Introduction

Soil is the result of the transformation of the underlying rock under the influence of a range of
physical, chemical and biological processes related to biological and climatic conditions and to animal
and plant life.

A soil is an earth concrete

Composition of a soil

Like a concrete that contains gravel, sand and cement as a binder, a soil contains gravel, sand, and,
silt & clay which act as binders as well. But silt and clay are not stable under water. Hence the
purpose of stabilisation is to stabilise silt and clay against water. Nevertheless, earthen buildings
proved that they could last very long, especially when people mastered the material and when they
maintained properly their buildings over the ages.

FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES

Soils are composed of solid components, water and air. Soils are characterized by 4 fundamental properties:

Granularity or texture
It corresponds to the grain size distribution of a soil. It is a percentage by weight of the different grain sizes.
The grain size classification adopted by a large number of laboratories is based on the standard ISO 14688 1
2017 (Geotechnical investigation and testing of soils):
  Cobble   Gravel   Sand   Silt   Clay
  200 to 63 mm   63 to 2 mm  2 to 0.06 mm  0.06 to 0.002 mm   0.002 to 0 mm
For building with earth, cobble should generally be removed, and for CSEB, no gravel larger than 20
mm should be kept. Therefore, the ideal grain size for CSEB is as follows:
  Gravel   Sand   Silt   Clay
  20 to 2 mm  2 to 0.063 mm  0.063 to 0.002 mm   0.002 to 0 mm
Compressibility
It is the ability of a soil to be compressed to the maximum. It is related to the energy of compaction.
The Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) defines the compressibility.
The OMC is a percentage by weight of water to achieve the highest compression of a soil.

Plasticity
This property of a soil refers to its possibility to be submitted to deformation without elastic failure. It
defines its ability to be moulded.

Cohesion
It defines the capacity of soil grains to remain together. This property is strongly linked with the
plasticity.

STRUCTURE OF A SOIL

It is how the grains are assembled:

- Granular structure = A lot of voids (i.e. gravel)
- Fragmented structure = Discontinuous (i.e. gravel and clay only)
- Continuous structure = The best = proportion of the best soil

GOOD SOIL FOR COMPRESSED STABILISED EARTH BLOCKS

It depends of the type of stabiliser:

Cement stabilisation:  Gravel Sand Silt Clay
It is more sandy than clayey.  15% 50% 15% 20%

Lime stabilisation:  Gravel Sand Silt  Clay

It is more clayey than sandy.  15%  30%  20%  35%

TYPICAL SOILS

According to the percentage of the four solid components (gravel, sand, silt and clay), the soil will be
classified as: gravely, sandy, silty or clayey soil.
The name of this classification is given by the component which influences the most the behaviour of
the soil. In a sandy soil, for example, the sand proportion influences the most, the soil behaviour. Note
that the soil has to be evaluated as whole and not as separate components. Therefore, it is necessary
to examine how these various components combine with each other. For example, a soil might have
more gravel than normal, but if the clay is very plastic and with the proper proportion, the soil might
not be called gravely but probably good soil.
    
A soil will have sometimes 2 components influencing its behaviour: one very influent and another one
to a lesser extent. Therefore, a more accurate classification will be defined as follows:
•    Silty sand soil = Soil mainly sandy with an influent proportion of silt.
•    Sandy silt soil = Soil mainly silty with an influent proportion of sand.

The quality of the binders, silt and clay, will also influence a lot the soil behaviour and one should
understand that the variety of soils is as infinite as human beings. Therefore, it is impossible to give
any fixed rule and / or procedure.

SOIL IDENTIFICATION

Identifying the quality of a soil is essential. Not every soil is suitable for earth construction. But with
some knowledge and experience most soils can be used. Topsoil and organic soils must not be used.
They should be removed and kept for agriculture.

All over the world many laboratories can analyse soil samples, mostly for road building. Fewer
laboratories can do it for buildings. Nevertheless these laboratory tests are often not accessible by the
common man.

Since millennia people have known what to do with their local soil. They developed simple field tests
to check the properties and behaviour of their soil. Therefore, the Auroville Earth Institute practices
only field tests, called sensitive analyses, to identify a soil’s quality. These simple sensitive analyses
can be performed after a short training. They follow the four fundamental properties of the earth and
they can be practiced by anybody, as we use our senses.

Sensitive analyses
 The aim of these sensitive analyses is to identify in which category the soil sample belongs: Gravely,
Sandy, Silty, Clayey or combined soil, i.e. sandy clay or clayey sand, etc. Then, according to this
classification, one will know what to do with the soil and which earth technique to select. Basic tests to
be performed:

 Look at a dry or humid soil and touch it to define the percentage

 Granularity  Looking and touching
and the size of the grain sizes.
 Add a little water, if the soil is dry, to get a moist soil and
 Compressibility  Pressing compress it by hand to make a ball. Evaluate how much pressure
you need.
 Add more water and make a cohesive ball. Evaluate how easy it is
 Shaping the ball
to shape it and how cohesive it is.
 Pull the ball like rubber elastic and try to break it. Evaluate the
 Stretching the ball
strength of the ball.
 Plasticity  Stick a knife into the cohesive ball and pull it out. Evaluate how
 Sticking a knife
the soil sticks on it.
 Cutting the ball  The ball is cut in 2 pieces. Examine the aspect of the cut.
 Print with the thumb a small depression on the ball. Fill it with
 Water absorption
water and evaluate the time of absorption.
 Add much more water to the ball and try to loosen the cohesion of
 Diluting the ball
the soil. Evaluate how much the soil sticks to the hand.
 Cohesion
 Add much more water to the soil and wash away silt and clay.
 Washing the soil
Evaluate the amount of fine sand, which remains in the palm.
Humus content  Smelling the soil  Take some moist soil and smell it.

The aim of these sensitive analyses is to find out in which categories goes the soil sample: Gravely,
Sandy, Silty, Clayey or combined soil i.e. sandy clay. Then, according to this classification, one must
look into the recommendations for stabilization and soil improvement.
Note that the soil identification should be practiced twice: first on the raw soil, before doing any
modification, and also after correcting the soil (i.e. after sieving).

Laboratory Tests
They follow also the four fundamental properties of the earth, but they need special equipment.
Laboratory analysis cost relatively a lot according to the laboratory. Analysing a soil sample will take a
few days as the sedimentation test is done over several days:

 Granularity  Grain size distribution by wet sieving and sedimentation

 Compressibility  Proctor for getting the optimum moisture content (OMC)
 Atterberg’s limits to get these limits:
 -    LL = Liquid Limit (%)
 -    PL = Plastic Limit (%)
 Plasticity
 -    PI = Plasticity Index (%)
 Note: PI = LL - PL

 Cohesion  8 test (sample prepared with a mortar < 2 mm)

 Example of Atterberg’s limits

 Sand  0 % ≤ LL ≤ 10 %  0 % ≤ PI ≤ 5 %
 Sandy soil  20 % ≤ LL ≤ 30 %  10 % ≤ PI ≤ 20 %
 Silty soil  20 % ≤ LL ≤ 40 %  10 % ≤ PI ≤ 25 %
 Clay  LL ≥ 50 %  PI ≥ 25 %
Clayey soil 25 % ≤ LL ≤ 50 % 15 % ≤ PI ≤ 35 %

IMPROVING AND STABILISING SOILS

According to the original soil quality, adding materials like gravel or sand can do some easy
improvement. Mixing soils can also be a way to get better specifications. According to the technique,
the improvement of soils will vary. We can mention here what to do for the improvement of soils for
producing CSEB.

Improvement of soils for CSEB

Often sand has to be added to soil if CSEB’s have to be stabilised with cement. Note that it is not
advisable to mix clay if the soil is too sandy, as clay is hard to crush when dry and sticky when wet.
Improvement can also be done by sieving the soil or by mixing different qualities of soil. Stabilising a
soil will also improve it.

The following recommendations have to be considered as general guidelines and not as rules. The infinite
variation of soil qualities makes impossible to define strict rules for soil suitability.

 Sandy Soil
•    Sieving (# 10 to 12 mm) is only required
 Gravely Soil
to loosen and aerate the soil.
•    Sieving (# 8 to 10 mm) is indispensable to remove the
•    Do not sieve in a very windy area,
coarse gravel.
especially if the soil is dry (not to loose the
•    A maximum of 15% to 20% by weight of gravel passing
fine clay).
the screen should be allowed.
•    Stabilisation can be 5% by weight of
•    The maximum size for the gravel passing through the sieve
cement, if the soil is not too sandy.
should be ?10 mm.
•    If the soil is too sandy, 6 % by weight of
•    If the soil is too gravely, a more clayey soil should be
cement might be preferable, especially for
added, but not pure clay.
handling fresh blocks.
•    Stabilisation can be 3 to 4% by weight of cement could be
•    If the soil is not too sandy and has a
sufficient, if the clay content is high enough.
good clay quality, 4 % by weight of cement
•    Stabilisation can be 6% if the soil is too gravely.
could give good results too.

 Silty Soil  Clayey Soil

•    A slight crushing might be required. •    Crushing might often be required.
•    Sieving (# 6 to 10 mm) is required if the lumps are too big •    Sieving with mesh (# 6 to 8 mm) is
and cohesive. required, if the soil is dry.
•    Adding 10% to 20% of coarse sand might be needed to •    Adding 20 to 40% of coarse sand is
give more skeletons to the soil. Remember that adding sand needed to reduce the plasticity and give
depends of the silt size: if the grain size of the silt is near very some skeleton.
fine sand, no sand should be added. •    Stabilization can be:
•    Stabilisation should be 6% minimum by weight of cement. - 5 to 6% min. by weight of cement, if clay
is not too plastic. Sand will be added as
mentioned above.
- 6 to 7% by weight of lime if clay is very
plastic. Sand quantity will be reduced or
could not be needed.
- A combination of cement-lime
stabilisation could also give good results:
2% cement + 5% lime. Some sand will be
needed (10 to 15 %).
•    Note for the stabilisation:
- Cement stabilisation will need 4 weeks
curing (even for the combined one with
lime).
     - Lime stabilisation will not need curing
(blocks should only be kept 6 days under
plastic sheets).

SOIL STABILISATION

A modern practice is to stabilise the earth. It aims originally to stabilize silt and clay against water, so
as to give lasting properties when the soil gets wet.

Procedures
There are 3 procedures to stabilise the earth.
   PRINCIPLE  ACTIONS
 -    Density and mechanical strength are increased.
 -    The water resistance is increased.
 Mechanical  The soil is compacted.
 -    The permeability and porosity are decreased.

 -    The soil is sieved to remove the coarse particles.

 -    Different soils are mixed to get a better texture.
 The texture of the soil is corrected by
 -    Gravel or sand is added to reinforce the
 Physical  adding or removing aggregates, which
skeleton.
 are inert materials.
 -    Clay is added to bind better the grains.

 Processed products, which are active

 Chemical  -    They help binding the grains of the earth.
 materials like chemicals, are added to the soil.

Methods
Six methods are used to stabilise the earth
   DEFINITION  EXAMPLES
 - Compaction
 - Adding components
 Densification  Create a dense medium, blocking pores & capillary
 - Mixing different soils

 - Straw
 - Fur
 Reinforcement  Create an anisotropic network limiting movement
 - Synthetic fibres

 - Cement
 Cementation  Create an inert matrix opposing movement  - Fly ash

 Linkage  Create stable chemical bonds between clay and sand  - Lime
 - Bitumen
 - Resins
 Imperviousness  Surround every earth grain with a waterproof film
 - Various chemicals

 Waterproofing  Avoid the water absorption and adsorption by the surface  - Paints, plaster *

Stabilisers
Many stabilizers can be used. The nature of the stabilised will depend of the soil quality, the need and the type
of technique used: Fibres (natural or synthetic), natural products (straw, fur, juice of plants, latex, etc.) can be
used for techniques which need a lot of water (adobe, wattle and daub, cob, etc.).
 For CSEB and rammed earth, the most common stabilisers are cement and lime. Other stabilisers like chemicals,
resins can be used as well. Cement will be preferable for sandy soils and to achieve quickly a higher strength.
Lime will be preferred for very clayey soil, but will take a longer time to harden and to give strong blocks.
Cement or lime stabilisation of soils will increase a lot the strength, and stabilised earth could be exposed to
water or even immersed. The densification of soils by compression (rammed earth, CSEB) or by adding water
(shaped, cob, adobe, and wattle & daub) will also give cohesion and more resistance. In this case the earth
should not remain in contact with water for long.

Suitability of stabilisers and their percentage for CSEB

It depends on the soil quality and the particular requirements. The average stabilizer proportion is rather low:
5% for cement and 6% for lime. These low percentages are part of the cost effectiveness of CSEB and stabilised
rammed earth.
   SUITABILITY  MINIMUM %  AVERAGE %  MAXIMUM %
 No technical maximum
 Cement  Mostly for sandy soil  3%  5% Economic maximum: 7 - 8 %

 Lime  Mostly for clayey soil  2%  6%  10%

When to stabilise
The stabilisation of soils is dependent upon the soil quality and the technique to be used. It is not always needed,
especially when the material is not exposed to water. The stabilisation is not necessarily required when the
architecture is well designed and when maintenance will be done.

THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STABILISED EARTHEN WALLS

 PROPERTIES  SYMBOL  UNIT  CLASS A  CLASS B

 Specific heat  C  KJ/Kg   ~ 0.85   0.65 - 0.85
 Coefficient of conductivity  λ   W/m°C   0.46 – 0.81   0.81 – 0.93
 Damping coefficient  m  %   5 - 10   10 - 30
 Lag time (for 40 cm thick wall)  d  h   10 - 12   5 - 10

Note that earthen walls have a different thermal behaviour than any other materials. We speak of hydro-thermal
behaviour. Therefore, as clay is just stabilised and not burnt, it can still absorb and release some moisture
through evaporation and condensation.

Thus this phenomenon will happen with the difference of moisture/temperature between the outside and inside:
-    The outside temperature is higher: the wall will evaporate moisture. This will cool down the wall and thus
the building inside.
-    The temperature is lower outside: the wall will condense moisture. This will create heat in the wall and thus
the building inside.

This phenomenon, which is called “latent heat”, happens on a daily basis and also from season to season. Thus
this saying from France: “Earthen buildings (rammed earth) are cool in summer and hot in winter.”

Note that this hydro-thermal behaviour is more effective in temperate climates than in tropical climates.
Unfortunately there is no enough data on such behaviour.

Notes
–    These values are the result conducted in laboratories by recognized authorities. They give an idea of what
can be reasonably expected of a product made in accordance with the rules of the art.
–    The soil quality, the nature of stabiliser, the percentage of stabiliser and the compression pressure influence
a lot these values. Especially, the more the earth is compressed, the less thermal advantage the material has.
–    These values can be obtained with 5 to 10 % cement stabilisation and a compression pressure of 2 – 4 MPa.
–    Source: “Earth Construction, a comprehensive guide” – CRATerre, Hugo Houben and Hubert Guillaud
 SOIL SUITABILITY ACCORDING TO THE TECHNIQUE

According to the soil quality, the technique will vary. Some techniques may require more gravely soils than
others, i.e. rammed earth. On the other side, a clayey soil will be more suited for wattle and daub, etc.

 SOIL TYPE  TECHNIQUE  REMARKS

 - Filled in  None
 It can be used for raw rammed earth if the soil is cohesive
enough and if it has enough clay.
 - Rammed earth
 Gravely  A cement stabilisation (~ 5%) will increase the cohesion when
 - CSEB
fresh and the resistance when dry.

 - Poured  If the clay content is enough.

 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 It can be used for raw rammed earth if the soil is cohesive
 Sandy  - Rammed earth - enough and if it has enough clay. A cement stabilisation (~
CSEB 5%)  will increase the cohesion when fresh and the resistance
when dry.
 If the silt & clay are not too active. A cement stabilisation (~
 - Poured
5%) will be useful.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 It might be improved with coarse sand if the clay content is
 - CSEB
enough. It requires a cement stabilisation (~ 6 to 8 %).
 Silty
 Mixing a soil slightly more clayey might be needed if the soil
 - Cob
is not cohesive enough.
 Mixing a soil slightly more clayey might be needed if the soil
 - Adobe
is not cohesive enough.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 - Rammed earth -  An improvement with sand and a cement stabilisation (~6%)
CSEB will be needed
 A stabilisation with sand, natural fibres or cow dung might be
 - Shaped
needed. Lime can be a suitable stabiliser
 Clayey
 - Cob  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 - Adobe  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 An improvement with sand and a stabilisation with lime (~
 - Extruded
8%) might be needed
 - Wattle & daub  A stabilisation with sand or natural fibres is needed.
 - Straw clay  None
 - Cut blocks  Example of soil very suitable: laterite.
 Clayey gravel  - Rammed earth -  Some sand might be needed. It can be used for raw rammed
CSEB B earth. A cement stabilisation (~ 5%) will give good results.
  - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 - CSEB   It requires a higher % of cement (~5 to 7%).
 Sandy silt
 Mixing a soil slightly more clayey might be needed if the soil
 - Cob
is not cohesive enough.
 Mixing a soil slightly more clayey might be needed if the soil
 - Adobe
is not cohesive enough.
 - Dug out  If the soil is cohesive enough.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 Clayey silt
 - Cob  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 - Adobe  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 - Straw clay  If the soil is plastic and sticky enough.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None

 Gravely clay  - Rammed earth  Some fine sand might be needed. A lime stabilisation will be
- CSEB useful (~ 6 %).
 A stabilisation with natural fibres or sand might be needed if
 - Adobe
the clay content is too high.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 Some coarse sand might be needed. A lime stabilisation will be
 - CSEB
useful (~ 6 %).
 Sandy clay  A stabilisation with sand, natural fibres or cow dung might be
 - Cob
needed. Lime can be suitable.
 - Adobe  A stabilisation with natural fibres might be needed.
 - Extruded  A lime stabilisation will be useful (~ 8 %).
 - Wattle & daub  A stabilisation with natural fibres will be needed.
 - Filled in  None
 - Covered  None
 - Cob  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 - Adobe  A stabilisation with sand or straw might be needed.
 Silty clay
 An improvement with sand and a stabilisation with lime (~
 - Extruded
8%) might be needed.
 - Wattle & daub  A stabilisation with sand or natural fibres is needed.
 - Straw clay  None
 Sandy gravel  - No technique  Not suitable for earth construction
 Silty gravel
 Gravely sand
 Silty sand
 Gravely silt