Study of the Yemeni clay and the production of adobe

At present the world produces a great number of modern construction materials, and the volume of production of cement, concrete and reinforced concrete is increasing every year. Nevertheless in many countries of the world and especially in arid regions unbaked clay with admixtures of clay and an organic component is widely used for the construction of residential houses as well as ten thousand years ago. Commitment to adobe is connected not only with the wide distribution of raw materials, cheapness and simplicity of technology but with more comfortable living conditions in such houses without any special air conditioning devices. It is due to the increased microporosity of the clay matrix which provides hygroscopy and vapor transmission of the walls regulating the microclimate of the room. This article is devoted to the study of the physical and chemical properties of clay for the purpose of using them in adobe production. As a result a material with the following characteristics is obtained: Rc = 4.2 MPа, with density (ρ) of 1245 kg/m3 and shrinkage of 5,4 mm/m. To get required adobe Yemeni clays with up to 70 % of clay minerals of montmorillonite and kaolinite as well as more than 30 % of sand were used. Changes in the properties of adobe are studied in the process of natural drying.