Adobe bricks with sugarcane molasses and gypsum to enhance compressive strength in the city Cogua, Colombia

• Autores: Lady Sofia Rodríguez Cuervo
• Localización: Revista de la Construcción, ISSN-e 0718-915X, ISSN 0717-7925, Vol. 19, Nº. 3, 2020, págs. 358-365
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen

  • This paper presents a case study of the effect of adobe bricks stabilized with gypsum, sugarcane molasses and both combinations improving compressive strength. These bricks were produced by a hand-made process, which was empirical and had not been analysed before. All samples had the same unit weight and aspect ratio to obtain accurate data. An extensive series of test were conducted on adobe bricks stabilized with gypsum (5%, 10% and 15%), sugarcane molasses (5%, 10% and 15%), and gypsum in combination with sugarcane molasses (5%, 10% and 15%) which were cured for one month. The results of the tests have shown that the grain size distribution was not optimum, which meant that samples stabilized with gypsum or sugarcane molasses did not exceed the resistance of the control sample. The former increased the strength, but the later decreased.

    Despite this, the sample stabilized with 2.5% gypsum and 2.5% sugarcane molasses had the best strength (2.15 MPa). This case study can contribute to better understanding the compressive strength of stabilized adobe bricks, which depends on the percentage of the clay and sand fraction, the moisture content of the soil, and the percentage of stabilizer. In summary, natural stabilizers could be an environmental solution to improve mechanical behaviour.