Mechanical and Water Durability Properties of Adobes Stabilized with White Cement, Quicklime and Date Palm Fibers

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the ingrowing awareness of environmental and energetic issues, earthen materials offer significant ecological and economic advantages. In Algeria, the Ksour (earthen buildings) remains the only witness to this type of construction. This research aims to contribute to extending the knowledge of these types of constructions to provide a proper intervention for their restoration and also help to produce adobes with good resistance and durability to reduce the renewal of plasters, which is pricey and time-consuming in the aim of declining the cost of housing, especially in rural areas. To achieve this, different mixtures of adobes were studied in order to test the effects of quicklime, cement and date palm fibers on their physical, mechanical and water resistance properties. The main results obtained showed that the addition of quicklime and cement in different combinations in adobes improves the mechanical properties. The inclusion of the DPF up to 0.5% in untreated adobes and 5% cement-stabilized adobes enhance the mechanical strengths, whereas in adobes stabilized with quicklime it leads to a decrease in their strength. The addition of cement and quicklime increases significantly the water resistance of the adobes, while the inclusion of fibers has an adverse effect.