A sustainable alternative to traditional building materials: assessing stabilised soil blocks for performance and cost in Malawi
Within Malawi, and across the Global South, the adoption of stabilised soil blocks (SSBs) as a sustainable alternative to burnt clay bricks, has been hindered by the high cost of stabilisers. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the performance of cement as a stabiliser in soil stabilised bloc...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Sustainable Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2023.2237062 |
| Summary: | Within Malawi, and across the Global South, the adoption of stabilised soil blocks (SSBs) as a sustainable alternative to burnt clay bricks, has been hindered by the high cost of stabilisers. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the performance of cement as a stabiliser in soil stabilised blocks, and to propose cement ratios which both reduce the material cost while meeting building requirements for local applications. Using a brick production method replicable within a rural African context, we tested a range of cement contents for dry compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption properties. Our findings suggest that a cement content of 3.6% is adequate for single-story building applications, four times lower than that currently used in compressed brick production within the study area. Moreover, the elimination of the firing process – which represents half of burnt brick production costs – and the proposed cement ratios correspond to large cost savings, ranging from 20% to 77% depending on building application, for brick producers. These results suggest that the cost of manufacturing stabilised soil blocks can be considerably reduced and thus become financially viable; however further innovation is needed to achieve a sustainable means of production and use. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1939-7038 1939-7046 |