Cement stabilized rammed earthfor wall junctions of two storey houses

Abstract

Today the whole world is faced with environmental issues due to unsustainable use of natural resources, especially for construction activities. Finding alternative materials and methods is vital to minimize the impacts and protect the environment from natural disasters. Further increase in demand as well as the rising cost of building materials in Sri Lanka has compelled the general public to use alternative materials. Rammed earth is an ancient technology that has been used in all part of the world to construct different types of civil engineering structures such as buildings, houses, roads and dams. In the current research, rammed earth technology was developed as a means of stabilizing soil with cement to produce an alternative material for building houses due to its valuable characteristics such as affordability, environment friendly, comfort, strong and durability. The mouldis placed in between two columns made out of compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB) which were manufactured as per the newly established Sri Lanka Standards. It was found that performances of CSEB columns with CSRE walls were not very successful due to differential shrinkage. Further, this study revealed that the development of wall junctions is necessary to satisfy the design aspects and to avoid the present construction issues in order to popularize this technology. "L" and "T" junctions made with CSRE and timber moulds was introduced as an alternative method for making wall junctions to overcome the above-mentioned issues. Method of constructing CSRE walls with CSRE junctions would encourage people to accept this technology because it is economical and simple.