To stabilize, or not to stabilize?

Abstrakt

In recent years, earth-based materials have garnered increasing attention in the construction industry due to their sustainable nature; however, the incorporation of stabilizers to enhance their mechanical properties has been a topic of debate within the scientific community. Consequently, conducting further experiments becomes imperative in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the influence of stabilizers on the properties of earth-based materials.
To study the recyclability of stabilized earth, a dropping cylinder test to evaluate the yield stress and a compression test to evaluate the strength was performed in three cycles. A strong decrease in these properties was found after the first cycle. This decrease could be understood by looking at the chemical reactions that take place within lime stabilized clay.
With the aim of understanding the environmental impact of stabilized earth, samples were placed in accelerated carbonation conditions (10% CO2 for two weeks). Through thermogravimetric and mass spectrometric analysis the substantial amount of CO2 up-take was quantified.
Both these sets of experiments were performed with two mix designs where the first was specifically designed for 3D-printing and the second had an increased lime content.