Building with Earth: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture

ally this mixture must be thinned by adding sand. If the test looks like the sample on the right, it has very low clay content. ...

ing force according to the standard DIN 18952 test (see p. 32), with a slight change: here the maximum strength of five samples ...

The dry loam mixture is crushed and sieved to eliminate all particles with diame- ters larger than 2 mm. About 1200 cm^3 of thi ...

have been sieved out earlier. If that portion is less than 25% of the dry weight of the entire mixture, then the water content c ...

Shrinkage limit The shrinkage limit (SL) is defined as the boundary between the semi-solid and solid states. It is the limit whe ...

usual method using water is problematic, since the sample dissolves at the joint. Therefore, the BRL modified the method by clos ...

tion 2.27 shows the drying process of differ- ent loam samples compared to other build- ing materials. In this test, conducted a ...

Condensation In moderate and cold climatic zones, the water vapour contained in indoor air diffus- es through the walls to the e ...

31 Properties of earth on the inside due to the vapour barrier. In this case, the wall remains damp for a longer period than it ...

32 Properties of earth Decrement factor and time lag “Decrement factor” and “time lag” refer to the way the exterior wall of a b ...

33 Properties of earth and rammed with a tool in a formwork in three layers (see 2.33). At least three sam- ples have to be made ...

34 Properties of earth Bending tensile strength The bending tensile strength of dry loam is of little importance for earth const ...

35 Properties of earth pH-value Clayey soil is usually basic, with pH-values between 7 and 8.5. Nowadays, due to acid rain, eart ...

It is not always easy to produce building material out of a clayey soil, and experience is required. The right preparation depen ...

al power. With an adequate addition of water, one cubic metre of usable loam could be produced in about 15 minutes (with the hel ...

a machine (3.8). This has steel angles fixed onto a horizontal plate, which rotates at a rate of 1440 rotations per minute. It r ...

hence the shrinkage ratio. The results of this method are shown in 4.2and 4.3. In 4.2, a loam with 50% clay and 50% silt content ...

40 Improving the earth Addition of fibres The shrinkage ratio of loam can be reduced by the addition of fibres such as animal or ...

Soda waterglass Soda waterglass (Na 2 O · 3-4 SiO 2 ) is a good stabiliser for sandy loam, but it must be thinned with water in ...

albuminate (which is not water-soluble). The cellulose in the urine and manure enhances the binding force, as the cellulose fibr ...