Effect of Posidonia oceanica on the hygrothermal characterization of compacted earth blocks

Abstract

A hygrothermal characterization of new construction materials, namely unstabilized and Posidonia oceanica fiber stabilized compressed earth blocks, were studied in this work. In the first part, the sorption-desorption isotherms of unstabilized blocks were compared with others stabilized with raw and treated fibers to detect the effect of adding fibers. The results revealed an improvement in hygric properties after the addition of raw fibers. Moreover, the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB), the Oswin, and Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller (BET) models successfully fitted experimental sorption-desorption isotherms curves. In the second step, the moisture buffer value and water vapor permeability were evaluated under dynamic conditions. According to the classification of the NORDTEST project, the innovative and new compacted earth blocks studied in this paper seem to be excellent moisture regulators because they have an MBV greater than 2 g/ (m2. %RH). In fact, BAFBB samples (block with crushed Posidonia oceanica) achieved the best results. These formulations recorded an ideal water buffer coefficient equal to 2.66 g/ (m2.%RH)