Title: Effects of date palm fibres on the mechanical behaviour of stabilised earth blocks: case study on Ksar of Kenadsa, province of Bechar (South-West Algeria)

Authors: Assia Zebair; Fazia Fouchal; Rabiâ Abdeldjebar; Abdelmadjid Hamouine

Addresses: Université Tahri Mouhamed, Archipel, Route de Kenadsa BP 417, 08000, Béchar, Algeria ' Université de Limoges, GC2D, 17, Boulevard Jacques Derche, 19300 Egletons, France ' Université Tahri Mouhamed, Archipel, Route de Kenadsa BP 417, 08000, Béchar, Algeria ' Université Tahri Mouhamed, Archipel, Route de Kenadsa BP 417, 08000, Béchar, Algeria

Abstract: In the field of construction based on raw clay, there is an active search for less costly stabilising materials, where exploitation of natural resources for construction has become a major concern due to the common problems of degradation of stabilised earth blocks such those used in Ksour constructions. However, despite the technical, economic and ecological advantages reported using the stabilised earth blocks (SEBs), they remain associated with numerous disadvantages due to the lack of research data in this field. This study contributes to a better understanding of the SEBs used in the Kenadsa site, specifically, which are characterised by a mixture of vegetation fibres such as date palm fibres. An analysis is conducted to studying the mechanical properties of specimens prepared from clay collected on the site and mixed to different amounts of fibres and to two different types of stabilisers (cement and/or lime).

Keywords: SEBs; stabilised earth blocks; lime; cement; fibres; compression and tensile strength; masonry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2018.095705

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2018 Vol.3 No.4, pp.417 - 431

Received: 13 Feb 2017
Accepted: 20 Nov 2017
Published online: 17 Oct 2018 *

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