The effects of waste marble dust and polypropylene fiber contents on mechanical properties of gypsum stabilized earthen

Abstract

Adobe is one of the oldest and most widely used building materials in the world. It is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material, such as sticks and straws. Alker is just soil with a high content of clay stabilized with lime and calcined gypsum. It is composed of 10% gypsum, 2% lime, and 20–22% water in veneration to the weight of dry soil as a construction material. Earthen structures are extremely durable when built using skilled production and design principles. The strength and durability of earthen materials can be improved, if needed. Some kinds of fibrous, inorganic, or organic materials, like sticks, straw, dung, rice husks, asphalt emulsion, Portland cement, and lime, can be added to promote earth stabilization.This study examines the effect of polymer fiber and waste marble dust contents on the compressive and flexural strength of Alker by using two soils from different locations. Mechanical properties of certain soil–fibers–marble dust combinations comprising different proportions of polymer fiber as 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% and waste marble dust (by 10% and 20% dry weight of soil) were thoroughly investigated. The results showed that producing adobe samples with polymer fibers results in better mechanical properties than Alker. The most desired results for both soils were obtained using a ratio of 0.5% polymer fiber and 10% marble dust. The mix proposed satisfies the minimum compressive and flexural strength requirements of ASTM and Turkish standards.