Professional Documents
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MUD
MUD IS A LIQUID OR SEMI LIQUID OF WATER AND SOME COMBINATION OF SOIL, SILT AND CLAY. ANCIENT MUD DEPOSITS HARDEN OVER GEOLOGICAL TIME TO FORM SILTSTONE OR SOLID, MUDROCK LUTITES. WHEN GEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS OF MUD ARE FORMED IN ESTUARIES THE RESULTANT LAYERS ARE TERMED BAY MUDS. MUD IS CLOSELY RELATED TO SLURRY AND SEDIMENT. MUD, IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, REFERS TO WET PLASTER, STUCCO, CEMENT OR OTHER SIMILAR SUBSTANCES. MUD IS SIMILAR TOMUCK, BUT LACKING SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF HUMUS, AND OFTEN CONTAINING HIGHER PROPORTIONS OF SAND.
CLASSIFICATION
THE MAIN CLASSIFICATION SCHEME USED BROADLY SEPARATES THE MUD INTO 3 CATEGORIES BASED ON THE MAIN COMPONENT THAT MAKES UP THE MUD: 1)WATER BASED MUD (WBM). THIS CAN BE SUB DIVIDED INTO DISPERSED AND NON-DISPERSED 2)NON AQUEOUS OR MORE COMMONLY OIL BASED MUD (OBM) THIS ALSO INCLUDES SYNTHETIC OILS (SBM). 3)GASEOUS OR PNEUMATIC MUD.
COB
RAMMED EARTH
ADOBE
STABILIZED BLOCKS
COB
A LARGE LUMP OF CLAY IS ROUGHLY MOULDED INTO A BALL A ROW OF THESE COBS OF MUD ARE NEATLY PLACED SIDE BY SIDE SIDES ARE SMOOTHENED AFTER 3 OR 4 LAYERS
COB
For cob construction you mix straw and often small gravel into a sandy soil. You form the mixture into lumps or cobs, which you then throw on to the wall and stamp or work into the previous layer. The rough surface is later trimmed up, and usually rendered to give a smooth surface. The result is often a softly undulating surface, which can follow whatever shape you choose to build into the wall. Cob builds extra thick or curved walls easily, and it is common for them to taper inwards towards the top. This technique is also very shrinkage sensitive and a mixture has to be found that minimises shrinkage. Because of the comparative lack of modern experience in New Zealand with cob, it is included in the Earth Building Standards only as an informative section, so careful analysis of materials and design is required.
RAMMED EARTH(pise)
AN IMPROVED TECHNIQUE COMPARED TO COB & IT REGULARISES THE THICKNESS & IS MORE COMPRESSED STIFF MUD IS THROWN IN BETWEEN TWO PARALLEL PLANKS HELD TOGETHER AND RAMMED DOWN USING A RAM ROD IT IS BETTER TO FOLLOW A BONDING PATTERN THE THICKNESS OF THESE WALLS ARE AROUND 600mm BUT RECENTLY WALLS BUILT FROM EARTH STABILISED WITH CEMENT ARE AROUND 300 mm
RAMMED EARTH
RAMMED EARTH BUILDINGS ARE COMMON IN ARID REGIONS WHERE WOOD IS SCARCE . IT INVOLVES A PROCESS OF COMPRESSING A DAMP MIXTURE OF EARTH THAT HAS SUITABLE PROPORTIONS OF SAND, GRAVEL AND CLAY. TRADITIONAL STABILIZERS SUCH AS LIME OR ANIMAL BLOOD WERE USED TO STABILIZE THE MATERIAL, BUT CEMENT HAS BEEN THE STABILIZER OF CHOICE FOR MODERN TIMES. IN MODERN VARIATIONS OF THE METHOD THE RAMMED EARTH WALLS ARE CONSTRUCTED ON TOP OF CONVENTIONAL FOOTINGS OR A REINFORCED CONCRETE BASE.
RAMMED EARTH
Rammed earth walls are constructed by ramming a mixture of earth, with gravel, sand, silt and clay, into place between formwork. Ramming is done with manual or mechanical rammers. Sand is added to most soils to reduce shrinkage which can otherwise be a problem. Stabilised rammed earth has 5-10% cement added to give extra strength and durability. they can be stuccoed, plastered painted or left natural and sealed to better waterproofing them.
RAMMED EARTH
The mixture must be carefully mixed and almost dry. The formwork can be removed immediately after the wall is finished. Earth buildings should not contain any organic matter. This will rot, allowing mould and fungi to grow, and also weakening the structure. Rammed earth walls are limited to the shapes that can be built with your removable shuttering External walls are usually 30cm thick, and internal walls may be 20cm. Curved walls are possible but need more expensive formwork. The appearance of rammed earth walls depends on the materials used. It often has a stratified look caused by the ramming process.
THIS SYSTEM USES MUD AS A PLASTER TO COVER THIN PANELS OF CANE/SPLIT BAMBOO THAT ARE WOVEN TOGETHER AND HELD IN PLACE BY POLES
SUPERADOBE
Super Adobe is a form of Earthbag Construction that was developed by Iranian architect Nader Khalili. The technique utilizes long snake-like sand bags to form a beehive shaped compressive structure that employs arches, domes, and vaults to create single and doublecurvature shell structures that are strong and aesthetically pleasing. It has received growing interest for the past two decades in the Natural building and Sustainability movements. Due to Super Adobes inexpensive nature, ease in construction, and use of locally available materials, it has also been proposed for use as a long term emergency shelter. Super Adobe is also known as Superadobe, and Superblock.
PRESSED EARTH
One of the more modern additions to the earth building scene, dating from last century, the making of compressed earth bricks in manually or engine-operated presses is now a widespread practice around the world. make the bricks from a dry mix, often stabilised with up to 10% cement. The compression given by the machine compacts the soil particles together to make dense regular shaped bricks, usually around 300 x 300 x 130mm in size. Most presses will enable some variety of shapes to be made so holes for reinforcing and rebates for window jambs can be preformed, but bricks of a different size are usually difficult to produce. You can produce the bricks on-site using a manual ram, or buy them from a manufacturer
PRESSED EARTH
Being hard, dense and regular, earth bricks can be laid up very precisely to form geometric shapes, or laid more loosely depending on the aesthetic results required. These bricks are the nearest things in earth building to concrete blocks in design and finish considerations. You can sometimes use a sand/cement/earth mix for the mortar, although often a mix of hydrated lime, cement and sand performs better.
SUMMARY
Cost
Earth building uses inexpensive materials but is very labor intensive. It is more cost effective to have a source of suitable earth on-site. Earth buildings can last a very long time and generally require very little maintenance as long as they are not exposed to driving rain. To provide this protection, overhanging eaves or verandahs are needed. In general, earth buildings are very strong in compression, but not so strong in tension. Earth walls can be reinforced to withstand earthquake loads and are fire resistant and vermin resistant
Strength