Effect of Plastic Fiber in Compressed Stabilized Earth Block Using Lime and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

Abstract

At the advent of green technology and the concept of zero energy buildings, there is an emerging trend in the utilization of indigenous materials like soil as a construction material. Subsequently earthen building units with less embodied energy are experiencing a renaissance in their application as a sustainable building material. Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) is an earthen masonry unit which is eco-friendly and less energy intensive when compared to conventional masonry units. However earth must be stabilized before it is used to develop CSEB. The most effective stabilizer in common use is cement which is an energy intensive material and is responsible for the production of major share of greenhouse gases. Subsequently, replacing cement with less energy intensive and eco- friendly materials as stabilizers is a boon to the environment. In addition, solid waste management is one of the current major environmental concerns throughout the world. One of the methods to satisfactorily address energy crisis and solid waste management is to accommodate waste in some form to earth and make a new construction material. Embedding plastic fibers in CSEB stabilized with Lime and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) is an effective step towards addressing this problem. newlineThis research highlights salient observations derived from a systematic study on the effect of plastic fibers from sacks and bottles in CSEB made of locally available laterite soil stabilized with GGBS and lime. The study on the influence of composition basically comes under three stages. The first stage consist of determination of index properties of both virgin soil and soil stabilizer composition followed by the determination of optimum contents of lime, GGBS, Polypropylene sack fibers and Polyethylene terephthalate bottle fibers. Mixing the optimum contents of stabilizers with soil and developing a CSEB also comes under this stage. The second stage comprises of tests for mechanical properties of CSEB like compressive strength, split