Abstract
This paper presents an overview of the different earth building techniques, the latest innovations and the normative aspects. The oldest man made earth constructions known to exist date back to 10 000 BC. Since then, earth has remained a popular building material throughout history. With time, different techniques evolved, starting from sundried adobe blocks to cob constructions, rammed earth walls and compressed earth bricks. Today these techniques are still being optimized and alternative binders, specifically adapted admixtures and surface treatments are being developed. Even though nearly one third of the world’s population lives in an earth construction, few specific building standards and testing methods exist. Many of the tests used today are based on tests for concrete and thus do not take into account the complex nature of earth constructions, such as their sensitivity to water. RILEM, the union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures, set up a new Technical Committee in 2016: TC TCE (Testing and Characterisation of Earth-based building materials and elements). This committee, consisting of an international group of experts on the topic, aim to define testing procedures for earth as a building construction material. To end with, this paper also gives a short introduction to “Deep soil mixing”, an “earth” building technique dedicated to geotechnical engineering.
Highlights
The oldest manmade earth constructions known were found in Mesopotamia, and date from 10 000 BC, they consist of stacked earth bricks
For modern earth constructions often local soil is mixed with imported materials such as quarry dust, sand and gravel from quarries located at further distance to achieve a suitable mix design [7]
In the 18th century, the technique to produce “compressed earth blocks” (CEB’s) by means of a manual press became popular in Europe
Summary
The oldest manmade earth constructions known were found in Mesopotamia, and date from 10 000 BC, they consist of stacked earth bricks. Remains of rammed earth foundations as old as 5 000 BC were found in Assyria For these archaeological constructions, mixtures of locally excavated sand, gravel and clay were used [1, 2, 3]. For modern earth constructions often local soil is mixed with imported materials such as quarry dust, sand and gravel from quarries located at further distance to achieve a suitable mix design [7]. Additives, such as slaked lime, cement or (synthetic) fibres, are added to the soil mixture in order to achieve higher compressive strength and better durability. Preparation usually consists of pulverisation, sieving, and/or drying [2, 8, 11, 12]
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