Projects

Projects

The ambition of this chair is to develop alternative stabilizations to traditional hydraulic binders (cement, lime, etc.) for raw earth in order to use it as a construction material.

The work is carried out through different actions or collaborative research projects.

Bio-stabilization

The state of the art on low-impact stabilization practices and evaluation methodologies will be the main focus of the RILEM TC BEC Bio-stabilised earth-based construction: performance-approach for better resilience (2022-2027) for which Céline Perlot Bascoulès has been appointed deputy chair. The first two years of this technical committee are dedicated to the writing of a State of the Art Report summarizing the knowledge of the literature on bio-stabilizers and bio-stabilization methods. This book is organized around the five working groups of this committee.

Main collaborations: Liverpool John Moores University (UK), University of Novi Sad (Serbia), University of Genova (Italy), ETH Zürich (Switzerland).

Study of the effects of alternative stabilization on the retention of pollutants and the hygrothermal comfort of buildings

The sorption/desorption properties of clays contained in raw earth have been identified during previous studies. This capacity in the case of correctly formulated and implemented materials would allow to ensure the hygrothermal comfort inside the buildings. It also suggests a potential retention of pollutants in indoor air that is not yet characterized.

Part of the work of this chair is thus dedicated to a detailed understanding of these mechanisms, as well as the role of the material's constituents and the influence of its microstructure. It is based on two projects:

• Sofia Roucan's PhD (Eden UPPA grant, 2021-2024): Dynamic CO2 retention in earthen materials - Application to the IAQ improvement capacity of earth plasters, carried out in collaboration with Fionn McGregor (UPPA), Antonin Fabbri (LTDS, Lyon), and Guillaume Habert (ETH Zürich, Switzerland)

• T(erre)'Air project supported by ADEME (2023-2026): Contribution of raw earth-based walls to indoor air quality, and hygrothermal and visual comfort, carried out in collaboration with the C2MA IPREM/IMT Mines Ales RIM team, La Ville de Pau, Aquitanis and Cemex.
  
  

Stabilization with industrial and agricultural by-products

The valorization of local industrial by-products allows both to limit the quantities of waste produced and to preserve the natural resources for which these by-products are substituted, while being part of a circular economy approach.

This work is conducted mainly in collaboration with the team of Andres Seco of the Public University of Navarra (Spain) in the framework of the thesis of Miguel Angelo Martin (2023-2026): Desarrollo local de materiales de construcción sostenibles con materias primas secundarias en la Eurorregión Nueva Aquitania Euskadi Navarra.

Concerning the valorization of agricultural by-products, developments are underway via the PAC0 project of the joint UPPA-Nobatek/INEF4 team: Development of "Low Carbon" construction solutions, which focuses on the incorporation of Manech wool in raw earth.