Advances in the Use of Biological Stabilisers and Hyper-compaction for Sustainable Earthen Construction Materials

Muguda, Sravan; Lucas, George; Hughes, Paul; Augarde, Charles; Cuccurullo, Alessia; Bruno, Agostino Walter; Perlot, Celine; Gallipoli, Domenico; Reddy, B.V. Venkatarama; Mani, Monto; Walker, Pete

Abstract

In the majority of cases, earthen construction materials for real buildings require amendment to deliver suitable material properties, which could be some additional strength or resilience to erosion. In modern earthen construction, in India, Australia and other parts of the world, cement and lime have been successfully used as stabilisers, providing both strength and durability benefits. However, the use of cement is detrimental to the green credentials of earthen construction materials, due to the large carbon footprint of that material’s manufacture and, for some time, researchers have been motivated to find more appropriate stabilisers and manufacturing methods. In this paper, we present recent findings from two projects that are linked by this motivation, and involve the study of bio-based stabilisers and alternative manufacturing methods for insitu and unit-based materials. Results are presented from laboratory testing of strength and durability of a range of materials, bio-stabilisers and manufacturing processes, indicating that there could be viable alternatives to cement and lime, certainly for many current uses of earthen construction materials.

Citation

Muguda, S., Lucas, G., Hughes, P., Augarde, C., Cuccurullo, A., Bruno, A. W., …Walker, P. (2019). Advances in the Use of Biological Stabilisers and Hyper-compaction for Sustainable Earthen Construction Materials. In Earthen dwellings and structures (191-201). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5883-8_17

• Conference Name: International Symposium on Earthen Structures 2018 (ISES2018)
• Conference Location: Bangalore, India
• Online Publication Date: Mar 2, 2019
• Publication Date: Mar 2, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 24, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 2, 2020
• Pages: 191-201
• Series Title: Springer transactions in civil and environmental engineering
• Series ISSN: 2363-7633,2363-7641
• Book Title: Earthen dwellings and structures.
• ISBN: 9789811358821
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-5883-8_17
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-13-5883-8