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ABSTRACT
For the growing concern of awareness regarding sustainable building materials and environmental issues, compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB) gives the view of energy efficient, cost effective and environmental friendly building material. Compressed stabilized earth blocks are manufactured using stabilizers to provide adequate compressive strength and durability so as to make them suitable as building blocks. Laboratory tests conducted on the soil used for this project provided detailed information on the soils grading, plasticity, and the suitability for cement stabilized earth block production.
Cement was used as stabilizer in the production of compressed stabilized earth blocks for mix proportions including 1:6, 1:8, 1:10, 12 and 1:14. This work assesses the durability of Compressed stabilized earth block by comparing the compressive strength and water absorption rate of cement stabilized earth blocks with minimum standard requirement of sandcrete blocks in Nigeria. A total of 140 blocks of 450×225×125mm were produced and tested for compression and water absorption test. This work also examines the effect when laterite is partially replaced with sand for different mix ratios in the production of cement stabilized earth bock. It also present a cost comparison between building with conventional sandcrete blocks and compressed stabilized earth blocks for a one bedroom bungalow.
The results obtained shown that blocks made from 1:6 had the highest compressive strength of 1.2Mpa and 1.52Mpa for CSEBs with no sand and CSEBs with sand respectively. The compressive strength and water absorption values were below the standard values of 2.5N/mm2 and 12% respectively by Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS) 87:2007. Findings from the project gives the need for proper quality control for the production of durable and good blocks such as using suitable soil, cement and application of proper compaction pressure.
