Homogeneity and Isotropy of Compressed and Stabilized Earth Block Material: Mechanical Characterization and Statistical Analysis
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 10
Abstract
Compressed and stabilized earth block (CSEB) masonry is a locally appropriate alternative for low-rise dwellings that offers attractive affordability, sustainability, and durability features. From a designer’s perspective, the availability of standards for material characterization and design codes is essential for CSEB masonry to be accepted and adopted. However, current standards and codes are limited—this is certainly the case in North America—and largely rely on empirical and prescriptive provisions that are adapted from those for conventional masonry (e.g., fired-clay or cinder-block). Advancing standardization and codification calls for advances in the fundamental understanding of material and structural behavior as a function of constituents and manufacturing methods. For CSEBs that are customarily compacted using metallic molds and hydraulic presses, a fundamental gap lies in the understanding of whether the heterogeneity of stabilized soil mixtures, together with their manufacturing process, result in block materials that can be approximated as homogeneous and isotropic at the scale of specimens used for physicomechanical characterization. This paper reports on an investigation of a CSEB material whose constituent properties and manufacturing process are representative of those frequently encountered in North America. Homogeneity and isotropy are established based on empirical evidence from microscopic and chemical analysis, and on the statistical analysis of uniaxial compressive strength and stiffness data obtained from samples that were extracted from different areas of different source blocks, and then tested by applying loads parallel or perpendicular to the compaction direction.
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Data Availability Statement
All data used during the study are available in a repository in accordance with funder data retention policies. Repository: NSF NHERI DesignSafe; Project No. PRJ-2809; project title: “Physico-Mechanical Characterization of Homogeneity and Isotropy of Prototype Earth Block Material.” DOIs: 10.17603/ds2-c6ta-x942 (soil characterization), 10.17603/ds2-fwxr-4373 (SEM and EDS analysis), and 10.17603/ds2-9ph0-vd80 (uniaxial compression tests). All data that support the findings of this study are also available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the following support: National Science Foundation (NSF) through Collaborative Research Award Nos. 1537776 (University of South Carolina), 1537078 (Louisiana State University), and 1850777 (University of California, Davis); Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) through Award No. DKT200194; University of South Carolina Office of the Vice President for Research, ASPIRE-I Program through Award No. 15520-14-35834; and University of California Office of the President, Laboratory Fees Research Program, through Award No. LFR-20-651032. Special thanks are extended to Richardson Construction Company (Columbia, South Carolina) for supplying the soil; and NSF REU assistants Ms. Addison Darr, Mr. Christopher Frishcosy, and Mr. Hunter Jones.
Author contributions: Erika Rengifo-López: Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing, Visualization. Nitin Kumar: Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing, Visualization. Fabio Matta: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition. Michele Barbato: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 10 • October 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 12, 2023
Accepted: Mar 6, 2024
Published online: Jul 18, 2024
Published in print: Oct 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 18, 2024
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