STUDY OF THE YEMENI CLAY AND THE PRODUCTION OF ADOBE
Keywords:
clay, adobe, durability drying, shrinkageAbstract
At present the world produces a great number of modern construction materials, and the volume of production of cement, concrete and reinforced concrete is increasing every year. Nevertheless in many countries of the world and especially in arid regions unbaked clay with admixtures of clay and an organic component is widely used for the construction of residential houses as well as ten thousand years ago. Commitment to adobe is connected not only with the wide distribution of raw materials, cheapness and simplicity of technology but with more comfortable living conditions in such houses without any special air conditioning devices. It is due to the increased microporosity of the clay matrix which provides hygroscopy and vapor transmission of the walls regulating the microclimate of the room.
This article is devoted to the study of the physical and chemical properties of clay for the purpose of using them in adobe production. As a result a material with the following characteristics is obtained: Rc = 4.2 MPа, with density (ρ) of 1245 kg/m 3 and shrinkage of 5,4 mm/m. To get required adobe Yemeni clays with up to 70 % of clay minerals of montmorillonite and kaolinite
as well as more than 30 % of sand were used. Changes in the properties of adobe are studied
in the process of natural drying.
References
A.P. Olukoya Obafemi, Sevinc Kurt. Environ-mental Impacts of Adobe as a Building Materials: The North Cyprus Traditional Building Case. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 2016, no. 4, pp. 32–41.
Dora Silveira, Humberto Varum, Anibal Costa. Influence of the Testing Procedures in the Mechanical Characterization of Adobe Bricks, Construction and Building Materials, 2013, no. 40, pp. 719–728.
Milica Arsenovic, Zeljko Lalic, Zagorka Ra-dojevic. Clay Brick Walls Thermal Properties, Interna-tional Journal of Modern Manufacturing Technolo-gies, 2010, vol. II, no. 1.
Bwayo E., Obwoya S.K. Coefficient of Ther-mal Diffusivity of Insulation Brick Developed from Sawdust and Clays, Department of Physics, Kyambo-go University, Kyambogo, Kampala, Uganda, 2014.
Paulo B. Lourenço, Francisco M. Fernandes, Fernando Castro. Handmade Clay Bricks: Chemical, physical and mechanical properties. International Journal of Architectural Heritage. 2010. 4 (1), pp. 38–58.
