ENHANCING THE DENSITY OF LATERITIC BRICKS OF VARYING PARTICLE SIZES OF FINE AGGREGATES USING GUM ARABIC

Buildings account for over 37% of global carbon emissions, thereby making the environment unsustainable. The research gap identified is lack of establishing the required optimal content of Gum Arabic that have effect on the density of compressed stabilised earth bricks CSEB from lateritic soil of varying particle size distribution. The study aimed at exploring the effect of Gum Arabic as organic stabilizer on the density of compressed stabilised earth bricks CSEB as an eco-friendly construction material for housing delivery needs in Nigeria. The research method used for the study was experimentation and was analysed using bar charts. Results showed that at 28 days particle sizes between 75µm-600µm, have a bulk density of 2203.03 kg/m3 at 20% partial replacement above the minimum bulk density of 1810 kg/m3 specified by the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), furthermore, it has a dry density of 1614 kg/m3 to 1733 kg/m3 at 10% partial replacement. This is above NBRRI minimum dry density of 1500 kg/m3. Particle sizes between 1.18mm-4.76mm have a bulk density of 2203.03 kg/m3 at 20% partial replacement above the minimum bulk density of 1810 kg/m3 specified by NBRRI. It has a dry density of 1598 kg/m3 to 1739 kg/m3 at 10% partial replacement, this is above NBRRI minimum dry density of 1500 kg/m3. It was concluded that, an increase in both bulk and dry densities of CSEB, consequently increases its strength & durability, thermal insulation, and low porosity. The study recommends that GA-based CSEBs should be utilised in building production due to its improved engineering properties.