Strength and Absorption Rate of Compressed Stabilized Earth Bricks (CSEBs) Due to Different Mixture Ratios and Degree of Compaction

Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB) is produced by compressing a mixture of water with three main materials such as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), soil, and sand. It becomes popularfor its good strength, better insulation properties, and a sustainable product due to its easy production with low carbon emission and less skilled labour required. Different types of local soils usedwill produce CSEB of different physical properties in terms of its strength, durability, and water absorption rate. This study focuses on laterite soil taken from the surrounding local area in Parit Raja, Johor, and CSEB samples are produced based on prototype brick size 100×50×30 mm. The investigations are based on four different degree of compactions (i.e. 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 Psi) and three different mix proportion ratios of cement:sand:laterite soil (i.e. 1:1:9, 1:2:8, 1:3:7). A total of 144 CSEB samples have been tested at 7 and 28 days curing periods to determine the compressive strength (BS 3921:1985) and water absorption rate (MS 76:1972). It was found that maximum compressive strength of CSEB was 14.68 N/mm2 for mixture ratio of 1:3:7 at 2500 Psi compaction. Whereas, the minimum strengthis 6.87 N/mm2 for 1:1:9mixture ratio at 1500 Psi. Meanwhile, the lowest water absorption was 12.35% for mixture ratio of 1:2:8 at 3000 Psi; while the 1:1:9 mixture ratio at 1500 Psi gave the highest rate of 16.81%. This study affirms that the sand content in the mixture and the degree of compaction would affect the value of compressive strength and water absorption of CSEB.