Abstract
This paper presents a successful ongoing partnership between Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC) and a concrete masonry unit (CMU) manufacturing plant in rural Haiti. The infrastructure destruction and resulting loss of life of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti highlighted the need for improved building materials and codes. This partnership has helped to improve the strength of CMUs in the plant, both creating a safer local built environment and expanding the economic opportunities for this plant. Using samples of aggregate and cement from the site in Haiti, students in Clemson performed experiments to optimise the CMU mix design and made other suggestions to improve efficiency and quality of their product. Consistency continues to be a challenge for the CMU plant, and this paper also describes proposed procedures to help the plant implement quality control and quality assurance plans.
Highlights
Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC) is a translational research and education program at Clemson University
This paper describes the process by which CEDC has partnered with the block plant, the obstacles this endeavour has surmounted along the way, and the tangible results of this relationship between Clemson University and a small business in Haiti’s Central Plateau
During this first visit to the Domond concrete masonry unit (CMU) plant in 2012, CEDC students took note of the entire process summarized above and gathered several samples of coarse/fine aggregate, cement, and water to test in the Clemson Civil Engineering materials lab, while recording the type of equipment available and the layout of the CMU manufacturing facility
Summary
Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC) is a translational research and education program at Clemson University. By utilising a unique organisational structure that includes students in the classroom and year-round student interns in Haiti, CEDC has designed, implemented, and managed several projects throughout Haiti’s rural Central Plateau. These projects have ranged from village water systems to repairing schools to constructing fish hatcheries. Since 2012, CEDC has partnered with a concrete block plant in the Central Plateau to increase the quality of their products and the efficiency of their processes. This paper describes the process by which CEDC has partnered with the block plant, the obstacles this endeavour has surmounted along the way, and the tangible results of this relationship between Clemson University and a small business in Haiti’s Central Plateau
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