Abstract:
This thesis abstract explores the utilization of soil as a readily available and abundant
resource for various applications, including cost-effective alternatives to traditional
construction materials. While soil can be found everywhere, the production of bricks
typically requires the use of red clay soil due to its favorable geotechnical properties.
However, the availability of clay soil is limited, leading to high costs. Previous studies
have attempted to use non-clay soil for brick production by incorporating stabilizers
such as lime. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research investigating the behavior and
application of stabilized soil using maize cob ash for the production of earthen bricks.
The primary objective of this research is to examine the geotechnical characteristics of
soil and determine the optimal proportions of soil and crop ash stabilizers for the
production of earthen bricks. Soil samples collected around Bahir Dar City were
classified as A-7-5 according to AASHTO, with test pit-1 and test pit-2 soils classified
as CH, and test pit-3 as MH based on the USCS test. Different test pit materials were
used to assess the effectiveness of maize cob ash as a stabilizer. To evaluate the
geotechnical properties of the soils, tests were conducted to measure moisture content,
Atterberg limits, specific gravity, and compaction.
The natural soil was then stabilized with various percentages of maize cob ash (2%,
4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, and 14% by dry weight) to produce construction materials for
bricks. The compressive strength test was employed to determine the optimal
percentage composition of the stabilized material and natural soils. The test results
revealed compressive strengths of 4.1, 4.4, 8.5, 13.2, 17.7, 20.6, 23.3, and 23.0 MPa for
the different compositions, indicating the effectiveness of the stabilization process.
Keywords: Stabilizer, Maize Cob, Clay soil, Brick,characteristics.