Context Presentation

To mitigate the global worming related to the human activities’ greenhouse gas emissions, the so far industrial model has to be profoundly rethought. In the construction sector, ecofriendly constructions materials are gaining increasing interest as alternative to cement concrete. Unfired earth material is thus promoted thanks to its accessibility, its social, economic, and hygrothermal benefits. In the project neOCampus, our work is conducted at the Laboratory of Materials and Durability of Constructions (LMDC). The main goal is to develop unfired earth-based materials for use in potential reconstructions in the Université Paul Sabatier’s campus. Two main challenges are addressed: achieve sufficient mechanical strengths and mitigate risks related to potential water damages. To that purpose, soils from Toulouse area are stabilized with mineral binders (cement and hydrated lime) on the one hand and with organic binders (biopolymers from plants’ and animals’ byproducts) on the other hand. Unlike the modern industrial practices, a few amount of the mineral binders are used to limit their CO2 footprint. Various organic products are tested to identify the promising candidates for earth stabilization.

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Figure 1: Specimens for the performances (mechanical and hygrothermal) tests

Scientific Goals

- Achieve sufficient mechanical strengths and water resistance,

- Use environmentally friendly stabilization with organic binders and mineral binders,

Keywords

Construction materials, unfired earth, water resistance, mechanical strengths, ecofriendly stabilization.

Contacts

Kouka Amed Jérémy OUEDRAOGO kouedrao@insa-toulouse.fr LMDCJean-Emmanuel AUBERT jean-emmanuel.aubert@univ-tlse3.fr LMDCGilles ESCADEILLAS gilles.escadeillas@univ-tlse3.fr LMDCChristelle TRIBOUT christelle.tribout@univ-tlse3.fr LMDC