TY - JOUR
T1 - A geotechnical perspective of raw earth building
AU - Gallipoli, Domenico
AU - Bruno, Agostino Walter
AU - Perlot, Céline
AU - Mendes, Joao
PY - 2017/6
Y1 - 2017/6
N2 - Much research has been devoted over the past 30 years to the development of construction materials that can lower the environmental and economic costs of buildings over their entire life by reducing embodied energy, minimizing air conditioning needs and cutting down demolition waste. In this respect, raw earth is an attractive material because it is natural and largely available. In its simplest form, this material consists of a compacted mixture of soil and water which is put in place with the least possible transformation. Raw earth construction has been practised in ancient times but has only recently been rediscovered thanks to modern technology, which has improved fabrication efficiency. If properly manufactured, raw earth exhibits comparable mechanical characteristics and better hygro-thermal properties than concrete or fired bricks. After a brief historical overview, we discuss the advantages of raw earth construction in terms of environmental impact, energy consumption and indoor air quality together with the main obstacles to its wider dissemination. We also review the hydro-thermo-mechanical behaviour of raw earth in the context of the recent geotechnical literature, by examining the dependency of key parameters such as strength, stiffness and moisture retention on: (a) material variables (e.g. particle size and mineralogy), (b) manufacturing variables (e.g. density and stabilization) and (c) environmental variables (e.g. pore suction, ambient humidity and temperature).
AB - Much research has been devoted over the past 30 years to the development of construction materials that can lower the environmental and economic costs of buildings over their entire life by reducing embodied energy, minimizing air conditioning needs and cutting down demolition waste. In this respect, raw earth is an attractive material because it is natural and largely available. In its simplest form, this material consists of a compacted mixture of soil and water which is put in place with the least possible transformation. Raw earth construction has been practised in ancient times but has only recently been rediscovered thanks to modern technology, which has improved fabrication efficiency. If properly manufactured, raw earth exhibits comparable mechanical characteristics and better hygro-thermal properties than concrete or fired bricks. After a brief historical overview, we discuss the advantages of raw earth construction in terms of environmental impact, energy consumption and indoor air quality together with the main obstacles to its wider dissemination. We also review the hydro-thermo-mechanical behaviour of raw earth in the context of the recent geotechnical literature, by examining the dependency of key parameters such as strength, stiffness and moisture retention on: (a) material variables (e.g. particle size and mineralogy), (b) manufacturing variables (e.g. density and stabilization) and (c) environmental variables (e.g. pore suction, ambient humidity and temperature).
KW - Compressed earth blocks
KW - Earthen construction
KW - Rammed earth
KW - Raw earth
KW - Soil compaction
KW - Suction
U2 - 10.1007/s11440-016-0521-1
DO - 10.1007/s11440-016-0521-1
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85010808989
VL - 12
SP - 463
EP - 478
JO - Acta Geotechnica
JF - Acta Geotechnica
SN - 1861-1125
IS - 3
ER -