TITLE:
Assessment of Soils Developed on Various Formations in Maroua (Far North, Cameroon) for Production of Compressed Earth Bricks
AUTHORS:
Bertin Pagna Kagonbé, Bakary Souleymanou, Viviane Djaoyang Bakaïné, Raphael Essama Boum Belinga, Bertrand Tatoh Aziwo, Alexis Ngoniri Hamdja, Likiby Boubakar
KEYWORDS:
Soil, Physical Properties, Mineralogy, Geochemistry, CEB, Maroua-Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.13 No.6,
June
26,
2023
ABSTRACT: One of
the most important materials in the building industry is earth brick. The
current work focuses on the evaluation of Maroua soils and their potential
usage in the manufacturing of Compressed earth blocks (CEB). Four sites
(Frolina, Goubeou, Mambang, and Djoulgouf) were chosen to conduct this study.
One sample was collected at each location. Physico-chemical and mineralogical
characteristics were obtained by using particle size, Atterberg limits, X-ray
diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence analysis. Results revealed that sand is the
most abundant fraction (36.9% - 50.5%)
followed by clay (22.1% - 28.4%)
and silt (11.3% - 23.8%).
They mostly correspond to sandy soils. Liquid and Plastic limits range between
22.6% to 41%
and 16.1% to
24.9% respectively and the plasticity index spans from 6.5% to 20.3%. Plasticity is
low for Mambang and Djoulgouf and medium for Goubeou and Frolina soils.
Mineralogical composition revealed the presence of smectite, kaolinite, and illite as clay minerals, associated
with variable amounts of quartz, goethite, and K-feldspars. Geochemical
analyses indicate a high silica content (47.1% - 72.8%) followed by alumina (10.9% - 22.8%) and iron (6.4% - 13.2%). The mineralogical, chemical and physical properties
of the studied soils revealed that they are suitable for the manufacture of CEB
according to the Cameroon Standards of CEB.