EFFECT OF PLANTAIN FIBRES IN COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BLOCKS

P. O. Omotainse; I. O. Adams; U. T. Igba; O. U. Dairo; S. A. Oparinde; S. O. Akintunde

P. O. Omotainse Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state
I. O. Adams Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state
U. T. Igba Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state
O. U. Dairo Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state
S. A. Oparinde Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state
S. O. Akintunde Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta. Ogun state

Keywords: Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks, Plantain fibre, Compressive strengths

Abstract

Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) are building materials made from damp soil, stabiliser and water, compressed at high pressure to form blocks. They are primarily made in situ, making them a relatively cheap and available building material. This study was done to determine the effect of plantain fibre in compressed stabilised earth blocks. Both laterite and plantain stems were sourced locally, and the fibre was extracted from the plantain stem. A hydro form compaction machine extruded the blocks following ASTM C-62 Standard. A total of 450 samples were made. The compressive strengths of the samples were obtained using a Universal Testing Machine (OKH-600). A moisture absorption test was also carried out on all the samples, and a scanning electron microscopy image of the selected sample was obtained. Design Experts 7 statistical software was used to analyse the CSEB variance and optimise the compressive strength. The maximum compressive strength of 2.934±0.17 was obtained at an 8% cement ratio and 15g of plantain fibre for a block of 5kg, and the lowest compressive strength obtained after 28 days of curing was 1.230±0.05 at a 2% cement ratio and 5g of fibre. The analysis of variance for the response surface cubic model shows that the model is significant if the cement ratio is squared and if the cement ratio is raised to the power of three. From optimisation, the cement ratio of the range 5.47-5.57% has a desirability of 0.812, all having plantain fibre of 5g each. The optimum cement-plantain fibre stabilised mix ratio was obtained at 5.53% cement and 5g of plantain fibre for every 5kg of block produced.