Mechanical Resistance and Thermal Conductivity of Adobes for the Walls of Rural Dwellings in Extreme Minimum Climatic Conditions

Abstract

The aim was to determine the mechanical resistance and thermal conductivity of adobe bricks in extreme minimum weather conditions, which serve two physical functions: greater compression strength and lower thermal conductivity for the construction of rural housing walls in the Peruvian highlands. The study was experimental, where the soil texture class was determined using the Bouyoucos hydrometer. An experiment was designed with 58 adobe bricks with different composition percentages: clay soil, sand, sheep manure, and chilligua. The compression strength was measured with a hydraulic press and the thermal property was measured using a thermal conductivity meter for construction materials. Then, a polynomial regression model was estimated for the behavior of the compression strength and thermal conductivity of each adobe brick, and finally, classical optimization techniques were employed. The optimal adobe brick mixture resulted from the combination of inputs in the following proportions: 83.0% clay soil, 7.1% sand, 7.5% sheep manure, and 2.4% chilligua. This mixture generates greater compression strength of 31.85 kg/cm2 per unit of thermal conductivity in W/m·°K.