Garland students team with 青涩直播 engineers to create affordable building materials made from local soil
Researchers stir up local soil recipe to create compressed earth blocks for building
DALLAS () – Garland High School summer student researchers worked with 青涩直播 engineers to tackle an issue that challenges builders from developing countries to Dallas – develop an inexpensive, energy-efficient building material that can be made by hand in poorer countries and scaled for construction in cities like Dallas.
Their solution? Compressed earth blocks.
Students stir up soil to make compressed earth blocks in outdoor 青涩直播 laboratory
Garland High School students spent the past six weeks learning about the mathematics of strength design, the chemistry of soil and the importance of standardization in building safe structures.
On a steamy July morning in the outdoor block-building area of Story’s lab, students saw the result of their research as they scooped buckets of sandy Dallas soil into a small cement mixer, stirred in their recipe of strengthening materials, poured the muddy mixture into a mold and applied compression using a soil compactor. They carried the finished bricks to a cooler where they dried for a week.
A cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to masonry and cement
Brett Story, 青涩直播 associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, leads a lab that studies the best mix of local soil, compression and drying time to create compressed earth blocks, effective building materials that may play a part in creating affordable housing around the world.
Compressed earth blocks are made from local soil, cement and water. They are not fired in a kiln like traditional masonry, but their strength and long-term endurance is comparable. In addition, the production of compressed earth blocks does not pollute the air like brick production, Story says.
Building blocks of engineering
In their summer in the engineering lab, students learned much more than how to make compressed earth blocks, Story says.
“They learned how engineering is used to solve interesting problems, they learned they can do difficult things, and they learned the best way to solve a problem is to get people working together.”
Garland junior Collin McCorkle-Skees said he liked the hands-on learning and testing the blocks, but appreciated the math that went into block design.
“I can see how all the work ties in together to create something that will help the world in a good way,” he says.