INFLUENCE OF SAWDUST MIXTURE ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPRESSED EARTH BRICKS (CEB): CASE STUDY OF IROKO AND SAPELLIWOOD SPECIES

This paper aims to evaluate the influence of the Iroko and Sapelli sawdust mixture on the compressed earth blocks (CEB) mechanical characteristics. For 15% sawdust, different compositions were tested using different ratios of a mixture of two wood species (Iroko and Sapelli). The earth+15% sawdust mixture was stabilized with 8% slaked lime. The mechanical properties studied were: dry compressive strength, wet compressive strength and abrasion coefficient. The results showed that the studied properties vary with the composition of the sawdust mixture. However, these mechanical characteristics do not consistently change in the same way as the percentage of the species in the sawdust mixture that have the best mechanical qualities (Sapelli).Apart from the sample made of earth + 15% Sapelli + 8% lime, all lime-stabilized samples can be used according to standard NF XP 13-901 (2001) for the production of CEB under a pressure of 3.6 Mpa with regard to their average strengh in dry compression (greater than 2 Mpa).