6533b7dbfe1ef96bd1270aa2

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Geomaterials in green building practices: comparative characterization of commercially available clay-based plasters

S. SabbadiniGiuseppe MontanaLuciana Randazzo

subject

Energy Dispersive SpectrometerEarth building materialGlobal and Planetary ChangePolarized light microscopyFluorescence spectrometrySoil ScienceMineralogyGeologyClay-based plasterCompositional and textural characterizationAtterberg limitsRaw materialPollutionEarthen plasterCharacterization (materials science)Green buildingearth plaster geomaterialsGeomaterialgeomaterialsTerra rossaearth plasterEnvironmental ChemistrySettore GEO/09 -Georis. Miner.e Appl.Mineral.-Petrogr. per l'Ambi.ed i B.Cult.Earth-Surface ProcessesWater Science and Technology

description

Three pre-mixed powdered clay-based (earthen) plasters produced in Europe and specifically designed for wall undercoating were analyzed in this paper. These materials are commercially available and successfully employed in green building practices all over the world. Their compositional and textural characteristics, as well as plastic behaviour were investigated through a multi-analytical approach: X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), polarized light microscopy (PLM), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRFS), scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), grain-size distribution (GSD) and semi-empirical tests (Atterberg Limits, Linear Shrinkage). In addition, a natural earth (a terra rossa red soil sampled in north-western Sicily), theoretically appropriate for the production of earthen plaster, was subjected to the same analytical routine and compared with the three commercially available pre-mixed products. The achieved results allowed to individuate the compositional and textural features that primarily influence the performances of the studied earthen plasters. The obtained data are expected to be also useful in directing the selection of raw materials for local manufacture of specifically designed innovative products.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2013-05-03
10.1007/s12665-013-2499-4http://hdl.handle.net/10447/95829