

Water
-basedMudscontai
nwaterastheli
quidphaseandareusedt odr
il
lmostof
t
hewellsinthewor
ldbecauset
heyarerel
ati
velysi
mple,theexpensei
susual
ly
r
easonable,
andwateri
scommonl yavai
l
ableinmostplaces.

Oil
-baseMudcont ainsei
theranaturaloil
orsy ntheti
coi lastheconti
nuousl i
quid
phaseandi susedformaximum holepr otect
ion.Oi l
-basedmudandsy ntheti
coil
mudar eusuall
ymuchmor eexpensivethanwat er-basemudandt heref
or eare
onl
yusedwhent hereisaspecif
icneed,suchast okeept heholefrom swelli
ng
orcavinginortoreducefri
cti
onandpr eventstuckpi peinv er
ycrookedorhi gh
angleholes.Ei
therwater
-basedoroil-
basemudcanbeusedas“ weighted”mud.

WeightedMudr eferstoanymudwhichhasbar i
teorbar
itesubsti
tut
esaddedto
i
ncreasedensit
y.Thesemudsnormal l
yhav eadensi
tygreat
erthan10.0l
bs/gal.
Thesolidsi
nwei ghtedmudconsi
stofdril
ledsol
idsfr
om thehole,pl
usbari
te,
pl
uscommer ci
alclaysaddedt
ocontrolf
luidl
ossandv i
scosi
ty.

Unwei
ghtedMudr efer
stoanymudwhi chhasnothadbarit
eadded.Thi
smud
ty
penormallyhasadensi
tyoffewerthan10.0l
bs/gal
.Thesoli
dsinunwei
ght
ed
mudconsistofdri
l
ledsol
idsf
rom thehole,
pluscommerci
al cl
ays.

Soli
dscont rol
techni
queswi l
lvaryconsiderablydependingont het ypeofmud
bei
ngused.Forexampl e,wi
thmanyunwei ghtedwat er-
basemuds, thelossof
fl
uidsalongwi t
hthedr i
l
ledsoli
dsmaybeeconomi call
yinsigni
ficant,all
owing
si
mpl esol i
dscontr
oltechni
ques.Inthecaseofmudt hatcontainsexpensive
chemi caladdi
ti
vesand/orbari
te,especi
al l
yoil-
basedmud, sophi sti
catedsoli
ds
controltechni
quesmustbeut il
izedtomi ni
mi zeoveral
lcosts.Inaddi ti
on,t
he
envir
onment alcost
sofhaul-offanddisposal mayrequiresophist i
catedsoli
ds
controltechni
que.

11
Wat
erBasedMud(
WBM)

A.SpudMud

B.Nat
ural
mud

C.Chemi
cal
l
y-Tr
eat
edMud

• Li
ght
lyTreat
edChemi calMud
• Highl
yTreatedChemi
cal
Mud
• LowSolidsMud
• PolymerMud
• Calci
um Treat
edMud

D.Sal
twat
erMud

1 SeaWat
erMud
2 Sat
urat
edSal
tMud
Oi
l
-BasedMud(OBM)

A.“
True”Oi
lBase

B.I
nver
tEmul
si
on

C.Sy
nthet
ic(
SBM)

Appl
i
cat
ionofMud
Thedomi nantconstr
uct
ionmater
ial
sinEthi
opiamainl
yintherur
alareas
wereChika-bet(woodcoveredwi
thmud).Thecaseforsel
ecti
onsofChika-
betas
themainbui l
dingmater
iali
sduetotheeasyaccessandabundanceofwoodin
thepast
.

Mudcanbeusedei therdi
rectlytoconstructwallsorinthefor
m ofcompressed
mudbl ocks.Themostpopul armudorear thbuil
dingtechni
quesarerammed
earth,daub,compressedear thblocks.Tobui l
dast r
ucture,
mudmor tari
sused
tojoint hebri
cks.Mudbr i
ckconst r
uctionscanbeext remelysi
mple.Ther
efore,
evenbegi nnersandself-
buil
der scanuset histechni
que.Mudbr i
ckscanbeused
tomakewal ls,v
ault
s,anddomes.

12
MudConst
ruct
ionTechni
ques

Thet y
peandpr ocessofmudconst ruct i
ondifferf
rom pl
acetoplace.Itvari
esas
pertheclimateandt hetypeofsoi lav ail
abil
i
ty.Asforeverydif
fer
enttypeofmud
weuseadi f
ferentconstructionmet hod.Mudconst r
ucti
ontechniquescan
broadlybedividedinto5t ypes:
1 Wat tl
eandDaub
2 Rammedear th
3 Adobeconst ruct i
on
4 Cobwal l construction
5 Eart
hbagconst r ucti
on
Allofthesetechniquesarest illusedt hroughouttheworldforpocket-
fri
endl
y,
sustai
nableandEcof ri
endlyconst ruct i
on.

1.Cobwal lconst ructi

on:Cobi seasyt ol earnandt hemosti nexpensi v
emud
construct iont echnique.Thisv er naculartechni quehasnocont ributi
ont owards
deforest ation,polluti
on,andnordoesi tdependuponmanuf acturedmat er
ial
s
andpowert ools.Cobdoesn’ tr equireski l
ledlaborer sandi scompl et
ely
recyclable.Thewor dcobmeans“ alumpoft hesoi l“i
nol dEnglishLat inorigi
ns.
Cobi sf ormedbymi xi
ng25- 30%cl ayal ongwi th70- 75%sandandst raw.The
proper t
iesoft hismat eri
alarev erysimi l
artoleanconcr ete.Ast hewat erfrom
cobdr iesout ,ithardensandt akesi tsshapej ustlikeconcr ete.
Al l
thecobsar e
simplypi ledoneabov etheot herl ayerbyl ayeri nthedesi redshapet hatwewant .
Whencr eat ingwi ndowopeni ngs, regularoper ablewi ndowsorf ixedglass
windowscanbepl acedatt hepr eferr
edl ocationandhei ghtwhi lethelay er
sare
buil
dingup.

2.AdobeAdobeorsun-dr
iedbri
cksi
soneofthemostpopularmudconstr
uct
ion
techni
quesusedthr
oughouttheworl
d.Ev
entodayvari
ousworkshopsar
ebei
ng
conductedt
ospreadawarenessanduseoft
hispar
ticul
art
echnique.

•
Thi
snatur
al bui
l
dingmater
ial
iscreatedusi
ng25-30%clay
,70-75%sand,
wat
er,andotheror
gani
cmat eri
alli
kest
raw,manur
e,orst
icks.

•
TheMassonmi
xesal
loft
hesei
ngr
edi
ent
sandpour
sthem i
ntoawood-
fr
amed

13
 cont
ainert
oshapet
hismi
xtur
eint
obr
icks.

•
Ther
ect
angul
arbr
icksar
ethenkeptundert
hesunf
oraf
ewday
s.

•Af
terdryi
ngforafewdays,bri
cksaremov edi
ntoashadedareaf
orai
rdryi
ngup
to4weeks.Duri
ngthisprocess,t
hebri
cksar
esprinkl
edwit
hwatert
o
keepthem f
rom dr
yingcompletel
y.

Adobebri
cksaremor ebenefi
cial
inhotcli
mat esduetotheirgreat
erther
mal
mass.I
tprovi
desinsulat
ionfr
om exter
nalheatwav es.Sun-
driedbri
cksaremost
commonlyusedinWestAsi a,
WestAf r
ica,Spain,
EasternEurope,andSouth
Ameri
ca.

3.Rammedear t
hAnothercommonl yusedmudconst r
uct
iontechni
que.Rammed
eart
hwal lsarederiv
edf r
om thecobwall whichhadununif
ormedwi dths.
Howev er,duetothef r
amewor kusedinthisprocess,
astandardwidthcanbe
maintainedthroughoutthebuil
ding.

Therawmateri
alsusedinthistechniqueareclay(mini
mum 15%andmaxi mum
upto30%)andther esti
ssand,chalk,li
me,andgr avel
.Thecompressiv
est r
ength
ofconcr
eteofsi
mi l
arthi
cknessisbet t
erthanrammedear th.However,car
eful
ly
bui
ltr
ammedear thhousesanddomest icbui
ldingscansurvi
veforyear
s.

• Twoparal
l
el pl
anksarehel
datafi
xeddi
stancewi
ththehel
pofmetal
rods
orsmal
lcrosspiecesofwoodwhi
l
ecreat
ingacavi
tyinbet
ween.

•
Themater
ialmi
xist
hentossedi
ntothecav
itybet
weenthetwopl
anks.I
tis
f
urt
herrammedwit
hthehelpofwoodenormet al
ramr
od.

•
Whenonesect
ioni
scompletedandi
shardenought
ostandsti
l
l,t
hetwo
boar
dsar
emovedalong.Thi
sent
irepr
ocessget
srepeat
edagain.

•
Fort
hesecondcourse,
thetwoplanksar
emov
edupandt
heent
ir
epr
ocessi
s
r
epeat
edoverthefi
rstcour
se.

Theserammedear t
hwal l
s,whenconst r
uctedwithoutreinf
orcementscannot
wit
hstandear
thquakes.Howev er
,ifweuser ei
nforcementbar s,
wood,orbamboo
rei
nfor
cement,i
tcanpreventthefail
urescausedbyear thquakesandstor
ms.

14
4.Wattl
eandDaubWat tl
e-awov enlat
ti
ceofwoodenstr
ips,andDaub-mud
mixedwithot
herbinder
s’,
aggregatesandrei
nfor
cement
s,isused.Thedaubi
s
ei
thermixedbyhandorwiththehelpofli
vest
ock.

• Bi
nder
sar
et hosesubst
ancest
hathol
dthesoi
ltoget
her
,thesei
ncl
ude
Cl
ay,l
i
me,chalkdust
,andl
imest
onedust.

•
Aggr
egat
esprovi
dethemixwithit
sdimensionalst
abil
it
yandst r
engt
h.The
mater
ial
sincl
udeear
th,sand,cr
ushedstone,andcrushedchal
k.Thesi
ze
oft
heseaggregat
esdependsupont hewattl
edesignthatweareusi
ng.

•
Rei
nforcementsmateri
alssuchasstr
awhai r
,hay,
orsomeot herf
ibr
ous
mater
ialshol
dthemudmi xtogether
.Itpr
event
ingshr
inkageandal
lows
f
lexi
bil
it
y.

Thi
smethodisoneofthemostsust
ainableandecof
ri
endl
yconst
ruct
iont
ypes
duetoi
tsbet
terst
abi
li
tyandqui
ckconstruct
ion:

•
Fir
st,
ameshofbamboocaneandstr
awsi
scr
eat
edandhungi
nbet
weent
he
gapsofthet
imber
-f
ramedst
ruct
ure.

• Mudmi
xist
henpl
ast
eredov
ert
hisbamboomesh

• Fur
ther
,iti
swhi
tewashedt
oincr
easer
esi
stancet
orai
n.

5.Earth-bagconst ruct
ionThi
sconst r
ucti
onmet hodwasinspiredbyt hebunkers
buil
tbyt hemi li
tar
y.Ast henamesuggest stheprocessi
ncludesear t
h(mud)and
gravel-
fi
lledbagsasaconst r
uctionmateri
al.Thebagsareeitherarti
fi
cialor
organic.Themostusedbagi smadeofwov enpr opyl
enewhichi sanartif
ici
al
mat eri
al.Otherorganicmaterial
sincl
udehemp, gunnysacks,burlaporother
naturalfiberbags.

•
Eart
h-bagconstr
ucti
onbegi nsbyfi
rstdi
ggi
ngatrench.
•
Multi
plerowsofthesebagsar efi
l
ledwithr
eadi
l
yav ai
labl
einor
gani
cmater
ial
.
•
Eachlayerabov
et hefoundati
onwillhav
eoneormor estr
andofbar
bedwir
eon
t
op.

•Theheav
yweightoft
heseear
th-
fi
ll
edbagspushesdownont
hebar
bedwi
re
str
andswhil
elocki
ngthebagi
nplace.

15
•
Thi
sprocessi
sthenr
epeat
edl
ayerbyl
ayeri
nthedesi
redshapeandhei
ghtof
t
hestr
uctur
e.

MUDMORTAR: Mortari
samat eri
almixtur
eusedforfil
li
ngi
nbet
weenthegaps
forholdi
ngthebri
cksandblocksi
nplace.Theclaythatweusef
orconst
ruct
ion
canalsobeusedasmor tar
.Therearefewfact
orsthatweneedtokeepi
nmi nd
beforeusingcl
ayasamor t
ar:

• Thecl ayshoul
dbef r
eefr
om al
ltheunnecessar
yelement
ssuchasgr
avel
andpebbl
es.Toav oi
dthi
s,cl
aycanbesiev
edwhendr y.

• Toav
oidcr
acksandshr
inkage,
toomuchcl
ayshoul
dnotbeused.

• Whenconst ructi
ngthewall
s,somet
imeswepr ef
eraddi
ngst
abil
izer
ssuch
asl
imeorcementforbett
erst
rengt
hofthewall
s.I
nsuchcases,mort
arshoul
d
best
abi
li
zedatl
east1.5ti
mesmor ethant
hemudbl ocks.

I
dealmor
tarmi
x=cl
ay+45-
50%sand+7.
5%cement
/l
ime

PLASTER
Thecob, rammedear thandadobewal l
sof tenhavear oughfini
shsot o
smoot henitout,weneedt oapplyafi
nishinglay
erofpl ast
eroni t
.Iti
soften
recommendedt oleavet
hemor tarbet
weent hemudbl ocksal i
tt
leroughandnot
scrapetheextrapartout.Thi
sext r
amor tarwouldactasakeyt oholdtheplast
er.
Plastercoul
dbeofj ustmudormudwi thsomeot herstabi
li
zersuchascowdung,
l
ime, orcement.

16
Pr
epar
ati
onofMud

Drilli
ngf l
uids( ordrill
ingmuds)hav esev eralf
unct i
ons, i
ncl udingcar r
yingbor e
cut ti
ngst ot hesurface, cooli
ngandl ubr i
cati
ngt hedr il
l“stri
ng”andcont rol
ling
subsur facepr essur es.Asi mplewat erbasedmudf orhor izontaldri
lli
ngand
somev er t
icaloper ationsconsistsofcl ay(bentonite)disper sedintowat er.In
deepwel lswher ethepot enti
alpressur eofgas/ oi
ldi ct
atesaheav i
erpr oduct ,
i
ner tsol idssuchasbar i
teorhemat iteareaddedt owei ghtt hebent onite
suspensi on.Mudsbasedonawat er/oilemulsion(knownas“ i
nverts”)ar eused
fordr ill
ingdeeperwel lsastheyhav ebet terl
ubr i
catingpr oper t
iesandar emor e
temper atur establet hanwat erbasedmuds.Tr adi
tionallydi eselwasusedf or
i
nv erts, howev erenv i
ronment alconcer nsareleadingt ot heuseofl owt oxicity
mi ner aloils,synthet i
csandest ers.Xant hangum i sincreasi nglyusedasa
rheol ogymodi fi
er,duet othehighv i
scosi tyt
hatcanbeobt ainedwit hsmal l
per centagesofgum.Anot heradvant ageofxant hangum i st heincreased
stabilityitpr ovideswi thmudsbasedonwat erorbr ine.

Wastemanagementpr act
icessuchasr e-
injecti
onoff l
uidint
oredundantwell
sor
t
ransporttoshoreforr emediati
onar eincreasing.Dril
l
ingmudi screat
edby
t
horoughlymixingwat erwithclaytoadesi redconsi st
ency.Pumpingwat er
t
hroughtheby -
passhoseont he3-wayv al
v eandr ecir
culat
ingwaterback
t
hroughthepitswil
l helpensur ethattheclayandwat erarethor
oughlymixed.

Aft
erthefl
uidismi xed,suff
icientti
memustbeal lowedt oelapsetoinsure
complet
ehy dr
ationoft heclaypr i
ortoitbei
ngcir
culat
edi ntothehole.I
fthi
sis
notdone,t
heclay smayswel l
int heholeorint
heaquiferitself
.Ift
hishappens,
it
maybei mpossibletoremov et hem aft
erthecasi
ngisinstalledandthewellmay
neverr
eachitspot ent
ialyi
eld.

Dri
ll
ingfl
uidsmustbemixedvi
scousenoughtobringsoi
lcut
ti
ngsupfrom t
he
bott
om oft hehol
etot
hesurf
ace,yetnotsov
iscousastopreventt
hei
rset
tl
ing
outi
nt hemudpi t
s

17
CONCLUSI
ON

Mud, asabui l
dingmat erial,r
epresentsahar moniousr elat
ionshi pbet ween
humani t
yandnat ur e,embody i
ngpr i
nciplesofsust ainabili
ty,r
esour cefulness,
andcul turalheri
tage.I tslonghi st
oryinar chi
tect
ur edemonst ratesi tsendur ing
rel
ev anceandv ersat i
li
ty.
Itismor ethanjustabui ldingmat erial;iti
sasy mbol of
humani t
y'sconnect iont otheear t
h.Itsversati
li
ty,affordabili
ty,andsust ainabil
it
y
makei tanessent ialtool foraddressingmoder nconst r
uctionchal lenges.By
i
ntegr ati
ngt r
aditi
onal wisdom wi t
hcont empor ar
yi nnov ati
ons, mudcanpl aya
pivotalroleincreat i
ngamor eequitableandsust ainablebui l
tenv i
ronment .
Whet heri nurbanorr uralsetti
ngs,it
spot enti
altof osterecologi cal bal
anceand
culturalpreservati
onensur esitwil
lremainacor ner stoneofsust ainable
architecture.

18
REFERENCE

Nol
an,John2010MudSeali
ngsandFourthDynast
yAdmi ni
str
ati
onatGiza,Ph.
D.
di
sser
tati
on,Dept
.ofNear
East
ernLanguagesandCiv
il
izati
ons,Uni
ver
sityof
Chi
cago.

Ricke,
Herber
t1970“DerHarmachi
stempeldesChef
reni
nGiseh.
”Bei
tr
ägezur
ägypti
schenBaufor
schungundAlt
ertumskunde10:
1–43.

GOOGLE

Rei
dan,Dana:MudHouses.Env
ironmentandDev
elopmentMagazi
ne(
Bei
rut
),
Vol
.II
I,
Issue12(May
/June1998)

19