Adobe and the heaviness of earth
Adobe is a type of brick made of uncooked clay that used to be important in the construction of housing around the world, but, which nowadays has been displaced as a constructive element by materials like concrete, steel or plastic.
As adobe is basically thick clay, its main dilemma is to improve its capacity to hold itself together while piles and piles of bricks are put one above the other. Therefore, the objective of two studies was to improve adobe's resistance to compression, using natural and artificial binders.
On the first study, adobes were made with two types of soil called cangahua and clay with the inclusion of various binding materials from a natural origin such as páramo straw, rice husk, coconut husk, plus, an element that is not natural, a catalyst from the fuel refining process composed of silica and aluminum, in dosages of 5, 10, 15 and 20% with both cangagua and clay, which determined the new resistance of the adobes. The samples were subjected to compressive strength, achieving results comparable with the minimum standards of resistance that Ecuador requires for materials that fulfill the same functions in construction: concrete block and traditional ceramic brick. The evidence of this study showed that the sample made of 80% of cangahua and 20% coconut shell fiber (4.9MPa) exceeds the strength of the hollow concrete block type B (4MPa) and the strength of the ceramic brick type E (4 MPa ). With the right ingredients and percentage , adobe can resist more compression than conrete blocks and ceramic bkircks.
Please read the full article here:
https://revistadigital.uce.edu.ec/index.php/RevFIG/article/view/59
https://doi.org/10.29166/revfig.v1i1.59
https://www.centroecoturisticoaltamiradeecheandia.com/cacicazgo-cando-pilamunga<br>
A second study tried also to improve the resistance of adobe to compression using vegetable fibers like straw, cabuya, abacá, and again rice husk. The adobe was made with soil from the sierra region and from the city of Quito. The winner of the best compressive strength was cabuya from the same region at 20% with 3.01 MPa, followed by cabuya at 15% with 2.79 MPa. Abaca fiber at 5% and 15% had the lowest resistance with 1.03 MPa and 1.30 MPa respectively. The evidence of this study showed that the resistance of adobe to compression can be improved by pairing soil and natural fibers from the same region. A regionalist selection of the materials can be observed.
Please read the full article here:
https://www.academia.edu/35731728/Actas_17_SIACOT_Bolivia_2017
https://www.centroecoturisticoaltamiradeecheandia.com/cacicazgo-cando-pilamunga<br>
More research was made in the same topic. Please look at the link here:
https://www.dspace.uce.edu.ec/handle/25000/17674
This technical Approach towards adobe is already being applied directly with people in other type of projects that try to recover the past through the preservation and reinterpretation of traditional ways of constructing. Please look at the link here:
www.paisajeculturalzuleta.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uE3TzN3axA&t=55s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-aT6_cNVW0&t=8s