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Green Smart Town Planning
Published in Pradeep Tomar, Gurjit Kaur, Green and Smart Technologies for Smart Cities, 2019
Yaman Parasher, Prabhjot Singh, Gurjit Kaur
Despite a number of technologically advanced green alternatives that are available for the development of a green infrastructure (Mell 2010), old types of building materials can be sometimes used in towns and be quite useful in the long run. One example is using cob for building green energy concept houses. Cob is a mixture of sand, water and loam and is used in building diverse architectures; it not only provides strength but also conserves the energy within the structure. Such types of houses automatically adjust moisture levels and maintain heat in winter and coolness in summer (Goodhew and Griffiths 2005). If the roof is large enough and the foundations are high (to prevent water stagnation near the walls), these houses have proved to be extremely durable in such situations. These alternatives would fit better in towns, where cheaper means of construction are necessary to move towards a sustainable approach. It could definitely turn out to be a new form of housing, blending energy efficiency with cultural aesthetic values.
Bio-Based Building Materials for a Green and Sustainable Environment
Published in V. Sivasubramanian, Bioprocess Engineering for a Green Environment, 2018
A. Thirunavukkarasu, R. Nithya, R. Sivashankar, A.B. Sathya
The corn cob, a residual of corn plants and the corn processing industry, can be used as a sustainable material because it is nonedible feedstock. In addition to corn and corn stalks, corn cob is in general treated as agricultural waste, and it is necessary to manage these solid wastes. Until now, burning has been the only option for farms to get rid of corn cobs, but this contributes negatively to the environment. (Pinto et al. 2011) identified that some Portuguese tabique buildings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries used corn cobs and earth as filling materials. Hence, corn cobs could be effectively managed as an alternative sustainable building material in the construction sector. The study found the thermal properties of the corn cob made it suitable to use as an insulation material. In addition, significant similarities were found with polystyrene in terms of microstructure and chemical composition (Pinto et al. 2012). Further studies were described to assess corn cobs’ micro- and macrostructure, water absorption, fire resistance, and thermal insulation. The assessed characteristics were comparable to the most conventional insulation materials such as cork and expanded clay. These results suggest that corn cobs may be used as thermal insulating products, light partition walls, ceiling coating, indoor doors, furniture, and so on, thus contributing to a more environmentally friendly building industry.
In-plane shear behaviour of earthen materials panels strengthened with polyester fabric strips
Published in Koen Van Balen, Els Verstrynge, Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions: Anamnesis, Diagnosis, Therapy, Controls, 2016
L. Miccoli, P. Fontana, U. Müller
Earthen buildings represent an important part of cultural heritage. Indeed earthen materials are some of the oldest construction materials, and perhaps the least understood in terms of its strength and deformation properties. Historical earthen architecture in earthquake areas is particularly vulnerable to damage and destruction during seismic events due to their low strength and all too often poor state of condition. The intent of this paper is to report on the mechanical behaviour of strengthened earthen panels under diagonal compression. The types of panels considered in the presented experimental campaign are earth block masonry (EBM) panels and monolithic rammed earth (RE) and cob panels. The three above mentioned building techniques are completely different concerning the materials and the way in how the panels were prepared. The goal of the experiments was to test the strengthening effectiveness in terms of shear strength and displacement capacity. RE is a special earthen technique utilising formwork for the construction. Cob is a mixture of earth and plant fibres. The largest particle size of the earth usually does not exceed the sand fraction. The amount of fibres usually is between 20 and 30 kg/m3 of fresh cob, the fibre length usually is 30-50 cm The earth is mixed with water to a plastic consistency and then the straw fibres are
Dynamic Testing of Seismic Resistant Cob Structure for Post-Earthquake Reconstruction
Published in Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 2021
Muhammad Masood Rafi, Sarosh Hashmat Lodi, Saad Ahmed Qazi
The employed model was based on the prototype buildings proposed for reconstruction in earthquake-affected areas. A one-third scale model made of cob material was employed owing to the size limitation of the shaking table (Fig. 3). Cob is a naturally occurring earthen building material that is made of clay, sand, natural fibers (straw), and water. Local soil and craftsmen were used for the construction of the model so as to keep the variations in the model construction to a minimum. The mixing of cob materials (soil, straw, and water) was done in the lab. The construction of walls was carried over five consecutive days in small heights to allow the wall to stabilize under its own weight each day. The height and thickness of the wall were taken as 1.1 m and 150 mm, respectively, which were one-third of the wall dimensions in the prototype buildings proposed for reconstruction in Awaran. As different types of roofs are generally employed in the region, the roof was not made part of the model testing to allow flexibility in its selection during the construction on site. However, the roof beams that are needed to support the roof coverings were used in the model. These were also scaled to comply with the size requirements for the model. The total weight of the model comes out to be 4.63 tons. The wall/floor surface area ratio for the prototype and the model came out to be 2.08 and 2.22, respectively. Small differences are owing to the fixing of foundation of the model to suit the holes on the table top.
Circumstances contributing to the deterioration of old cob structures in Japan
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2022
Emily K. Reynolds, Muramoto Makoto
Universally, cob is made of earth (clay/sand/silt), aggregate, and – often – straw. Japan has its own unique ways of working with cob, the use of which appears split into two categories: perimeter walls built professionally, and agricultural structures, or sheds, built by local farmers. In this study, we begin with verifying who exactly built these cob structures. If indeed the cob structures are built by amateurs, then studying the deterioration circumstances of these structures provides insight into the worst-case-scenario structural characteristics of cob walls.
Thermal performance exploration of 3D printed cob
Published in Architectural Science Review, 2019
Mohamed Gomaa, Jim Carfrae, Steve Goodhew, Wassim Jabi, Alejandro Veliz Reyes
Cob is a sustainable material as compared with concrete, requires very limited resources to be sourced, mixed and constructed (Benardos, Athanasiadis, and Katsoulakos 2014). Moreover, Hamard et al. (2016) and Wanek, Smith, and Kennedy (2015) have demonstrated that re-using cob will have building performance and financial benefits, while it complies with modern UK building regulations.