Durability of Stabilized Earthen Constructions: A Review

It has become general practice to stabilize earthen materials with chemical binders, since one of their main weaknesses is their lack of durability. The most commonly used stabilizer is cement, which reinforces earth by enhancing its strength and water resistance with chemical bonds, while at the same time significantly increases its embodied energy and reduces its sorption capacity. These side-effects greatly reduce the sustainability appeal of earthen materials, leading to a contradiction in this application of cement. Since the researcher community has been aware of this more and more results are published of experiments with alternative stabilizers. This review provides an overview of research about the durability of stabilized earthen walls, the methods used to assess it and parameters that have been shown to affect it. The review features a brief history of this field, but focuses more on recently published data about the water erosion performance of stabilized earthen construction materials. Conclusions about the existing test methods are drawn, with directions for further development suggested.