Study of Local Soils for Rammed Earth Construction
Abstract
Building in unstabilised Study of Local Soils for Rammed Earth Construction results in low environmental impact. However, northern Portugal has not historical tradition with this technique, and thus the suitability of the local granitic residual soils is unknown. This paper presents an experimental investigation, where this possibility is assessed. The results showed that these soils are unsuitable, and that rammed earth construction is only feasible if these soils go through a stabilising process. The alkaline activation of fly ash was investigated as an environmentally friendly stabilisation technique, and it proved to be capable of improving the performance of rammed earth
Conclusion
The comparative strengths between the rammed cylinders and cored cylinders are of particular value. The resulting 2% variation in strength is negligible and supports the use of cast cylinders as a method for determining the f’sre of material placed and rammed in a wall. The high degree of variability among some of the samples, the 10M VPO for example, suggests that the ramming procedure has a direct effect on the bond stress. There might be a mechanical connection between the steel and SRE that is unlike the cement bond that occurs in concrete or masonry models; this connection would likely be affected by the thoroughness of the compaction
