ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res.

9(05), 1132-1140

Journal Homepage: - www.journalijar.com

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/12950

DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/12950

RESEARCH ARTICLE
MAIN ENGINEERINGSPROPRETIES OF STABILISED EARTH BLOCK BRICKS FORMULATED
WITH SOILS FROM N’DJAMENA-CHAD

Bruno Bassa1, Renonet Karka Bozabe2 and Adoum Issak1

1. Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Réalisation en Techniques Industrielles (LERTI /FSEA). Université de N’Djamena -
Tchad.
2. Laboratoire de Bâtiments et de Travaux Publics (LBTP). ENSTP - Tchad.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Manuscript Info Abstract
……………………. ………………………………………………………………
Manuscript History The most used bricks in house building in N’Djamena, city of Chad
Received: 30 March 2021 which is situated in semi dry arid area with 600 millimeters of
Final Accepted: 30 April 2021 pluviometry per year and 50 °C as highest temperature, are raw clay
Published: May 2021 bricks, terracotta bricks or bricks in ciment block. The raw clay bricks
have strong sensibility in water and weak resistance to compression.
Key words:-
Stabilized Brick, Rate Absorption, The terracotta and cement block bricks have high thermal conductivity
Resistance In Compression, Thermal contrary to the adobe and their manufacturingcontribute to destroy the
Conductivity environment. The aim of this paper is to search Stabilised Earth Block
(SEB) bricks whichare made with clay, sand and few percent of cement
and respond to climatic, environmental and economic constraints.
Therefore, some bricks are built in mixing differentspercents of sand
and clay (M1 : 40% sand and 60% clay, M2 : 50% sand and 50% clay,
M3 : 60% sand and 40% clay, M4 : 70% sand and 30% clay, M5 : 30%
sand, 30% slime and 40% clay, and M6 : 40 % sand, 20% slime and
40% clay) for obtaining physical stabilizationand adding 8%, 10% or
15% of cementin each type of brick for the chemical stabilization.
Theuse of moulding press machine grants already the mechanical
stabilization to these bricks. Proctor test has allowedto retain M1, M3
and M4 for searching the best values of the rate absorption of water by
capillarity , the resistance in compression and the thermal conductivity
of these bricks. The results of tests show bricks M3 with 10% of
cement have the good values ;21,23 g.cm-².min-1/2 of rate absorption,
3,82 MPa of resistance in compression and 0,5W.m-1.°K-1 as thermal
conductivity.

Copy Right, IJAR, 2021,. All rights reserved.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Introduction:-
The aim of this work is twofold, namely the promotion of local materials and the protection of the environment.
Indeed, promoting local materials for habitat construction allows for a drastic reduction in the quantity of imported
cement materials, since (Pacheco T et al, 2011)estimated that 50% of the world's cement consumption goes to under
development countries. Moreover, developing Stabilised Earth Block (SEB) bricks for the construction of low
energy consumption buildings will contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions since the manufacture of concrete
requires between 400 and 800 kWh whereas only 5 to 10 kWh are needed for the same volume of natural materials

Corresponding Author:- Bruno Bassa 1132

Address:- Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Réalisation en Techniques Industrielles (LERTI /FSEA).
Université de N’Djamena - Tchad.
ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 9(05), 1132-1140

(Houben H, 1997). Indeed, (Taylor et al, 2006)estimate the share of cement production in global CO 2 emissions to
be around 10%, an assertion confirmed by the work of (Emmanuel Ouedraogo, 2015).

The potential of raw earth in building construction (Bahobail M A, 2012)is well established and (Houben H,
2006)have described all the qualities of raw earth that can be improved by incorporating a small amount of mineral
binders (Danso H et al, 2015).

To this purpose, it is a question of making the best Stabilised Earth Block (SEB) bricks as they are already known to
be resistant, not very absorbent and with low thermal conductivity (Bassa B et al, 2015), starting with their
formulation, which consists of mixing different soils (clay, sand and silty sand), respecting the proportions of each
of them in order to obtain a reworked soil with the desired characteristics. The different formulations of the selected
reworked soils will then be stabilised with cement and finally the blocks of cement-stabilised soil will be
manufactured.

Mechanical and thermal characteristics such as the rate of water absorption by capillarity, compressive strength and
thermal conductivity depend on the nature of the constituents of the earth concrete and make it possible to classify
the SEB bricks as bricks which are competitive with conventional building materials.

Materials, Equipments And Methods:-

Materials:-
The elaboration of the Stabilised Earth Block (SEB) brick , with 30x10x9 cm3as dimensions, is a shaping process
that is accompanied by three types of stabilisation; physical, mechanical and chemical.

Physical stabilisation, the aim of which is to improve the characteristics of the soil by correcting the granularity,
generally consists of adding sand to clay or lateritic soils, or sometimes materials of plant origin. Depending on the
case, the mixture obtained either reduces the plasticity index of the base material or gives it a certain cohesion.
Mechanical stabilisation consists of compacting the reworked soil to reduce the porosity of the material by
tightening the particles in order to increase the natural density of the clay. The benefits of high density are the
reducing of permeability and compressibility, the reducing of water absorption capacity and swelling. And the
chemical stability allows the material to be less sensitive to water. In order to reduce sensitivity to water, the
addition of hydraulic binders such as cement is often used to make the treated soils less hydrophilic.

The addition of cement, in a minimum proportion of 4% by weight in relation to the dry weight of the earth (Pierre
Meukam, 2004),allows the grains of sand to be bonded while stabilising the clay and improves, in addition to the
stability with regard to water, the mechanical characteristics of the processed material. In order to produce the
specimens that will be used to determine the mechanical and thermal characteristics of the SEB bricks, geotechnical
tests are carried out on six mixtures (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6) with different proportions of clay, sand and
sometimes silty sand. The clay, with 39,4as plasticity index and 2,49g.cm-3as density, is extracted from the Siguété
quarry located about fifteen kilometres at east of N'Djaména city. The Chari sand, with 2,61g.cm-3as density and a
tight grain size with a high proportion (76,2%) of medium elements, is used to correct the texture of the clay. Silty
sand and SONACIM cement of class PC 32.5 are added to the sand and clay to make the SEB bricks.

Mixture M1 (40% sand and 60% clay), mixture M2 (50% sand and 50% clay), mixture M3 (60% sand and 40%
clay), mixture M4 (70% sand and 30% clay), mixture M5 (30% sand, 30% silt and 40% clay) and mixture M6 (40%
sand, 20% silt and 40% clay) underwent the Proctor test to define the optimum formulation in terms of compressive
strength. It is noted that the mixing water used for each of the mixes during compaction varies from 8% to 14% of
the total dry weight of the mix. The realizedProctor test made it possible to retain three mixes to make the samples
useful for the tests, namely mixture M1 (60% clay and 40% sand), mixture M3 (40% clay and 60% sand) and
mixture M4 (30% clay and 70% sand) whose densities and water contents after compaction are given in Table 1
below.

Table 1:- Densities of sand-clay mixtures.

Compactingcharacteristics Proportion of sand and clay mixtures
M1 M3 M4
Moisture content of the modified Optimum 12,5 12,0 11,0

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Proctor (%).
Maximum dry density (g.cm-3) 1,87 1,91 1,96

The compaction water content of the cement-stabilised earth block bricks will be set equal to or slightly higher than
the water content of the modified Proctor optimum given in Table 1.

To the three different proportions retained (M1, M3 and M4) for the preparation of the geoconcrete will be added
8%, 10% or 15% of cement for the formulation of the earth concrete and the manufacture of 9 classes of BTS in
order to ensure repeatability and to cover the different tests. Thus, twelve (12) bricks were made per class using the
manual brick press (see Fig. 2.a). These one hundred and eight (108) SEB bricks were put to dry in the shade,
covered with plastic (see Fig.1) for 28 days in order to avoid shrinkage and cracking and to maximize cement
crystallization.

Figure 1:- Conservation and curing of Stabilized Earth Block (SEB)bricks.

Equipments
The manufacture of bricks in Stabilised Earth Block (SEB) requires a manual press (see Fig.2), its accessories (a
shovel, a doser and a scraper) and a plastic to cover the bricks.

The other equipments that followare necessaries to carry out the mechanical and thermal characterisation work:
- A digital balance (Fig.3) for weighing the test samples;
- An oven (Fig.4.a) to dry the test specimen by setting a temperature on 105°C ±5°C.
- A tank with dimensions 35cmx50cmx15cm (Fig.4.b) for the water absorption test by immersion ;
- A CONTROLAB press for the brick crushing test (Fig.5).
- A device for determining the thermal conduction coefficient, equipped with a heating plate, two calibrated
thermometers and isolation (Fig.6).

a) Manual press b) Moulded and ejected brick

Figure 2:- Manual press for making SEB bricks.

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Figure 3:- Digital scale for weighing SEB bricks.

a) Oven for drying b) Immersion tank

Figure 4:- Capillary water absorption test devices.

Figure 5:- Controlab press for the crushing test.

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Figure 6:- Device for determining thermal conductivity.

Methods:-
Water absorption by capillary action
The principle of testing, based on standard NBN-B-24-206(1997), consists of drying a test specimen in an oven at a
temperature of 105°C ±5°C until a constant mass m1 is obtained. The specimen is then immersed for 24 hours.
Placed, in a container filled with water, on a horizontal plane such a way that the immersed side of the specimen is 5
mm below the water level. Let m2 be the mass of the specimen after immersion. The suction power of the water
expressed in g/cm2.min1/2 is characterised by the absorption coefficient Cb given by the following formula :

Cb 
m2  m1  100
(I.1)
S 10
With Cb: coefficient of resistance to capillary rise (g.cm-².min-1/2)
m2 : mass of the specimen after immersion (g)
m1: mass of the specimen before immersion (g)
S: surface area of the immersed specimen (cm²)
Thus, the bricks made of the mixtures M1, M3 and M4 with the three rates (8%, 10% and 15%) of cement were
immersed for 24 hours after complete drying in the Oven.
1) 2.3.2 Compression strength

The compressive strength test is carried out on three bricks of each mixture using a CONTROLAB hydraulic press
(Fig.5) in accordance with standard NF P18-455(2003). This press, not being intended for crushing parallelepipedal
bricks, has been provided with specific devices to adapt the machine to the test. These are two rectangular steel
plates, occupying the entire surface to be crushed, which have been screwed, one on the mobile jaw in order to
establish complete contact with the top of the brick to be tested and the other on the fixed jaw to support the entire
base of the brick.
The compressive breaking load Rc N  read on the dial of the CONTROLAB press and the area of application of the
load Sc mm²  are used in the following formula (I.2) to calculate the compressive strenght :
R
 C MPa   C (I.2)
SC
Thermal conductivity
The method used for the determination of this property consists of measuring the temperatures on both sides of the
brick submitted, one at the temperature imposed by a hot plate and the other in contact with the ambient temperature
of the laboratory. The temperature of the heating plate and that of the free upper face of the brick are measured
respectively with the calibrated thermometers of 100°C and 250°C. The 250°C thermometer is placed on the heating

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plate and the other thermometer is in contact with the free upper side of the brick. The temperature of the side in
contact with the heating plate is taken equal to the temperature of the heating plate.

The brick is surrounded by a wooden box to create isolation in order to limit heat loss through the sides of the brick
and to guarantee the unidirectionality of the flow through the thickness of the brick. The test takes about 3 hours to
reach steady state and temperature statements are taken every 30 minutes by reading the dials of the two
thermometers. The difference between temperaturesT (°K or °C) in steady state will allow the determination of the
thermal conductivity (W.m-1.°K-1) of the brick knowing its thickness e (m) and the electrical power of the heating
plate (150 W) to be identified with the thermal power  (W.m-²) while taking into account the area S (m²) of the
brick in contact with the heating plate. For this purpose, it is sufficient to use the classic thermal formula :
   e  T  S (I.3)
Twelve test bricks are taken from the three mixtures (M1, M3 and M4), each containing 0%, 8%, 10% and 15%
cement.

Results and Discussions:-

Mechanical characteristics of SEB bricks
Water absorption by capillary action

The results of the capillary water absorption tests, obtained by formula (I.1), are summarised in Table 2 below:

Table 2:- Variation of the water absorption coefficient by capillarity of SEB bricksaccording to the cement content.
Mixture Coefficient of water absorption by capillarity (g.cm-².min-1/2)
8%of cement 10%of cement 15%of cement
M1 51,53 32,37 16,89
M3 25,91 23,21 22,15
M4 32,16 25,79 24,17

It can be seen from table 2 that the rate of water absorption by capillarity decreases, for each type of SEB bricks,
when the proportion of cement increases. The addition to the clay of the cement, made up of finer particles, reduces
the pores in the bricks.

For M1 bricks containing more sand, the decrease is considerable - from 51,53g.cm-².min-1/2to 16,89 g.cm-².min-1/2-
due to the fact that these mixtures contained more pores in the unstabilized state. Their low plasticity gives better
compaction results.

Compressive strength
The compressive strength is calculated using formula (I.2) and the results obtained are carried forward in the
following table.3 :

Table 3:- Compressive strength of SEB bricks after 28 days of consolidation.

Compressive strength (MPa) after 28 days
Cement dosage
M1 M3 M4
0% 1,57 2,02 2,58
8% 2,58 2,64 3,37
10% 4,61 3,82 3,82
15% 5,00 4,55 5,05

The compressive strengths of the bricks from the three mixtures increases with the cement content (Table 3). In fact,
the addition of 8% to 10% of cement rapidly increases the compressive strengths of the brick, a growth that almost
stabilises at around 15%. Increasing the proportion of cement increases the compressive strengths of a soil by
creating rigid bridges between clay and sand particles (Cedric F, 2014).

By combining Table 3 of the compressive strengths of SEB bricks and Table 4 which groups the densities of these
bricks, the graphs showing the variation of compressive strengths according to the density can be drawn (Fig.7)
below.

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Table 4:- Density of the SEB bricks studied.

Mixture M1 Mixture M3 Mixture M4
3 3
Cement content Density (g/cm ) Cement content Density (g/cm ) Cement content Density (g/cm3)
0% 1,52 0% 1,54 0% 1,62
8% 1,59 8% 1,59 8% 1,69
10% 1,73 10% 1,74 10% 1,75
15% 1,75 15% 1,76 15% 1,79

Figure 7 Shows the change in compressive strengthsaccording to the specimen density.

6
Compressive strength (MPa)

3 M1

2 M3
M4
1

0
1.62 1.69 1.75 1.79
Density (g/cm3)

Figure 7:- Variation of the compressive strength according to the density

As the increase of density indicates a decrease in porosity, therefore the sand and clay particles are tightened and
firmly bound. This strong bond improves compressive strengthes.

The convergence point (1,73 g.cm-3 and 3,70 MPa) of the curves (Fig.7) is obtained with a cement dosage between
9% and 10%.

Thermal charactéristics of BTS

The results of the determination of the thermal conductivity coefficients, obtained using formula (I.3), are
summarised in Table 5.

Table 5:- Thermal conductivity coefficients of SEB bricks.

Mixture M1 Mixture M3 Mixture M4
Cement Thermal Cement Thermal Cement Thermal
content conductivity content conductivity (W.m- content conductivity (W.m-
(W.m-1.°K-1) 1
.°K-1) 1
.°K-1)
0% 0,45 0% 0,44 0% 0,41
8% 0,69 8% 0,48 8% 0,51
10% 0,74 10% 0,5 10% 0,53
15% 0,83 15% 0,78 15% 0,63

The transcription of this table into graphical form gave rise to Figure 8 below, which shows the evolution of the
thermal conductivity coefficients of the SEB bricks according to the cement content.

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0.9

0.8
Thermal Conductivity (W/m.°C)
0.7

0.6

0.5
M1
0.4
M3
0.3
M4
0.2

0.1

0
0% 8% 10% 15%
Cement content (%)

Figure 8:- Variation of thermal conductivity according to cement content.

The reading of the three curves (Fig.8) shows the increase in thermal conductivity with the cement content. In fact,
the pores initially occupied by air are now filled by cement grains with a relatively higher thermal conductivity than
that of air. The thermal conductivities of bricks made with the M4 mixture are still much higher than those of other
bricks. This is due to the fact that the high proportion of clay in the mixture has the ability to retain water for long
time, even after 28 days of curing. The water, which is a heat carrier and trapped in the pores of this brick, is the
basis of the high values of thermal conductivity, whatever the content of cement incorporated.

For bricks with M1 and M3 mixes with an addition of 10% cement, the thermal conductivity is approximately 0.5
W.m-1.K-1.

Conclusion:-
The limitation of environmental degradation and the concept of sustainable development require the use of local
materials that consume little energy and emit less greenhouse gases. Stabilised Earth Block (SEB) bricks, considered
as local materials, have been made by mixing sand, clay in measured proportions (M1, M3 and M4) and adding a
small amount of cement (8%, 10% and 15%). The essential thermomechanical characteristics of these bricks, i.e.
water absorption capacity, compressive strengthes and thermal conductivity were determined. This led to the choice
of the brick with the M3 mixture with a cement content of 10%, as this is a reasonable level of an energetic material
compared to its interesting characteristics (a density of 1,7g/cm3, a capillary water absorption coefficient of 21,23
g.cm-².min-1/2, a compressive strength of 3,82 MPa and a conductivity of 0,5W.m-1.°K-1). Thus SEB bricks with
mixture M3 and 10% cement, dense and with low capillary absorption (Cb< 40), can be considered as an ideal
compromise between relatively high cost, satisfactory compressive strength and low thermal conductivity for the
construction of less energy-intensive eco-buildings.

References:-
1. Bahobail, M.A. ; 2012 J Eng. Sci. 40, 21–34.
2. BASSA Bruno et al.; 2015Annales C de l’Université de N’Djaména
3. Cédric FLAMENT ; 2014 Thèse de Doctorat, Université d’Artois, France.
4. Danso, H., Martinson, B., Ali, M., Mant, C. ;2015 Build. Res. Inf. 43, 253–262.
5. Emmanuel OUEDRAOGO et al.; 2015 Journal of Materials and Engineering Structures.
6. Houben Hugo. 1997 Ecodécision, Autonome.

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7. Houben Hugo.2006Parenthèses. ed. 72 cours Julien 13006 Marseille.

8. Norme NBN B24-206, 1974
9. Norme NF EN 12390-3, 2003
10. Pacheco Torgal, F., Jalali, S.,2011Construction and Building Materials.Springer London, London.
11. Pierre MEUKAM ; 2004 Thèse de Doctorat, Université de Yaoundé I, Cameroun.
12. Taylor, M., Tam, C., Gielen, D., 2006.Korea 50, 61–7.

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