ARTICLE IN PRESS

Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145

www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

Assessing the environmental performance of stabilised rammed earth

walls using a climatic simulation chamber
Matthew R. Hall
School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Received 30 June 2005; accepted 16 August 2005

Abstract

The SHU climatic simulation chamber is a novel piece of apparatus that allows testing of full-sized walls with realistic inner and outer
wall climatic conditions. Four SRE test walls were successfully constructed and tested over four separate regimes to measure physical
properties such as pressure-driven moisture ingress, rate of moisture penetration, and internal/interstitial condensation. The walls far
exceeded a series of cyclic pressure-driven rainfall penetration tests based on BS 4315-2. After 5 days of exposure to static pressure-driven
moisture ingress there was no evidence of moisture penetration or erosion. The embedded sensor array detected no significant increase in
the relative humidity or liquid moisture content inside the test walls, throughout a range of temperature differentials with high levels of
humidity, indicating a negligible risk of internal or interstitial condensation.
r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Stabilised rammed earth; Environmental performance; Climatic simulation

1. Introduction Centre at Dubbo in south eastern Australia (see Fig. 1)

Stabilised rammed earth (SRE) is an eco-friendly
masonry wall material made from a carefully controlled
mix of aggregates such as graded sub-soil, quarry waste or
recycled crushed demolition waste. The aggregates are
stabilised using Portland cement and then dynamically
compacted inside removable shuttering. The walls are
immediately load bearing and can either be solid or
insulated-cavity construction. The aggregates must be
carefully graded to produce a particle-size distribution
that is both suitable for compaction whilst providing
minimal linear shrinkage [1]. SRE offers a rapid rate of
production at typically 10–15 m2 of 300-mm-thick solid
wall per day and has a uniquely attractive, layered
appearance that closely resembles natural sandstone [2].
A recent SRE project is the Juvenile Justice Detention
Corresponding author. Tel: +44 0 115 846 7873;
fax: +44 0 115 951 3159.
E-mail address: matthew.hall@nottingham.ac.uk.
which was made using locally available soils.
Dampness in buildings affects several million people
throughout the UK and so the design and construction of
modern masonry walls demands careful attention [3]. SRE
represents a new breed of environmentally friendly wall
construction that has succeeded in many developed
countries throughout the world but has yet to make a
significant impact in the UK despite the availability of
experienced contractors. Under the Building Regulations
for England & Wales there are currently no recognised
standards or specifications for SRE wall construction [4].
This factor, combined with the need for further research,
has been instrumental in facilitating a conservative
approach towards the suitability of SRE walls in the damp
UK climate. Laboratory tests have shown that both
capillary and pressure-driven moisture ingress in SRE
materials has been observed to vary greatly depending
upon soil type, and that the performance of the material
can be greatly increased through optimisation of the soil
grading [5].

0360-1323/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.08.017
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
140 M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145

Fig. 1. Juvenile Justice Detention Centre in New South Wales, Australia

(photo: Earth Structures Pty Ltd.).
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the SHU climatic simulation chamber
(photo: courtesy [6])

2. SHU climatic simulation chamber

Sheffield Hallam University’s climatic simulator was

originally designed and built by Alan Taylor-Firth and
David Flatt to investigate the performance of building
materials and full-sized building elements (e.g. walls) under
a wide range of simulated climatic conditions [6]. The main
advantage of the climate chamber is that it represents the
elusive ‘middle-ground’ between naturally exposed outdoor
test walls and less representative small-scale laboratory
tests. Full-sized test walls can be constructed inside the
climate chamber following normal trade practices, and
realistic climatic effects of weather and exposure can be
accurately simulated and monitored under laboratory
conditions. The simulator itself is composed of two
separate chambers called the ‘design’ side and the ‘climate’
side. The dimensions of each chamber are 4 m long, 3 m
wide and 2.6 m in height. The normal operating tempera- Fig. 3. Construction detail at the base of the SRE test walls.
ture range is +20 to
15 1C (75 1C) depending on the
internal conditions specified [7]. A schematic diagram
illustrating the basic operation of the climatic simulation of Architecture, Grenoble (CRATerre-EAG) recommend
chamber is shown in Fig. 2. parameters for a suitable rammed earth particle-size
The design side of the simulation chamber represents the distribution. These parameters have been superimposed
interior conditions of a building. It has the capacity to onto the British Standard BS1377 [9] particle-size distribu-
maintain standard indoor room conditions of 20 1C711 tion chart illustrated in Fig. 4. A standard methodology for
and 40% RH 75%. The climate side of the simulation blending graded quarry material to produce 100 mm SRE
chamber creates realistic sequences of different external cube samples has been published by the author [1]. This
weather conditions that can run in a fixed mode, sequence enables the specification and consistent production of
mode, or cyclic mode. The advantage of this is that the rammed earth mix designs of known composition (see
start and finish temperatures can be specified, as well as the Fig. 4). The mix designs are reproducible and, for the
rates of change of other weather components such as purposes of testing, allow accurate control of parameters
relative humidity and/or rainfall. such as particle-size distribution. Each of the three mix
designs was stabilised with 6% (by dry mass) ordinary
3. SRE test walls Portland cement. Prior to compaction the soils were mixed
to their optimum moisture content, previously determined
Four 300-mm-thick SRE test walls were constructed in accordance with BS 1377: 4 using the well-known
inside the SHU climatic simulation chamber on top of a ‘Proctor method’. The earth was placed in layers 150 mm
concrete plinth (see Fig. 3). Houben and Guillaud [8] of thick inside oiled proprietary formwork and compacted
The International Centre for Earth Construction—School using an Atlas Copco RAM30 pneumatic tamper.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145
Fig. 4. Particle-size distribution chart showing the grading parameters for
SRE mix designs.
Fig. 5. Completed SRE test walls viewed from the climate side of the
simulation chamber.
The four test walls were separated from one another by a
100 mm thick timber-framed air cavity that incorporated
the sealed end boards from the formwork. The end boards
thus became ‘sacrificial’ and were retained as a part of the
experimental design. Following their completion, the mini
test walls were allowed to cure for a minimum period of 28
days in laboratory conditions at 22 1C711 and 40%
RH75%. The wall edges were then overlapped and sealed
with phenolic resin-coated plywood and caulked around
the entire perimeter with silicone sealant. The top half of
the climate chamber (the remaining height above the test
walls) was completed with timber stud walling and ply
wood sheets. These were then covered with 1200 g damp
proof membrane and fastened around the edges with cloth
tape to pressure-seal the climate side of the chamber. The
resultant dimensions for the exposed test face of each wall
were 500 mm wide by 900 mm high (area ¼ 0.45 m2). The
result of the finishing & sealing work described here can be
seen from the picture in Fig. 5.
141
4. Test run 1: low-velocity rainfall simulation
The test methodologies and apparatus described in the
following section are based on the specifications provided
in BS 4315-2: 1970 Methods of test for resistance to air and
water penetration—permeable walling constructions (water
penetration) [10]. Test run 1 employed a sparge pipe
delivery system with a low-velocity constant head supply of
water. The 15 mm diameter copper sparge pipes (1 per wall)
each had an array of eight holes at 0.7 mm diameter in
order to deliver the rainfall ‘trickle’. Each sparge pipe had a
skirting attachment connecting the flow of water with the
wall in such a way that the run-off was distributed more
evenly across the face of the test wall. The water supply was
pumped from a reservoir into a separate header tank that
was positioned on the roof of the chamber. This ensured a
greater degree of accuracy in maintaining consistent water
flow rates. Between the supply of water from the header
tank and each of the four sparge pipes there was an in-line
gate valve to enable the water supply to be shut off from
within the chamber. Also fitted in-line was a 6.7 mm needle
valve to regulate flow through a range between 0.2 and
2.0 L/min. The overall configuration of this rainfall
delivery system is illustrated in Fig. 6. The rate of water
delivery specified in BS 4315-2:1970 is 0.5 L/m2 min [10].
Since the surface area of the rammed earth test walls is
0.45 m2 the required rate of water delivery equates to
0.225 L/min per wall.
The process of calibration includes covering the wall face
with a removable plastic sheet such that the total amount
of water delivery can be measured before being applied to
the porous wall face. Due to the small pressure required to
achieve this very low flow rate the delivery pattern of the
rainfall was observed to trickle down the wall in discreet
channels. The outlet for each decanting pipe was posi-
tioned  6 mm above the base of the guttering. This
ensured that the guttering acted as a silt trap for any solid
particles that washed away from the wall surface. The ‘silt
trap’ first had to be primed (prior to the test commencing)
by filling it with water until the decanting pipe overflowed
the excess amount of water. It was intended that the total
Fig. 6. Schematic diagram of the low-velocity sparge pipe rainfall system.
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142 M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145
dry mass of the trapped particles would be indicative of the
level of erosion that occurred due to rainfall.
The test run lasted for a total of 5 days followed by a 4
week drying period. To start the test, the protective plastic
sheets (used during the calibration phase) were removed,
and the climate side of the chamber was pressurised to
250 N/m2. This is the figure recommended by BS 4315-2:
1970; it is a static equivalent to strong wind pressure and
has the effect of exacerbating moisture penetration. The
rainfall and pressure differential was constantly maintained
for a cycle of 6 h, after which the pressure and rain are
turned off for an 18 h drying cycle. This first test cycle
represents day 1, where the entire test programme runs for
a total of 5 days.
The water run-off was collected at the following intervals
after the start of each 6 h pressurised rainfall cycle: 10 min,
20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, 270, 300, 330,
and 360. That is to say, the readings are taken every 10 min
for the first hour and then every 30 min for the remaining
5 h. Since the rate of flow is known, the mass of run-off
water collected over a 1 min period could be calculated as
an effective rate of absorption in ml/m2 min for each of the
four test walls. Theoretically, the initially dry test wall(s)
should absorb a relatively large amount of water during the
first hour of exposure, with decreasing amounts of water
absorption as the remainder of the test period proceeds. It
was anticipated that factors such as the total amounts of
water absorption, rate of penetration, and the rate of
decreasing absorption over time would be significantly
affected by the soil type in each of the different rammed
earth test walls.
All four test walls ‘passed’ the test with distinction
because no signs of water penetration or leakage occurred
during the entire 5-day test run. In comparison, a similar
study was recently performed in the climate chamber on a
series of 300 mm thick granite block walls with hydraulic
lime mortar, some with the additional application of dense
lime render. Most of the stone test walls began to leak
during the first 6 h of exposure to these conditions, and
even those protected by render began to permit water
penetration to occur after only a couple of days. On the
SRE test walls, the calculated absorption rates appeared to
be masked by small, intermittent fluctuations in the rate of
water delivery. As a direct result of these issues, the
calculated data for water absorption in the test walls is
intangible. It was concluded that this particular methodol-
ogy of water delivery was perhaps only suitable for a
qualitative analysis of the time taken for full penetration/
leakage to occur, as specified in BS 4315-2, rather than
attempt to measure the rate of water absorption over time.
5. Test run 2: high-velocity rainfall simulation
Test run #2 utilised high-pressure water supplying high-
velocity raindrop spray nozzles. The purpose of this testing
was to quantify moisture absorption, erosion and rate of
pressure-driven moisture ingress. The high-pressure rain-
drop nozzles produced a 1201 flat, fan-shaped spray
pattern. This gave an efficient distribution of water and
subsequent run-off across the full width of the test wall
face. The spray nozzles were supplied by a high-pressure
potable water supply delivered via a large header tank at a
pressure of  9 bar (130 PSI). The in-line gate valves
remained connected to act as an emergency shut off valve
operated from inside the climate side of the chamber. The
in-line needle valves were removed, however, and a single
needle valve was used to regulate the mains water supply
that fed a common rail connecting all four spray nozzles.
The design for this high-pressure rainfall delivery system is
illustrated in the diagram shown in Fig. 7.
The 5-day test methodology was identical to that
described in test run 1. It was observed that a flow rate
of 0.65 L/min was the minimum rate at which a very good
spray pattern could be achieved using this apparatus. The
average variation in the delivery rate was 70.04 L/min
per wall. During the 6 h daily rainfall period the water run-
off from each test wall was collected and measured at
regular intervals.
The water run-off collection data from each of the 5 days
was plotted against elapsed time on a graph. Even though
the level of variation in water delivery had been much
improved over that of test Run 1, its effects still appeared
to have a significant influence. As one would expect, the
recorded mass of collected water run-off for each of the test
walls was smaller during the early stages of the test and
then began to increase back towards the original delivery
rate. To look at this data in isolation, however, would be
misleading since the delivery rates between test walls can
actually vary by up to 70.04 L/min. For each test wall, one
can calculate the mean absorption rate by deducting the
collected amount of water run-off, at each time interval,
from the set delivery rate. The mean absorption in each
SRE test wall was very low and typically less than 80 ml/
min per wall. Since the typical dry mass for one of these
300 mm thick test walls is 280 kg, the calculated mean
water absorption only represents around 0.01%. It
appeared that only a thin outer layer of each wall became
saturated and in doing so preventing subsequent moisture
ingress, i.e. the ‘overcoat’ effect (Fig. 8).
Fig. 7. Schematic diagram of the high-velocity spray nozzle rainfall
system.
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M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145 143

The test methodology provides the effects of static

pressure differential combined with a known quantity of
surface absorption; therefore attempts were made to
calculate the rate of water absorption per unit inflow
surface area, i.e. the initial surface absorption (ISA). The
findings were compared with the results of previous
experimental work published by the author [11] involving
100 mm SRE cube samples made from the same soil mix
recipes (433, 613, and 703). The samples had the same
material dry density and were stabilised with the same
percentage of cement (6% by mass). The graphs in Figs. 9, Fig. 9. A comparison between the ISA values for SRE test cubes and the
SRE test wall using the 433 mix design.
10 and 11 show the comparison between the ISA of
rammed earth cube samples for a given mix recipe, with the
ISA observed in the corresponding climate chamber test
wall. All of the test walls appear to have similar ISA values
to one another regardless of the type of soil mix recipe or
the day on which it was tested. However, the differences in
ISA values for the cube samples vary greatly according to
the type of soil mix recipe. There is virtually no disparity
between the cube sample and test wall ISA values for the
433-mix recipe. The test wall ISA values for the 613-mix
recipe are significantly lower than the cube sample values,
whilst the test wall ISA values for the 703-mix recipe are
Fig. 10. A comparison between the ISA values for SRE test cubes and the
considerably lower than their equivalent cube sample
SRE test walls using the 613 mix design.
values. It was hypothesised that the insignificant level of
moisture ingress that occurred in the climate chamber test

Fig. 11. A comparison between the ISA values for SRE test cubes and the
SRE test wall using the 703 mix design.

walls may result from the moisture source being dynamic

Fig. 8. Saturated fac- ade of an SRE test wall during high-velocity rainfall
simulation.
and not static (as in the standard ISA test). The forces of
capillarity and applied pressure differential, which are
working to incise absorption of the surface run-off, are
perhaps working against the kinetic energy of the moving
water.
The clayey-silt content of each test wall was kept
constant, and yet the granular particle-size distribution
was varied considerably by using different mix recipes. We
can conclude that, for full-scale test walls under simulated
rainfall conditions, the initial surface absorption of
pressure-driven water run-off appears to be independent
of the granular particle-size distribution in a soil. In
addition, it would appear that at this scale the level of clay
content in a soil might be the principal factor controlling
the level of moisture ingress and migration. Summarily, an
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
144 M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145
approximate clay content (CC) of 0.1 and a silt content of
0.2 [5] can be used to produce stabilised rammed earth
walls (with 6% cement) that have a very low absorption
when exposed to pressure-driven water run-off.
6. Test run 3: embedded sensor arrays
After the first and second test runs had been completed,
an array of electronic sensors was retrofitted to each of the
four rammed earth test walls. Three different types of
sensors were installed such that the properties of tempera-
ture, relative humidity (RH), and liquid moisture content
could be monitored throughout subsequent test regimes.
The sensors were embedded by drilling a small hole from
the inside of the wall to the required depth and then
carefully inserting the sensor using a metal rod marked at
different depths. Once in place the sensor hole was capped
and sealed using silicone caulking. In each wall, six type-T
copper/constantan thermocouples (protected by hollow
plastic tubing) were installed to depths of 25, 50, 75, 100,
125, and 150 mm. In addition, armoured thermocouples
were mounted onto both the internal and external wall
faces. A single Rotronic RH sensor (encased in a protective
PTFE membrane) was embedded to a depth of 150 mm,
whilst six gold-plated resistance probes (for moisture
content) were embedded to the same depths as the
thermocouples. The sensors were energised, where appro-
priate, using a 5 V DC stabilised supply and logged
readings every 10 min for the entire 5-day period of test
run 3.
The same methodology for pressure-driven rainfall that
was used in run 2 was also applied in run 3 using high-
velocity spray nozzles. The target rainfall delivery rate
remained at 0.65 L/min per wall and the applied static
pressure differential had a force equivalent to 250 N/m2.
No changes in liquid moisture content or relative humidity
were detected between the depths of 150 and 300 mm
(inside face) from the exposed external face. From this we
may deduce that, under these conditions, the test walls did
not appear to allow the pressure-driven moisture to
penetrate as far as 150 mm into the wall. The relative
humidity recorded at the centre point of each test wall
typically remained constant with the values observed prior
to testing, and ranged between 93% and 94%.
The observed cooling effect of the surface run-off water
(approx. 15 1C) upon the wall surface was significant, and it
affected the wall temperature all the way to the interior
surface. The thermal behaviour for each of the test walls
was observed to be very similar with no significant
differences occurring between soil mix recipes. The initial
temperature of both the internal and external wall faces
was approximately 22 1C, and the temperature of the
exposed faces were lowered by the cooling effect of the
water to around 18 1C. The core temperature of each test
wall gradually dropped by up to 1.5 1 (approx. 20.5 1C)
below the interior wall face temperature during the 6 h
period of exposure to rainfall. We can observe from
Fig. 12. A typical temperature depth profile analysis of an SRE test wall
during a cyclic pressure-driven rainfall/drying regime.
Fig. 12, the cooling effects of the rainwater run-off were
cumulative resulting in a gradual reduction in wall core
temperature over the 5-day period. The implications are
that potential may arise for interior surface condensation
or the accumulation of interstitial condensation within an
SRE wall. This would strongly depend upon the vapour
permeability of the material, the determination of which
would require further research at this stage.
7. Test run 4: static climate differentials
The effect of temperature differential has been explored
further by creating various fixed temperature and humidity
gradients across the test walls. This was achieved by
maintaining a difference in temperature/humidity between
the design side and the climate side of the chamber for a
24 h period. All of this testing was performed in the absence
of any rainfall or pressure differential. The indoor (design
side) conditions were maintained at 20 1C71 1 and 40%
RH 75% to represent a comfortable indoor living
environment. The outdoor conditions (climate side) were
kept at a constantly high level of relative humidity: 75%
75%. This represents a damp outdoor environment that is
typical of the inclement British weather.
Test run 4 was performed in order to provide additional
data on the interesting effect of temperature depth profile
analysis. The test run lasted for a total period of 4 days and
included three different outdoor temperature levels.
On days 1 and 2 the ‘outdoor’ conditions were continu-
ously maintained at 8 1C 75% RH, on day 3 they were
maintained at 0 1C 75% RH, and on day 4 they were
maintained at
8 1C 75% RH, during which time snowfall
began to occur. During all 4 days of test run 4 the sensor
array was used for recording the performance of the test
walls.
The temperature depth profiles appeared to be remark-
ably similar to one another and independent of soil type.
The typical thermal performance of a test wall can be
represented by the example shown in Fig. 13. No
significant changes were observed in the relative humidity
or moisture content resistance probes during run 4. This
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
M.R. Hall / Building and Environment 42 (2007) 139–145
Fig. 13. A typical temperature depth profile analysis of an SRE test wall
during different static temperature and humidity gradients.
suggests that no interstitial condensation could be gener-
ated within the confines of this test regime.
8. Summary
The SHU climatic simulation chamber is a unique and
well-established base for experimental work involving full-
scale building elements. A series of stabilised rammed earth
test walls have successfully been constructed inside the
climate chamber in a manner that conforms to established
procedures and parameters for this apparatus. Test
methodologies for investigating rainfall penetration with
static pressure-differential, based upon BS 4315-2: 1970,
are suitable for assessing the environmental performance of
SRE walls.
All of the cement-stabilised rammed earth test walls
exceeded the SHU climatic simulation chamber rainfall
penetration tests based upon BS4315-2: 1970. After 5 days
of exposure to static pressure-driven moisture ingress there
was no evidence of moisture penetration or erosion. Under
these test conditions, the ISA is a comparatively low value
that is similar for each test wall and appears to be
independent of differences in the particle-size distribution
between mix recipes. This indicates that the kinetic energy
of the dynamic moisture source (i.e. run-off water) is
sufficient to exceed the capillary potential of the wall face.
However, since the clayey-silt content of each mix recipe
was constant it may also indicate that the proportion of
cohesive fines in the mix determines the ISA of a wall
145
independently of particle-size distribution. The embedded
sensor array detected no significant increase in the relative
humidity or liquid moisture content inside the test walls
from a minimum depth of 150 mm away from the exposed
face. This observation applied throughout a range of
temperature differentials and high levels of humidity
indicating a negligible risk of internal or interstitial
condensation.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge the advice and
assistance of laboratory technician Stephen Hetherington
(Sheffield Hallam University) for the experimental work
detailed in this paper.
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