Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

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Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Characterization of a stabilized earth concrete and the effect of

incorporation of aggregates of cork on its thermo-mechanical properties:
Experimental study and modeling
Mohamed Bachar a, Lakhdar Azzouz b, Mohamed Rabehi a,c,, Bouzidi Mezghiche c
a
b
c

Civil Engineering Department, University of Djelfa, 17000 Djelfa, Algeria

Civil Engineering Department, University of Laghouat, 03000 Laghouat, Algeria
Research Laboratory Civil Engineering, University of Biskra, 07000 Biskra, Algeria

h i g h l i g h t s

g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

 Effect of aggregates of cork on the

thermo-mechanical properties of CEB.

 Mechanical strength decreases but

acceptable with increasing content of

cork.
 Some analytical models are used for
comparison of experimental results.
 The energy consumption for thermal
comfort can be reduced.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 16 May 2014
Received in revised form 26 August 2014
Accepted 23 September 2014
Available online 12 November 2014
Keywords:
Compression strength
Tensile strength
Maximum dry density
Thermal conductivity
Soil stabilization
Aggregates of cork
Thermal insulation

a b s t r a c t
In this paper, mechanical and thermal properties of compressed earth blocks stabilized (soilsand dune
cement) with and without aggregates of cork have been studied, with the use of some models that predict
thermal conductivity for comparison of experimental results. The rst part highlights the inuence of the
percentage by weight of cement and of sand dune on the maximum dry density, optimum moisture content and mechanical resistance. The results showed that mass content of 30% sand dune and 12% cement
signicantly improves these properties more in the wet conditions than dry, and therefore gives the optimal mixture (58% of soil30% of sand dune 12% of cement). However, the composite materials used for
building must present sufcient mechanical strength to be suitable for constructions. For that the optimal
composition has undergone a static compaction (2.557.510 MPa) thus showing further improvement
on the same properties. Incorporating the aggregates of cork (3/8) in the optimal mixture, improves signicantly the thermal performance with little inuence of compaction, while remaining within the range
of acceptable strength. Lastly the study was extended to the search for theory capable of predicting the
effective thermal conductivity of a dry blend considered like a two-phase system, which shows that linear model and some theoretical models give the best concordance with experimental results.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Corresponding author at: Civil Engineering Department, University of Djelfa,

17000 Djelfa, Algeria.
E-mail addresses: bachargc@gmail.com (M. Bachar), l.azzouz@mail.lagh-univ.dz
(L.
Azzouz),
rahmoh_m@yahoo.fr
(M.
Rabehi),
mezghichebm@yahoo.fr
(B. Mezghiche).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.09.106
0950-0618/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Environmental concerns can discover the qualities of earth
material. Its use is not involved in the depletion of resources and
increased pollution (water, air, soil) and waste, biological changes.

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

This material has become more and more economically competitive because of raw material availability and simplicity in the production process. Soil stabilization with hydraulic binders was
started in 1917 and that many researchers focused their research
in this direction [113]. The hardening of the soil is generally
affected by the cement hydrates in the presence of water to form
complex carbohydrates. The cement induces the consolidation
(creation of a skeleton) that coats the grains and opposes the
movement of the material. The main reactions taking place in the
consolidation of the cement itself between the stabilizer and the
sand fraction of the earth. However, side reactions are observed
between the stabilizer and the clay fraction of soil. The clay acts
on the effectiveness of the stabilization process and modies the
mechanical behavior of the earth. Several studies have investigated
the behavior of stabilized earth blocks facing a number of physical
constraints. And the effect of the type of cement that presents a
level of reactive silica, plays a vital role in reducing the porosity
and consuming a portlandite generated by the selected cement,
This is conrmed by [1416], different hydrates responsible for
the hardening of the cement that bind the clay particles to form
a solid block [1,17,19], and also the mechanical strength increases
with the gradual addition of cement [7,8]. A study by Guettala et al.
[20] shows the effect of the mass of sand and a content of 30%
affects positively the mechanical strength for 30% of sand in dry
medium and a 36% in wet. Venkatarama Reddy et al. [21] also show
that the resistance changes signicantly with the dry density, and
that it operates independently of the content of water and cement;
But many authors restrict the dry density in the range of 1500
2000 kg/m3 and determined according to the standard procedure
as ASTM C 140 and BS 1924-2 (1990) standard and others
[1,15,22,23]. The compressive strength and the dry density, change
with the increase of the static compacting [1,17,18]. One of the
major concerns of a designer is to provide a well-insulated building
providing comfort at the least cost to the user both in winter and
summer. Bahar et al. [1] proclaimed in a study that the addition
of cement and sand may slightly decrease the conductivity of the
brick; however; moisture increases the thermal conductivity of
the sample relative to its dry state [1,17]. In the same way Meukam
et al. [24,25] show that the thermal conductivity signicantly
increases with the content of the water in mixture. Indeed,
increased the wetting of materials, results a replacement the pores
progressive of air by the water. Several studies have been made on
the integration aggregates of cork in cement and plaster to obtain a
best thermally insulating [2630]. Based on the experiences
reported by Castro et al. [31,32], the concrete blocks containing
cork exhibit a reduction in the thermal conductivity rate of 45% relative to the blocks without cork. Panesar et al. [33,34], also show
that the thermal conductivity is affected by the bulk density of
the composite of cork that provides additional volume in void.
The apparent thermal conductivity of porous material depends
on many parameters; the thermal conductivities of the solid and
uid, the degree of porosity, the size, shape and distribution of
the pores. The thermal study of a sample of porous materials
requires good knowledge of the microstructure on the one hand
and on the other hand has the analytical or numerical tools for processing data required. There are analytical models considered predictions tools developed to understand the heat transfer
mechanisms in the multiphasiques middles. These should allow
the incorporation of the microstructure (particle shape, the contact
areas) and the microstructure (boundary conditions, porosity).
Many analytical models are used to calculate the apparent thermal
conductivity of materials biphasic according to the solid middle
and uid of the two present phases and also of their porosity and
their compactness. The actual thermal conductivity of the medium
and whatever the model used, is always between two extreme values, the lower bound (series model) is an environment where the

vector density of heat ow is perpendicular to the layers and the

upper bound (parallel model) corresponds to an arrangement of
layers parallel to the direction of the density of heat ow. [35].
Bensenouci et al. [36] adopt a thermal model of a concrete pozzolan on two approaches by comparing the experimental results with
those obtained by theoretical calculation. Some prediction models
are used by many authors and generally are HashinShtrikman
[37] and Krischer and Kroll [38]. Willy and Soutwik [39] and Maxwell [40]; by homogenization self-consistent [41] and others. This
paper therefore aimed to study the inuence of the addition of
aggregates of cork on the mechanical and physical properties after
optimization of the mixture (soilsandcement) and their effects
on the thermal behavior; a comparison of experimental results
with some prediction models will be well studied by observing
the correlation between the results.
2. Experimental program
2.1. Materials
The soil used in this investigation was sourced from the Djelfa region which was
rst passed through a 5 mm sieve before being characterized. Table 1 summarizes
the characteristics of the soil used. Fig. 1 gives the grading curve of the soil used.
Composite cement (CEM II/B) class 42.5 MPa with 35% to limestone llers was used
for the chemical stabilization of soil. The clinker is from the cement factory of
Msila. The chemical analysis of clinker shows that it is in conformity with standard
NFP 15-301. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of clinker are presented
in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. The sand used was ne sand dune passing a 0.63 mm
sieve from the Djelfa region. Table 4 also shows some physical characteristics of the
studied sand dune. The grading curve of sand dune is given in Fig. 1. Cork granules
from waste in sawing plates compressed cork at the factory located in Jijel region,
these wastes are then separated according to the different sizes using sieves. Table 5
shows some characteristics of the studied cork granules. The grading curve of the
cork granules 3/8 mm is given in Fig. 1. The water is drinking water that contains
little sulfate and having a temperature of 20 2 C. Its quality conforms to the
requirements of NFP 18-404 standard.
2.2. Testing method, proportions of mixtures and the specimens preparation
An experimental program was carried out to studying in parallel the effect of
different percentages of sand dune 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% by
mass relative to soil and the inuence of the chemical stabilization by cement
addition 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 12% by mass relative to soil on the physic-mechanical properties of the various mixtures. We have prepared fty-six formulations without compaction and without the incorporation of the aggregates of
cork. The details of the mixtures proportions are given in Table 6. After this we
have determined the optimal composition (soilsand dunecement). Subsequently, we studied the inuence of the mechanical stabilization by static compaction for four levels of applied stresses 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10MPa on the
mechanical properties, maximum dry density and thermal conductivity the mixture already optimized in the rst part, well as the effect of the curing methods(dry-humid) on the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of
optimized mixture. Finally, we evaluated the effect of the incorporation of the
mass contents of the cork granules 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 12% relative to soil

Table 1
Characteristics of the soil used.
Property
Atterbergs limits

Liquid limit WL
Plasticity index Ip

70.4
43.2

Grain size distribution

Gravel (>4.75 mm) (%)

Sand (0.0744.75 mm) (%)
Clay and silt (<0.074 mm) (%)

2.3
6.4
91.3

Chemical characteristics

Iron oxide-alumina (%) (Fe2O3Al2O3)

Carbonate CaCO3 (%)
Chloride NaCl (%)
Sulfates CaSO4 (%)
Insoluble residue IR (%)

14.6
33.0
0.15
0.20
42.2

Normalized Proctor test

Optimum water content (%)

Maximum dry density (kg/m3)

9.0
1680

Sand equivalent

By piston test (%)

By sight (%)

14.8
17.6

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

specimens were demolded 1 min after the completion of the compaction and
were stored in two environments (in the free air and wet wrapped in thin plastic
lm). We have thought to the treatment of aggregates of cork before addition in
the earth concrete stabilized and compressed. The treatment is a supercial cover
to the cement selected from the literature [42]. The aggregates of cork are coated
with a cement milk (cement + water) and allowed to dry completely before their
use so that the aggregates of cork do not absorb water during incorporation in
the cement-stabilized compressed earth blocks.

100

Percentage passing (%)

Soil
Dune sand (0/0.63)
Cork aggregates (3/8)

80

60

2.3. Tests conducted

40
2.3.1. Proctor compaction test
The Proctor test is used to determine the optimal water content that leads to the
maximum density. This test uses a soil sample with less than 4.76 mm (sieve no. 4)
to which an increasing water content is added. The soil sample is compressed into
three layers with 25 blows per layer. Proctor standard compaction test, according to
BS 1377-1990: Part 4 [43] was applied to determine the maximum dry density
(MDD) and the optimal water content (OWC) of soil.

20

0
1E-4

1E-3

0,01

0,1

10

100

Sieve size (mm)

2.3.2. Static compaction test

Static compaction is obtained by applying a static pressure. The oedometric
mold enables the production of the cylindrical specimens under an axial stress
which can vary from 2.5 to 10 MPa. It consists of two half-shells xed to an outer
shaft and two lower pistons (xed) and upper (mobile). This mold 100  100 mm
is movable along its axis independently of the two pistons to ensure compaction
symmetrical relative to the median plane and horizontal spread between the friction material and the walls along the entire height of the sample.

Fig. 1. Grading curves of soil, the sand dune and the cork granules.

Table 2
Chemical composition of clinker (%).
SiO2

Al2O3

Fe2O3

CaO

MgO

SO3

Na2O

K2O

Cl

LOI

17.49

4.51

3.02

62.78

2.15

2.38

0.05

0.64

0.02

8.10

LOI: Loss on ignition.

Table 3
Mineralogical composition of clinker (%).
C3S

C2S

C3A

C4AF

55.41

13.65

2.25

14.83

on the mechanical properties, maximum dry density and the thermal conductivity, as well the effect of the curing methods (dry-humid) on the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of optimized mixture. In this study, the

2.3.3. Compressive strength test

The compressive strengths were measured by testing on the cylindrical specimens of 100 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height in accordance with the ASTM
D 1633-00 [44]. The compressive strength was determined at the ages of 7, 14,
28 and 90 days.
2.3.4. Tensile strength test
The tensile strength by splitting (Brazilian test) was measured by testing on the
cylindrical specimens with 100 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height in accordance with the ASTM 496-96 [45]. The tensile strength by splitting was determined
at the ages of 7, 14, 28 and 90 days.
2.3.5. Determination of porosity
To measure the porosity as a percentage of different compositions, the Eq. (1)
has been used that expresses the difference in weight between the oven-dry and
the water-saturated conditions.

Table 4
Physical characteristics of sand dune (0/0.63 mm).
Fineness
modulus

Apparent density
(kg/m3)

Specic density
(kg/m3)

Porosity
(%)

1.13

1491.13

2517

41

Sand equivalent
By sight (%)

By piston test (%)

97.58

96.58

Table 5
Characteristics of aggregates of cork (3/8 mm).
Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

Apparent density (kg/m3)

Specic density (kg/m3)

Porosity (%)

Absorption (%)

0.036

71

145

51

2.3

Table 6
Mixtures proportions.
Mixture (soilsand dunecement)

(100-p)% S + 0%
(90-p)% S + 10%
(80-p)% S + 20%
(70-p)% S + 30%
(60-p)% S + 40%
(50-p)% S + 50%
(40-p)% S + 60%
(30-p)% S + 70%

DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%
DS + p%

C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C

Water (%)
p = 0% cement

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

16.20
15.80
15.40
14.60
15.20
16.05
16.58
16.80

16.10
16.40
16.02
15.08
15.60
15.88
16.65
16.88

17.40
16.50
16.05
15.10
15.90
16.20
16.74
17.05

17.60
16.90
16.08
15.80
16.02
16.26
16.88
17.25

18.20
17.50
16.50
16.14
16.25
16.36
17.12
17.32

18.60
17.80
16.90
16.23
16.32
16.62
17.62
17.48

18.70
17.90
17.05
16.80
16.42
16.74
17.87
17.54

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

wssd  wd
 100
wssd  ww

Heat flux

where p is the porosity (100%), wssd is the specimen weight in the saturated surface
dry (SSD) condition (g), wd is the specimen dry weight after 24 h in oven (g), and ww
is the weight of saturated specimen (g). This method has been used to measure the
porosity of the cement-based materials successfully [4649].
2.3.6. Principle of measuring the thermal conductivity by the hot wire method
The hot wire method is a standard transient dynamic technique based on the
measurement of the temperature rise in a dened distance from a linear heat source
(hot wire) embedded in the test material; the device used for measuring the thermal conductivity is illustrated in Fig. 2. If the heat source is assumed to have a constant and uniform output along the length of test sample, the thermal conductivity
can be derived directly from the resulting change in the temperature over a known
time interval [50]. The hot wire probe method utilizes the principle of the transient
hot wire method. Here the heating wire as well as the temperature sensor (thermocouple) is encapsulated in a probe that electrically insulates the hot wire and the
temperature sensor from the test material [51]. The ideal mathematical model of
the method is based on the assumption that the hot wire is an ideal, innite thin
and long line heat source, which is in an innite surrounding from homogeneous
and isotropic material with constant initial temperature. If q is the constant quantity of heat production per unit time and per unit length of the heating wire
(W m1), initiated at the time t = 0, the radial heat ow around the wire occurs.
Then the temperature rise DT(r,t) at radial position r from the heat source conforms
to the simplied formula:

DTr; t

Heat flux

Fig. 4. Series model [35].

q
4at
In
4pk r2 C

where k is the thermal conductivity (W m1 K1), a thermal diffusivity (m2 s1)
(a qkC p , with r is the density (kg m3) and Cp the heat capacity (J kg1 K1) of the test
material and C = Exp (c), c = 0.5772157 is the Eulers constant. Eq. (2) is valid only
r2
when 4at
 1 is fullled, i.e. for a sufciently long time t larger than certain minimum
time tmin and for a small distance r. Thus the measurement of temperature rise
DT(r,t) as a function of time is employed to determine the thermal conductivity k,
by calculating the slope A of the linear portion of temperature relative to natural logarithm of the time (lnt) evolution from the following:

Fig. 3. Parallel model [35].

q
4pA

2.4. Some theoretical models for predicting the thermal conductivity

From the resolution of the energy equation, many calculation models of thermal
conductivity have been developed. The interest of this section is to expose some
models in the literature that can give good results for the calculation of the apparent thermal conductivity of heterogeneous media. It seems necessary to clarify that
the models we propose, are the two-phase media. The solid phase consists of a single phase represented by the solid particles. Moreover, the uid is represented
exclusively by pores lled with air.

kparallel a  ks e  kf

where kseries ; kparallel is the effective thermal conductivity in parallel and in series
respectively; kf is the thermal conductivity of the uid phase (W m1 K1); ks is
the thermal conductivity of the solid phase (W m1 K1); e is the porosity of the
medium (volume fraction of the uid phase); and a is the compactness of the middle
(volume fraction of the solid phase).
2.4.2. Hashin and Shtrikman [37]
Hashin and Shtrikman [37] give a model that frames for the values of thermal
conductivity of multiphase materials. In general, the lower limit of the conductivity
corresponds to the case where the inclusion, has higher thermal properties than
matrix (conversely, for the upper bound). These terminals are valid regardless of
the morphology of the inclusion phase of the material. Where kHS ; kHS the effective
thermal conductivity in upper and lower respectively.

kHS
a
1 1
kf
3e
ks
1

kseries

e
kf

1
kas

kf

kHS

ks

kf


1
1kks
f

2.4.1. Series and parallel model [35]

The rst-order model is a model which assumes that the temperature gradient
and heat ow are isotropic and homogeneous. In 1912, Wiener [35] proposed equations giving a value of the effective thermal conductivity of the two media and this
was done by applying the electric analogy to a series or parallel circuit in the case of
a problem of heat transfer in a heterogeneous material. The two phases are
assumed to arrange parallel to one another Figs. 3 and 4. The effective thermal conductivity is then bounded by the two values Wiener upper bound and Wiener lower
bound respectively.

3aks

kf

kseries < kHS < k < kHS < kparallel

2.4.3. Model of Krischer and Kroll [38]

Model of Krischer and Kroll [38] is illustrated in Fig. 5: In this model, the material consists of three layers: two ensembles of thermal conductivity plates one in
series and one in parallel.

kapp

kseries kparallel
nkr kseries 1  nkr kparallel

Fig. 2. Device for measuring the thermal conductivity.

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

Heat flux
1 (1)
2 (2)

1-

(1-

3 (3)

Fig. 7. Modeling of by auto-coherent homogenization of three phases [41].

Fig. 5. Schematic representation of a porous medium according to Krischer [38].

2.4.4. Model of Willy and Souwik [39] is illustrated in Fig. 6

The model will be formed of two sets of plates in parallel and in series with
respect to the direction of heat ow. The rst set of thermal conductivity, consists
of plates in series, the second in parallel. Where kapp is the apparent thermal conductivity and the share of series arrangement is denoted as n_w and that of the parallel arrangement (1 n_w).

kapp

nw ks

e kkfs a

1  nw aks ekf

10

2.4.5. Model of Maxwell [40]

Maxwells approach was initially associated with a problem of electrical conduction in a heterogeneous medium consisting of spheres that have conductivity
lambda dispersed in solid medium continuous for a conductivity d; which resulted
in the equivalent conductivity of a homogeneous medium, and whose spheres do
not interact thermally:

kapp

ekf 2kf ks 3aks kf

e2kf ks 3akf

11

2.4.6. Modeling by auto-coherent homogenization [41]

Modeling by auto-coherent homogenization [41] allows estimating thermal
conductivity of heterogeneous materials on the basis of knowing the conductivity
of each component and its concentration. This approach was developed for the
mechanical characterization (elasticity and elastoplasticity) of heterogeneous
materials and was used by Arnaud et al. [41] on hemp in bulk, hemp concrete
and hemp wools. The auto-coherent model is applied to the composite with 3 components, comprising a spherical cavity of air 1, with vacuum contained in cork
and matrix), surrounded by a concentric cork shell 2, and moreover surrounded
by an additional shell of matrix 3 (optimal mixture: soil (58%)sand dune
(30%)cement (12%)). where R1, R2, R3 are the rays of the spheres having conductivities k1 , k2 , k3 respectively and b is the volume concentration of phase 1 (see Fig. 7).

kapp

6
6
6
6
6
k3 6
61
6
6
1b
6

4
3

b
1

k1
1
k3

k1
1
k2



3
k1
1
k2

k
2 2 1
k3

7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
5

12

Heat flux

 3
V2
R2

V3
R3

d1

 3
R1
R2

13

14

3. Test results and discussion

3.1. Mixture optimization (soilsand dunecement)
Fig. 8 shows the different variations in the maximum dry density and optimal water content as a function of cement content
of 012% for each mass percentage of sand dune ranging from 0%
to 70%, and we nd that for a content of 0% sand dune the maximum dry density decreases from 1730 kg/m3 for 0% of cement to
1670 kg/m3 for 12% of cement corresponding to a decrease of the
order of 3.59%. This effect is explained by the cement demand to
water for hydration affecting the decline in maximum dry density
and increased the water content of a rate of the order of 15.43%.
However an optimal percentage of 30% of sand dune improves
the maximum dry density for 0% of cement a rate of the order of
9.82% and approximately 4.79% with 12% of cement, by the optimal
water content decreased a rate in the order of 10.96% with 0% of
cement and approximately 11.31% with 12% of cement. Beyond
30% to 70% of sand dune, it is also observed for 12% of cement a
lessening of the maximum dry density and the compressive
strength coming respectively at a rate in the order of 15.13% and
114.18% and an increase of the optimal water content in the order
of 4.40%. The results illustrated in Fig. 9 show that whatever the
cement content an increase in mechanical strength at 28 days
was observed from 0% of sand dune up to 30%. Therefore the sand
dune plays a benecial role up to the contents of about 30%. By
cons, beyond we observed a decrease in mechanical strength even
with the increase in the cement content, more we are adding of
sand dune to the soil more we lose in quantity of nes (binder)
and therefore cohesion. This effect is explained by the loss of cohesion and entanglement of the granular skeleton. The compressive
strength for 12% of cement and 30% of sand dune increases a rate
in the order of 112.59% compared with the soil without sand dune,
and this is due to the increase of the compactness and simultaneously with the hydration of the cement thereby forming CS
H responsible for hardening of the mixture. So we take as optimal
mixture (58% of soil30% of sand dune12% of cement). Also the
mechanical strength curves have peaks to the right of the mass
content of sand dune which is in the order of 30%; this conrms
that the mechanical strength is closely related to the dry density,
which is in accord with the study conducted by [20].
3.2. Inuence of static compaction and the curing method on the
properties of the optimal mixture

(1-

(1-

Fig. 6. Schematic representation of a porous medium according to Willy and

Soutwich [39].

In this part, the impact of the increase in pressure static compaction from 2.5 to 10 MPa and the curing method (dry-humid)
on the properties of optimal mixture has been studied. The results
presented in Fig. 10 show an increase in compressive strength

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

Fig. 8. Effects of sand dune and cement content on the maximum dry density and optimum water content of the mixtures.

Fig. 9. Variation in the compression strength and the tensile strength by splitting as a function of cement content for each percentage of sand.

Fig. 10. Effects of static compaction energy and the humidity degree on the compressive strength and the tensile strength by splitting of optimal mixture.

more remarkable at early-age up to a relative stabilization at

28 days, which is in accord with the study conducted by [1,17].
However, the compressive strength at 28 days increases in a dry
environment of the order of 46.18% whereas in humid environment approximately 77.91% when the compacting pressure passes
from 2.5 to 10 MPa. This also manifests at the tensile strength by
splitting which increases in a dry environment a rate of the order
of 40.62% and in environment humid a rate of the order of
79.10%. These effects are explained by the cement hydration and
the CSH formation, subsequently improving compactness

thereby increasing the rigidity of cement-stabilized compressed

earth blocks, which is in accord with the study conducted by
[1,1420].
3.3. Inuence of aggregates of cork on the physical and mechanical
properties of the optimal mixture
In the following section, the incorporation of aggregates of cork
signicantly affects the mechanical properties for each level of
compression. The results illustrated in Fig. 11 clearly show degres-

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M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

sion increasing mechanical strengths both in a dry environment

and at wet environment, which translates effectively by creating
a porous network. However we note an evolution of the mechanical strength with increasing the compaction. The results of the
curve in a dry environment show that for 2% of the aggregates of
cork, the compressive strength increases in the order of 89.64%
when the compacting pressure passes from 2.5 to 10 MPa while
with 12% of aggregates of cork increase the compressive strength
of about 140.91%. This effect is explained by the fact that the aggregates of cork show largely the crush energy and subsequently the
increase in the plasticity zone. This is also evident in tensile by
splitting. For a static compacting of 10 MPa and 12% of the aggregates of cork, the compressive strength in the wet state decreases
a rate of 7.41% at 28 days relative to optimized mixture without
the incorporation of the cork.
It is also noted a more remarkable decrease in the maximum
dry density as a function of aggregates of cork for each level of static compaction (Fig. 12). The experimental measurements show
that for a static compacting of 2.5 MPa maximum dry density
decreases in the order of 29.36% when the percentage of cork
increases from 2% to 12% and for a static compacting of 10 MPa
decreases in the order of 16.68%, which results in the increased
porosity that provides the aggregates of cork.

Fig. 12. Effect of incorporation of aggregates of cork on the maximum dry density of
the optimal mixture for the different energy levels of static compaction.

2,00

Static compaction=sc
sc=2.5 MPa
sc=5 MPa
sc=7.5 MPa
sc=10 MPa
2
Model = 0.017. + 1.5 : R =0.98
Model of Hashin and Shtrikman (Max) [35]
Series model [35]
Model of Hashin and Shtrikman (Min) [37]
Model of Krischer [38]:
Model of Maxwell [40]
Modeling by auto-coherent homogenization [41]
Parallel model [35]

3.4. Inuence of aggregates of cork and static compaction on thermal

conductivity and comparison with some models
The effective thermal conductivity of porous material depends
on many parameters: the thermal conductivities of the solid and
gas, the degree of porosity, the size, shape and distribution of the
pores. To predict the value of the effective thermal conductivity
for a given simple requires one the hand to have as much information on the microstructure and on the other hand to have analytical
or numerical tools that take into account the information. Geometric simplications are the starting point for all models. The concept
of this approach, considers that the material consists of a solid or
combined with a uid phase (air) matrix. In this case, the thermal
conductivity will be apparent according to the thermal conductivities of the solid phase and the uid phase (air). In this study it was
possible to measure the approximate value of the conductivity of
the solid phase (soilcementsand dune) using the same measuring device (hot wire) and approaching a value ks = 1.5 W/m K and
the conductivity of the gaseous phase (area) at room temperature
equal kaire = 0.026 W/m K. In the study of the inuence of porosity
and conductivity of the two phases, the thermal conductivity was
conducted by comparison between the experimental results and

Thermal conductivity in
dry state (w/m.k)

1,75
1,50
1,25
1,00
0,75
0,50
0,25
0,00
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Porosity of optimal mixture for different teneur

of agreggates of cork (%)
Fig. 13. Effects of aggregates of cork and static compaction on thermal conductivity
and comparison with some models.

the predictions, by analytical calculations using theoretical models

and this is well represented in Fig. 13. In the same gure, we note a
slight inuence of compaction on thermal conductivity in the dry

Fig. 11. Effects of incorporation of aggregates of cork and the humidity degree on the mechanical strengths of the optimal mixture for the different energy levels of static
compaction.

266

M. Bachar et al. / Construction and Building Materials 74 (2015) 259267

state. According to the results, we see that for zero aggregates of

cork, thermal conductivity increases at a rate of 3.75%, when the
compacting pressure passes from 2.5 to 10 MPa. The Maxwell
model [40] is far from a prediction model, however, those of
Krischer and Kroll [38] and self-consistent homogenization [41],
and the new model of linear, (see Fig. 13) perfectly correlate with
experimental results on all the range of porosity, except that the
values of this last model diverge with experimental values when
the porosity exceeds 80%.
4. Conclusion
The main objective of this study was to evaluate through experiments the inuence of the addition of aggregates of cork on the
mechanical properties, the maximum dry density and thermal conductivity of compressed earth blocks stabilized cement, and thus a
comparison of experimental measurements with some models prediction was made in order to choose the best of these models.
Based on the results of this experimental study, the following conclusions can be drawn.
 Composition of (58% soil30% sand dune12% cement) assures
maximum dry density of 1750 kg/m3 with a compressive
strength in the dry state of 2.87 MPa at 28 days.
 Compressive strength at 28 days increases in a dry environment
of the order of 46.18% whereas in humid environment approximately 77.91% when the compacting pressure passes from
2.5 to 10 MPa. The use of static compaction is in the aim of
improving the mechanical strengths by cons it increases the
thermal conductivity grace to densifying the blocs this is why
we thought to incorporate aggregates of cork which has two
effects: the lightening and the reduction in thermal
conductivity.
 Compressive strength and tensile of cement-stabilized compressed earth blocks decrease with the increasing content of
aggregates of cork. Nevertheless, with minimal mass contents
we obtained acceptable strengths.
 Regardless of the level of static compaction there is a noteworthy decrease in the maximum dry density with increasing content of the aggregates of cork.
 The values of the thermal conductivity of compacted composite
(matrix + aggregates of cork) were compared with some theoretical models of prediction. Only models of Krischer and upper
bound of Hashin and Shtrikman and that of auto-coherent
homogenization, give results near to those obtained experimentally. The new linear model remains meanwhile, the theoretical
model that estimates the best values of the thermal conductivity, with some divergence when the porosity exceeds 80%.

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