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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882

Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016

Structural and Thermal Monitoring of Sustainable Housing with Poured


Earth Walls
Yolanda G. Aranda-Jimnez1, Jos A. Espuna-Mujica1, Edgardo J. Suarez-Domnguez2
1

FADU. Universidad Autnoma de Tamaulipas. Circuito interior S/N Campus Tampico-Madero. Tampico,
Tamaulipas. Mxico. yaranda@uat.edu.mx
2
Centro de Investigacin Aplicada y Tecnolgica. Circuito Golfo de Mxico 200, Prticos de Miramar, CP
89506 Cd. Madero, Tamaulipas. Mxico.
ABSTRACT
The present work is intended to expose different results
obtained by the structural and thermal monitoring from
the study of an earth building; prototype of sustainable
housing designed for the city of Tampico, Tamaulipas at
Mexico that includes walls and slab characterization. A
study of thermal characteristics of the same prototype
and a mathematical model from the heat capacity,
density, and diffusivity constants taking into a count the
dimensional characteristics of the material engaging
such results was also developed. It was found poured
earth walls of 0.25 m thick, have not presented structural
problems during the monitoring time of nine months to
date, likewise, nor deterioration or disintegration and
have endured the inclement winter and two weeks of
continuous rain. Regarding the slab, it was found that it
is advisable that for bamboo-crete based system
thickness can be increased, fibers and additives can be
added to enhance its behavior. 0.20 m thick walls,
presented differences of over 10 C between the exterior
and interior temperature in the maximum values of
detected temperatures. In the slabs case of 7 cm thick,
similar results are obtained. Theoretical profile of
temperature in the transient has a sinusoidal behavior.
Keywords: poured
structural monitoring

earth,

thermal

transmittance,

I. INTRODUCTION
More than a third of the world population lives on earth
housing. There are several building systems for the
Architecture of raw earth, dividing itself in three great
groups: monolithic walls, masonry and mixed systems.
Poured earth is an ancestral technique and scarcely
researched within the group of monolithic systems (1,2).
This technique is very similar to rammed earth, therefore
some of the fundamentals that govern it were taken (3).
Same as rammed earth, poured earth technique requires a

formwork, but the mixture is composed by clay, sand,


silt and stone material, and results in a more plastic state
to form a wall and does not compact itself.
To prove the hypothesis that it is viable to construct
bearing walls with this system sponsored research by
CONACYT-MYNCIT was conducted, called: Poured
Earth. Green Concrete. Study of the component
materials, their dosage, into action and the application in
two contexts (4). Given that one of the main foes of
Earth Architecture are water and earthquakes (5) several
papers have been made during this research on durability
under the waterjet, according to the New Zealand
Standard NZS 4298/2008 6271 428 24127 (6). Other
tests performed were those of compression using a load
frame for the various types of walls, supported by
previous research (7). Where afterwards and following
this research, a project called Experimental prototype of
sustainable housing in 2012 was realized, whose
primary objective was to construct a housing based on
poured earth walls and the slab of bamboo-crete, was
finished on late May of 2013, based on the experience
that Patrice Doat (8) describes in Zeralda, Algeria and in
some houses in Petropolis, Brasil. In this way, beginning
with (4) and (8) experimental about monitoring is
presented in this work.
Other problem that was faced during both researches
was the lack of standards in Mexico, therefore it was
resorted to the legislation form other countries to
validate the research (9).
Results are accompanied with a mathematical model to
explain behavior found.
METHOD
The measurements took place regularly with plumb-line
and tape measure.

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016

The poured earth walls were monitored where the


appearance of small fissures was observed in the corners
of the window, as can be seen in picture 1, due to cold
joints of the casting of the walls. Such fissures are not
considered structural cracks for their form, direction and
dimension, nor is the work of the wall compromised, so
that the bearing walls are considered in good shape.
Misalignments due to the load of the slab werent
presented.
An important point to mention is that, to date, the poured
earth walls have not suffered deterioration nor
disintegration and have endured satisfactorily the
inclement winter as in two weeks of continuous rain, on
December 2013, and the summer showers due to tropical
storms, June-July 2014.

Diagram 1- Graphical Description of the Monitoring by


Means of the Witnesses to Corroborate the Deflection of the
Slab. Development: Arch. Aranda.

Monitoring readings are presented in the next table:

Picture 1: Fissure located on the main faade of the


experimental housing, on the superior area of the span of the
window. Source: Arch. Aranda PhD. 2014

For properties determination in materials (10) was used.


A. Structural monitoring of the slab: Method:
observation and witness with measurements.
Due to the fact that both materials, bamboo and
lightweight concrete present different contractions and
expansions, it has been decided to leave a countershaft
of 0.05 m before casting to avoid deflection, even
though the slab has inclination.
The witnesses, which were made of nylon placed in
parallel sense to the slab, coming out of the walls, below
this in the same distance, were placed according to the
following sketches:
Location of the witnesses for measurement of the
deflection.

Picture 2. Placement of the witness on the slab of the


experimental housing. Source: Arch. Aranda PhD.

B. Temperature Monitoring
The temperature was registered during 9 months. For
effects of the present work, the monitoring of the month
of August is presented. On figure 1 are shown the points
where the interior and exterior superficial temperature of
the vertical elements and the slab were measured, for
which a Data-logger brand Hobbo On set Model U-12
equipment with thermocouples input, with the purpose
of measure temperature.

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016

Figure 1.- Plan of the poured earth housing. The points


indicate the position of the Hobbos for the temperature
measurement

II. RESULTS
A. Results in the housing prototype (pilot level).
Figure 2 presents the temperature results of the outer and
inside face of the slab.

Figure 3 - Temporary behavior of the temperature for a


wall in the sun west side a) exterior face, b) interior face
y c) ambient interior. The x axis corresponds to the
time in 0.5 hours and the y axis to the temperature in
C.
It can be observed that the differences between the
interior and exterior temperature was of approximately
8C. Nevertheless, for the walls not engaged was of
approximately 3 C.
In the western wall, the censor was located on the
bedroom as observed in Figure 1. The temperature
differential should imply an energy saving to maintain
comfort within the housing.
However, its important to highlight the proximity of the
value of the temperature in the interior faces of the wall
and the indoor air temperature, for the thickness of the
wall equal to 0.25 m should, according to the
experimental results of the cylinders, take longer time to
transfer heat to the interior face.

Figure 2- Field study of a slab of 0.08 m thick on the


month of August of 2013.
Temperatures of the month of August 2013 are presented
because its the month with the highest temperatures
registered in the city of Tampico, Tamaulipas.
For the slab it has been found that the thermal delay is of
approximately 60 minutes and a difference between the
interior and exterior temperature up to 12C. The
sensibility of the measurement of the temperature was of
0.5C.
Figure 3 presents the results obtained for the western
wall, that was the most engaged in the experiment
because it received the sun rays for the longest time.

Apparently the interior face of the wall presents a higher


heating not due to the one transferred by conduction but
by interior convection.
The applied heat was determined by the Fourier
equation:

q y k

dT
dy

By determining the temperature behavior regarding the


distance y , which corresponded to the depth of the
measurement, the profile with which the temperature
gradient

dT
is obtained can be determined.
dy

The correspondent value for the material that composed


the wall was of 0.71 Wm-1 K-1 that was found below the
known value for concrete structures.

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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016

On the other hand the results for temporary temperature


measurement on the hottest days of the month of August
(and whose graphics were placed previously) were
proved with the model:

T B sin (t C

Where T , B ,

, and C are the temperature, the

amplitude, angular frequency, phase shift and vertical


shift.
It has been found that the widest range corresponded to
the sunny side exterior temperature and that it obtained
maximum and minimum values of 47C and 23C,
accordingly to a vertical shift, therefore, the average is of
approximately 35C.
Our results are similar to presented in (11) and (12),
although Hall, M.R. et.al. made their experiments with
rammed earth walls.
B. Result Discussion and Recommendations.
Final commentaries to the structural monitoring of the
slab.
As seen in the witness measurements, the slab deflected
during the casting and the first week and then it
maintained.
Recommendations for the slab:

Keep a minimum countershaft of 5 cm.


Do not leave clearings over 3 meters. Introduce
a middle bearing preferably made of bamboo to
keep continuity to the slab.
Cast with light rock aggregates such as tezontle.
Use materials such as synthetic fibers to avoid
temperature cracks.
Use waterproof cement and/or integral
waterproofing.
Continue testing the slabs of the material
bamboo-crete.

C. Temperature monitoring reflections:


After registering the exterior temperature for a long time
and measuring a delay time of approximately 1 hour for
the slab, it was observed that deviations between the real
exterior temperature and the interior temperature of the
walls existed, whose thickness was little more than three
times greater. The dominant mechanism of heat

transference in solids is conduction, nonetheless the slab


heating (whose thickness, as observed, is less than the
walls) transfers heat to the present air within the studied
space. Therefore, the interior face of the wall can
increase its temperature by means of convection with the
gaseous medium with which its in contact before doing
it by conduction. So, even though a wall its not exposed
to the sun it can have a higher temperature than the
exterior.
Even with the previously mentioned, its seen that for
the cases of higher or lower exterior temperature
comfortable temperatures are kept on the inside.
The structural study and the heat transmittance analysis
are relevant for the relation with the security, durability
and comfort levels that are found within a building.

REFERENCES
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International Journal of Scientific Research Engineering & Technology (IJSRET), ISSN 2278 0882
Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2016

[7] Vasilios Maniatidis V., Walker P (2008). Structural


Capacity Of Rammed Earth In Compression; Journal Of
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[8] Doat, P., Hays, A., et. al (1990). Construir con
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[9] Cid J., Mazarrn F.R., Caas I. (2011). Las
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[10] Norma Neozenlandesa NZS 4298/2008 6271 428
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