Abstract
Compressed earth bricks can play an important role in rural housing industry especially in the
developing countries. To strengthen these bricks, the use of fibers is a functional and economical
option. This research aims to reinforce the compressed earth brick with jute fibers in order to
investigate the effect of these fibers on their compressive strength. Bricks were cast in the laboratory
in similar fashion as adopted in an industrial brick fabricating plant; however, compression was
applied using a compression machine. Different proportions of water and jute were added in the soil
for fabricating the standard size bricks (9×4.5×3 inches). After 28 days of sun drying, the compressive
strength tests were performed on the brick specimens. The result showed improved strength behavior
due to jute fiber addition. Up to 2.75 times increase in compressive strength was achieved with jute
fiber compared to that of bricks without fibers. Moreover, cost comparison between un-burnt fiberreinforced bricks, un-burnt bricks without fibers and burnt bricks without fibers was also carried out
in order to demonstrate the potential applicability of un-burnt fiber-reinforced compressed earth
bricks in the remote areas. The results demonstrate that the compressed earth bricks incorporating
jute fibers dramatically increased the strength and can prove to be more sustainable than
conventional mud homes.
Muhammad Azhar Saleem, Safeer Abbas, Mujtaba Haider. (2016) Jute Fiber Reinforced Compressed Earth Bricks (FR-CEB) – A Sustainable Solution, Pakistan Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, VOLUME 19, Issue 1.
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