Research Information System
International Journal of Digital Innovation in the Built Environment, vol.10, no.2, pp.29-46, 2021 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Earth plasters
have been used as a protective coating for buildings but, due to their low
strength and low resistance to weather conditions, they have been abandoned for
more resistant materials which in return lack vapour permeability. Earth
plasters have usually a high moisture sorption rate, and their water vapour
permeability is high, allowing the transfer of humidity through the material.
These properties make them an interesting material for controlling vapour
movement in humid rooms. Improving their strength can be done by adding
aggregates and/or fibres, but the real impact of using one type or another of fibres
or aggregate is unknown. This research aims to understand the consequence of
the choice of fibre or sand in the improvement of strength of plasters and the
conservation of the plaster hygro-thermal properties. Properties of plasters
using alternative fibres or aggregates such as wool, cow hair, pine needles,
sand aimed for concrete mixes, or not properly graded sand have been compared
to plasters made more traditionally with chaff fibres and masonary sand.