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Influence of particle grading on the hygromechanical properties of hypercompacted earth

Cuccurullo, Alessia; Gallipoli, Domenico; Bruno, Agostino Walter; Augarde, Charles; Hughes, Paul; La Borderie, Christian

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Authors

Alessia Cuccurullo

Domenico Gallipoli

Agostino Walter Bruno

Christian La Borderie



Abstract

Civil engineering research is increasingly focusing on the development of sustainable and energy-efficient building materials. Among these materials, raw (unfired) earth constitutes a promising option for reducing the environmental impact of buildings over their entire service life from construction to demolition. Raw earth has been used since old times but only recently has acquired prominence in mainstream building practice. This is mainly because of the development of novel methods to enhance the mechanical, hygroscopic and durability properties of compacted earth without increasing carbon and energy footprints. In this context, the present paper studies the dependency of the strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability of compacted earth on particle grading. Results indicate that the particle size distribution is a key variable in defining the hygromechanical characteristics of compacted earth. The effect of the particle size distribution on the hygromechanical properties of compacted earth may be as important as that of dry density or stabilisation. This study suggests that a fine and well-graded earth mix exhibits higher levels of strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability than a coarse and poorly-graded one.

Citation

Cuccurullo, A., Gallipoli, D., Bruno, A. W., Augarde, C., Hughes, P., & La Borderie, C. (2020). Influence of particle grading on the hygromechanical properties of hypercompacted earth. Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation, 5(1), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-019-0066-4

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 9, 2019
Online Publication Date Nov 23, 2019
Publication Date Dec 31, 2020
Deposit Date Nov 27, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation
Print ISSN 2365-3159
Electronic ISSN 2365-3167
Publisher Springer
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Issue 1
Article Number 2
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s41024-019-0066-4

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Copyright Statement
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativeco
mmons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate
credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the
Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.





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