Embodied energy in cement stabilised rammed earth walls

Reddy, BV Venkatarama and Kumar, P Prasanna (2010) Embodied energy in cement stabilised rammed earth walls. In: Energy and Buildings, 42 (3). pp. 380-385.

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Abstract

Rammed earth walls are low carbon emission and energy efficient alternatives to load bearing walls. Large numbers of rammed earth buildings have been constructed in the recent past across the globe. This paper is focused on embodied energy in cement stabilised rammed earth (CSRE) walls. Influence of soil grading, density and cement content on compaction energy input has been monitored. A comparison between energy content of cement and energy in transportation of materials, with that of the actual energy input during rammed earth compaction in the actual field conditions and the laboratory has been made. Major conclusions of the investigations are (a) compaction energy increases with increase in clay fraction of the soil mix and it is sensitive to density of the CSRE wall, (b) compaction energy varies between 0.033 MJ/m(3) and 0.36 MJ/m(3) for the range of densities and cement contents attempted, (c) energy expenditure in the compaction process is negligible when compared to energy content of the cement and (d) total embodied energy in CSRE walls increases linearly with the increase in cement content and is in the range of 0.4-0.5 GJ/m(3) for cement content in the rage of 6-8%. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Energy and Buildings
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science.
Keywords:	Embodied energy; Compaction energy; Rammed earth; Wall; Stabilised earth
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2010 06:32
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:55
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/25803

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