Experimental analysis of Compressed Earth Block (CEB) with banana fibers resisting flexural and compression forces

The development of affordable housing is necessary due to the numerous homeless people living in developing countries; the present work is an attempt to alleviate the housing problem facing populations of these countries. Building with Compressed Earthen Blocks (CEBs) is becoming more popular due to their low cost and relative abundance of materials. The proposed innovative Banana-Compressed Earth Block (B-CEB) consists of ordinary CEB ingredients plus banana fibers, which will be the focus of this study. Banana fibers are widely available worldwide due to agricultural waste from banana cultivation. Additionally, banana fibers are environmentally friendly and present important attributes, such as low density, light weight, low cost, high tensile strength, as well as being water repellent and fire resistant. This kind of waste has a greater chance of being utilized for different applications in construction and building materials in order to enhance the mechanical properties of the CEBs. Such enhancements will raise the number of storeys of a building that can be built with CEBs. Experimental work studies on the classic CEB with no fibers and B-CEB were performed, including an axial compression test and flexural test (three-point bending test) by using testing methods according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards (ASTM C-67). Also, in order to obtain the load-deflection curve and bending modulus (E) from the flexural test, the Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) sensor was placed under the mid-span of the block for vertical displacement measurements. The results of this study will highlight general trends in the strength properties of different design mixes by adding different lengths of banana fibers in the CEBs. These efforts are necessary to ensure that B-CEB technology becomes a more widely accepted building material that will verify the earth building technology for offering affordable houses. © 2016 The Authors