Effect of Gum Arabic as Partial Replacement of Cement on the Durability Properties of Compressed Laterite Blocks

Abstract

Compressed stabilized earth blocks are the innovation of building materials replacing the earth blocks commonly called adobe. Common stabilizers (cement and lime) have been found to be expensive and harmful to the environment. Finding a natural, available, environmentally friendly stabilizer is vital. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the effects of gum Arabic (GA) as binder on the durability properties of laterite blocks. Compressed laterite blocks were stabilized with 2% and 6% respectively as total percentage of binders in the blocks (cement and/or GA). The results showed that GA improved the abrasion and drop resistances of compressed blocks. It has been found that the abrasion resistance of compressed blocks increased with the increase of GA content and the decrease of cement content. For instance, the mass abraded away of blocks stabilized with cement only was reduced up to 95.18% when GA was used to partially replace cement. As for drop test, the higher the content of GA the higher the resistance of blocks to drop.