Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Cleaner Materials
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clema

Reuse of harbour and river dredged sediments in adobe bricks

Mazhar Hussain a,b,⇑, Daniel Levacher a, Nathalie Leblanc b, Hafida Zmamou b, Irini Djeran-Maigre c,
Andry Razakamanantsoa d, Léo Saouti a,b
a
Normandie Université, Unicaen, UMR 6143 CNRS - M2C, 24 rue des Tilleuls, 14000 Caen, France
b
UniLaSalle, Univ.Artois, EA7519 - Transformations & Agro-ressources, Normandie Université, 76130 Mont Saint Aignan, France
c
Université Lyon, INSA Lyon, GEOMAS, 69621 Villeurbanne, France
d
Université Gustave Eiffel, Département GERS, 44344 Bouguenais, France

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Dredged sediments from ports and rivers are treated as waste material. The disposal of waste sediments has
Dredged sediments environmental concerns and requires financial resources. Dredged sediments reuse in building material such
Hemp shiv as adobe bricks can provide an alternate solution to valorize and handle this waste material. Adobe bricks
Palm oil fibers are eco‐friendly construction materials manufactured with clayey soil and fibers. Natural fibers addition
Adobe bricks
improves mechanical and thermal characteristics of adobe bricks.
Waste recycling
In this research, a pilot study was conducted to manufacture adobe bricks from harbor dredged sediments
and replicate the procedure to manufacture adobe bricks for river dredged sediments. Harbor sediments were
taken from Dunkirk port, France. The physical and chemical characteristics of these sediments were analyzed.
Sediments suitability for adobe bricks with grains size and Atterberg limit was discussed with different
approaches. Bricks were manufactured by mixing Dunkirk sediments and saturated hemp shiv at different
hemp shiv content. Sediments and fibers were mixed with a mortar mixer and molded into specimens of
4*4*16 cm3. Dynamic compaction was opted to compact the bricks. Drying of bricks was done in the oven
at 40 °C. Finally, sediments mixing, molding and compaction procedures were derived and problems encoun-
tered during were discussed.
The procedure derived from Dunkirk sediments was implemented on Usumacinta River sediments to make
adobe bricks with the addition of palm oil flower fibers (POFl). Characteristics of Usumacinta River sediments
and palm oil flower fibers were found to use in adobe bricks. Palm oil flowers fibers were cut with a knife mill
of grid‐2 cm and grid‐3 cm. Dunkirk sediments bricks manufacturing process was repeated to make bricks from
Usumacinta sediments.
Laboratory scale manufacturing and testing of bricks from Dunkirk port sediments and Usumacinta River
sediments allows to observe the valorization of dredged sediments in adobe bricks with mechanical perspec-
tives. In this study, properties of bricks manufactured by both harbor and river dredged sediments such as ten-
sile strength, toughness and fibers distribution inside the bricks were studied and compared.

Introduction Singh, 2017). Recycling polluted sediments is difficult and need prior
treatment for their reuse. Furthermore, dewatering of dredged sedi-
Sediments are dredged from seaports, rivers and water channels for ments is also necessary to use them (Boullosa Allariz et al., 2019).
navigation, water flow and offshore activities. Millions of tonnes of Harbour and river sediments have been used in various sectors such
sediments are dredged across the world. These sediments are treated as roads, backfill, retaining walls, cement clinker and bricks by differ-
as waste and dumped into the sea or stored on land sites. Sediment ent researchers (Siham et al., 2008; Anger et al., 2017; Manap et al.,
dumping in the sea causes environmental problems, especially for mar- 2015). Sediments reuse in the building sector seems promising as it
ine life. Similarly, land storage of sediments has leaching and cost reduces the burden on natural resources and carbon emissions. The
issues. Sediments recycling in different applications is increasing building sector in the world is increasing rapidly with concrete as
nowadays due to the cost and environmental concerns (Rakshith and the principal building material. Concrete is globally responsible for

⇑ Corresponding author at: UniLaSalle, Univ.Artois, EA7519 - Transformations & Agro-ressources, Normandie Université, 76130 Mont Saint Aignan, France.
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Hussain).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clema.2022.100046
Received 1 October 2021; Revised 9 December 2021; Accepted 10 January 2022

2772-3976/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

10% of worldwide carbon release (Ramakrishnan et al., 2021). There- Soil stabilization in crude bricks is achieved by compaction or by
fore, the use of dredged sediments in adobe bricks is important and the addition of stabilizers such as cement, gypsum and lime (Adam
provides eco‐friendly construction material. Adobe bricks are one of and Agib, 2001). Stabilized bricks samples after compaction are sun‐
the oldest construction materials and are widely used for construction dried or oven‐dried. Sun‐drying is the most economical and eco‐
activities in developing countries. Adobe bricks are environment‐ friendly method, and it is possible in hot arid conditions. By drying
friendly and sustainable building materials with minimum CO2 emis- the bricks, fibers inside the bricks also dry and their volume decreases
sions. Less energy consumption, cheap and abundant raw material due to shrinkage. Microcracks are developed around the fibers inside
and easier recycling make them attractive building materials. the bricks. Water repellent additives are helpful to minimize this effect
For sediments recycling in adobe bricks, physical and chemical (Ghavami et al., 1999).
characteristics of sediments are important. These characteristics The strength and characteristics of bricks are crucial for their use in
include granulometry, Atterberg limits, chemical and mineralogical construction material. Minimum design compressive strength for unre-
composition. Percentage of silt, sand and clay are also important fac- inforced adobe bricks varies from 0.3 to 1.4 MPa in different interna-
tors for sediments suitability for bricks. Composition of silt, sand and tional standards used in Germany, Australia and India (Schroeder,
clay can be modified by the addition of other types of sediments 2012). French and Mexican standards recommend compressive
(AFNOR XP P13‐901, 2001; MOPT ‐ Ministerio de Obras Públicas y strength of 1 MPa (AFNOR XP, P13‐901, NORMA E.080). Tensile
Transportes, 1992; Vasic et al., 2020). strength is another important property of crude bricks. The tensile
Adobe bricks manufacturing consists of sediments mixing, molding, strength of bricks with short fibers is usually higher than the tensile
compaction and drying. Crushed sediments and natural fibers are strength of bricks with long fibers (Bledzki and Gassan 1999). Tensile
mixed with molding moisture content. strength of crude bricks increases with fibers addition up to optimum
Natural fibers are waste material and added in bricks due to the fiber content. Minimum tensile strength recommended is 0.25 MPa in
strength and durability limitation of crude bricks. Common natural NZS standard while the Mexican standard recommends tensile
fibers used in construction activities include coconut coir, straw, jute, strength of 0.012 MPa with three point bending test (NZS 4298,
palm fibers and sugar cane bagasse and others. Natural fibers use in NORMA E.080). Higher quantity of fibers reduces cohesion between
composite materials such as concrete, mortar and crude bricks pro- sediments. Some other important characteristics of bricks include
vide their eco‐friendly use in construction materials (Bui, 2021; water absorption, density, inundation and resistance against weather-
Parisi et al., 2015). Natural fibers act as reinforcement in composite ing. Density of crude bricks depends on sediments and fibers used, per-
materials. Natural fibers addition in composites increases the tensile centage of fibers and compaction energy applied.
strength of the composite material and transforms the brittle failure Tensile and compressive strength of adobe bricks are considerably
to ductile failure. The presence of natural fibers decreases the shrink- lower than concrete and fired bricks. Furthermore, crude bricks are
age and growth of big cracks in crude bricks during fast drying of vulnerable to weathering. Interaction with water reduces their
bricks (ASTM E2392/E2392M‐10, 2016). Natural fibers improve strength and in case of inundation, bricks may lead to failure. Crude
the thermal and hygroscopic characteristics of crude bricks by regu- bricks have durability issues and weak seismic performance. Additives
lating humidity absorption and evaporation (Subramanian et al., such as cement, gypsum and lime are sometimes used to increase the
2021). Fibers characteristics such as tensile strength and shelf life strength and durability of crude bricks (Mesbah et al., 2004). The
are important for the strength of bricks and these properties can be use of additives increases the cost of crude bricks and the
improved by treatment of fibers. Fibers are added in crude bricks environment‐friendly nature is affected.
usually by mass or by volume (Calatan et al., 2016). Length of fibers This study focuses on the valorization of harbor and river dredged
is a useful parameter that significantly affects the quality of crude sediments and waste fibers in crude bricks as only a few studies have
bricks. Recommended length of fibers for composite materials such been conducted on the reuse of dredged sediments in crude bricks.
as concrete in ASTM standard is around 25 mm (ASTM D7357 – Crude bricks were manufactured by waste sediments dredged from
07, 2012). The distribution and orientation of fibers inside the matrix Dunkirk port and Usumacinta River. Dunkirk sediments are mixed
is also critical for the strength of bricks but is difficult to control the with hemp shiv while Usumacinta River sediments are mixed with
orientation of fibers inside the bricks. Fibers parallel to the brick palm oil flower fibers to make crude bricks. Sediments and fibers char-
cross‐section contribute more towards the tensile strength of compos- acteristics were studied before their use in adobe bricks. Finally, bricks
ite materials (Bui, 2021). manufacturing was followed by the analysis of characteristics of adobe
Water content used to mix sediments and fibers can be derived bricks such as tensile strength, bending stiffness, toughness and fibers
through Atterberg limits and optimum moisture content distribution inside the bricks.
(Ramakrishnan et al., 2021; Li Piani et al., 2020). Higher molding
moisture content reduces the strength of bricks while with lower mois-
ture content, molding of the mixture becomes difficult. Sediments and Materials and methods
fibers are usually mixed with a laboratory scale machine to make the
homogenous mixture for experiments (Salih et al., 2018). The sedi- Sediments
ments mixture is molded into bricks of different sizes. Steel and woo-
den molds are commonly used for this purpose. Porcelain mold of size Harbour dredged sediments from Dunkirk port (France) and river
4*4*16 cm3 is generally used for laboratory‐scale manufacturing of dredged sediments from the Usumacinta River (Mexico) were used
composite materials (Seifi et al., 2018; Bui, 2021). Molded sediments in this study. Physical and chemical characteristics of both sediments
mixture is compacted to achieve good strength, improve the resistance were found to use them in crude bricks.
of bricks against weathering and water absorption. Granulometry of sediments is an important parameter as it decides
Compaction of bricks is usually done by static compaction, dynamic the sediment’s suitability for crude bricks. Granulometry of Dunkirk
compaction, tamping and by vibrations. Rearrangement of soil parti- (DK) and Usumacinta River sediments (USU) was found with laser
cles takes place with the compaction of bricks, and voids are removed granulometry according to French recommendations (AFNOR NF
which increases the strength and density of soil. Crude bricks exhibit X31‐107, 2003). The silt, sand, clay content and medium diameter
higher tensile and compressive strength with dynamic compaction of both sediments are shown in Table 1.
(Binici et al., 2005). In the case of dynamic and static compaction, Sediments suitability with respect to granulometry for crude bricks
compaction energy is another useful parameter that influences the with AFNOR standard (AFNOR XP P13‐901, 2001) and recommended
strength and density of crude bricks. zones by Houben and Guillaud (1994) is shown in Fig. 1.

2
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Table 1
Silt, sand and clay content of Usumacinta and Dunkirk sediments.

Sediment Clay (%) Silt (%) Sand (%) D50 (μm)

Usumacinta (USU) 5.90 41.30 52.80 51.85

Dunkirk (DK) 4.29 24.78 70.92 159.40

Fig. 1. Sediments suitability for crude bricks. Note: CEB = compressed earth blocks.

Fig. 2. Sediments suitability with respect to PI. Note: Ram = Rammed earth.

We can observe from Fig. 1 that Usumacinta River sediments and P13‐901, 2001) and recommended areas by Houben and Guillaud
Dunkirk sediments are inside in the zones recommended for crude (1994).
bricks. Sediments granulometry shows that these sediments can be We can observe from Fig. 2 that Usumacinta River sediments (USU)
used for manufacturing crude bricks. Atterberg limits of sediments are within the proposed zone while Dunkirk (DK) sediments are out-
were found as sediments molding characteristics are based on liquidity side the zone suitable for manufacturing crude bricks due to low plas-
limit (LL) and plasticity limit (PL). Sediments suitability for bricks with ticity index and liquidity limit as these sediments have high sand
Atterberg limits is shown in Fig. 2 with AFNOR standard (AFNOR XP content and low clay content.

3
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Raw material along with mixing tools used for manufacturing crude Tensile strength testing of palm oil flower fiber shows that these
bricks is shown in Fig. 3a and b. Fig. 3a shows the Dunkirk sediments fibers have elastoplastic behavior which is common in natural fibers.
and hemp shiv while Fig. 3b shows the Usumacinta River sediments Water absorption of fibers was found by immersing the fibers in water
and palm oil flower fibers used in this study. for 48 h. Water absorption, tensile strength and skeletal density of both
Physical and chemical characteristics of Usumacinta River sedi- POFl fibers and hemp shiv are shown in Table 4.
ments and Dunkirk sediments useful for their use in bricks such as car-
bonate, optimum water content, organic matter, pH, Atterberg limits, Manufacturing of bricks
solid particles density and specific surface area (SSA) were deter-
mined. Sediments characteristics are summarised in Table 2. Crude bricks were manufactured with Dunkirk sediments and
The specific surface area of Usumacinta River sediments was found Usumacinta River sediments. Bricks manufacturing steps such as sedi-
with BET method. Specific surface area and solid particles density of ments mixing, molding, compaction and drying were performed.
Dunkirk sediments used in this study was calculated by Boullosa These steps are illustrated in Fig. 6.
Allariz et al. (2019). and given by Wang et al. (2010), respectively. Crude bricks were made with 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% plant bio-
mass (hemp shiv and POFl fibers) while control specimens were man-
ufactured with 0% plant biomass. The fiber content of 0% to 5% is
Fibers commonly found in the literature for crude bricks (Salih et al.,
2018). POFl fibers and hemp shiv were saturated for 24 h before their
Hemp shiv and palm oil flower fibers were used with Dunkirk and use as dry fibers water absorption is not instantaneous. Mixing of sed-
Usumacinta River sediments respectively to make crude bricks. Char- iments, fibers and water was done with a laboratory mortar mixer for
acteristics of hemp shiv and palm oil fibers were studied before their 10 min to make a homogenous mixture. Usumacinta River sediments
use. were mixed with 0 to 5% POFl fibers by mass. Similarly, Dunkirk sed-
Hemp shiv (Hs) is a waste material obtained from the hemp plant. iments were mixed with 0 to 5% hemp shiv by mass. For a specimen of
The hemp shiv used in this study is taken from France. Hemp shiv is size 4*4*16 cm3, 450 g sediments are generally required (Afnor en
manufactured in Europe on industrial scale for different applications. 196–1, 2016). The following formula was used to calculate mass plant
In France, every year 51,000 tons of hemp shiv is produced. aggregates.
(Lenormand and Leblanc, 2020). The other plant biomass material msed  %plantaggregates
used is palm oil flower fibers (POFl). POFl fibers are waste materials mplantaggregates ¼ ð1Þ
100
of palm oil empty fruit bunches after extraction of oil. POFl fibers
are taken from the Tabasco state of Mexico. POFl fibers are not man- In this equation msed is the mass of dry Usumacinta and Dunkirk
ufactured on industrial scale in Mexico and these fibers are treated sediments (g), mplant aggregates is the mass of POFl fibers and hemp shiv
as waste. (g) and %plant aggregates is 0 to 5% POFl fibers and hemp shiv. Molding
POFl fibers were cut with a knife mill with a grid of 2 cm and a grid moisture content was found with the standard Proctor test. Molding
of 3 cm length. Length distribution of hemp shiv and POFl fibers was moisture content varies for Dunkirk and Usumacinta River sediments.
studied with ImageJ software. As fibers obtained from knife mill are For rammed earth blocks which is a type of crude brick, molding mois-
often grinded therefore length distribution and variation of POFl fibers ture content should not be less than 3% below optimum moisture con-
were observed along with hemp shiv. Length of 100 random sizes POFl tent or 5% above optimum moisture content (NZS 4298, 1998). The
fibers and hemp shiv aggregates was measured with ImageJ software following formula was used to determine the quantity of water neces-
through binarization. Test was repeated three times to obtain precise sary for the mixture.
values. Length distribution of hemp shiv and POFl fibers is shown in msed  %ofwater
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 respectively. mwater ¼ þ mplantaggregates ð2Þ
100
The average, maximum and minimum lengths observed for both
types of plant aggregates are summarized in Table 3.

Fig. 3. Dunkirk sediments and hemp shiv (a), Usumacinta River sediments and palm oil flower fibers (b).

4
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Table 2
Usumacinta River and Dunkirk sediments characteristics.

Sediments CaCO3 Wopt OM MBV pH LL PI ρsed SSA

(%) (%) (%) (g/100 g) (%) (%) (g/cm3) (m2/g)

USU 7.84 19.3 4.48 2.73 7.50 37.74 7.83 2.63 28.20
DK 13.34 20.5 5.29 0.60 8.39 18.92 8.20 2.53–2.58 14.33

Fig. 4. Length distribution of hemp shiv.

Fig. 5. Length distribution of palm oil flower fibers for grid 2 cm and grid 3 cm long fibers.

Table 3 researchers to compact the bricks (Bahar et al., 2004; Dormohamadi

Length distribution of POFl fibers and hemp shiv. and Rahimnia, 2020). Crude bricks in this study were compacted with
Fibers Average length (mm) Maximum length (mm) dynamic compaction with compaction energy of 600 kN.m/m3 which
is normally used for the Proctor test to get maximum density. Com-
Hemp shiv 11.67 50.46
paction was done with a miniature Proctor apparatus with a falling
POFl (grid-2 cm) 9.50 24.05
POFl (grid-3 cm) 11.54 32.96
mass of 1.043 kg at a height of 17.8 mm (Hussain et al., 2020). After
compaction, it is possible to remove the brick sample from the mold by
opening the bolts. Finally, the bricks samples were oven‐dried at 40 °C.
Drying of bricks samples lasted for 3–4 days until their mass variation
Table 4
Characteristics of fibers.
was below 1%. Crude bricks samples manufactured with Usumacinta
Rivers sediments at 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% fibers addition by mass
Fibers POFl Hemp shiv are shown in Fig. 7.
Skeletal density (g/cm3) 1.37 1.44–1.52*
Water absorption (%) 235 298 Testing of mud bricks
Tensile strengthaverage (MPa) 29.27–334.60 960 +/-220 MPa**

Note * Jiang et al., 2018; ** Thygesen et al., 2008. The flexural strength of crude bricks is an important parameter to
observe the quality of bricks. Three‐point bending test was used to find
the indirect tensile strength of bricks according to ASTM standard
In this equation msed is the mass of dry sediments (g), mplant aggre- (ASTM C1557‐03, 2004). Shimadzu AGS‐X model with a sensor of
, is the mass of POFl fibers and hemp shiv (g). As abovementioned,
gates 50 kN at a displacement rate of 0.5 mm/min was used for the flexural
sediments and plant biomass mixture were molded into prismatic spec- strength test. We can see the testing and rupture surface of a crude
imens of 4*4*16 cm3 which are commonly used for mortar and con- brick sample in Fig. 8a in which load was applied perpendicular to
crete applications at laboratory scale (Afnor en 196–1, 2016). Bricks the layers interface. Testing and flexural load–deflection behavior of
specimens were compacted in two layers. Dynamic compaction of a brick made with Usumacinta River sediments along with POFl fibers
crude bricks is an effective method and has been applied by different is shown in Fig. 8a and 8b respectively.

5
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Fig. 6. Bricks manufacturing steps.

Fig. 7. Usumacinta River sediments crude bricks samples. Fig. 9. Toughness index diagram after ASTM standard (ASTM C 1018 – 97,
1998).

The failure mechanism of bricks in Fig. 8a indicates that crack ini-

tiates from the bottom of bricks and propagates upwards. The tensile brick i.e. 2 and 3 fibers are visible on the front and backside such as
load–deflection curves in Fig. 8b show that the tensile strength of 2S1, 2S2, 3S1 and 3S2. Each side corresponds to a cross‐section. Dig-
bricks increases linearly before failure. ital microscope Keyence model VHX 6000, was used to make the
Toughness of both harbor and river dredged sediments was found image of each section. These images were treated with ImageJ soft-
with ASTM standard (ASTM C 1018 – 97, 1998). Toughness of bricks ware to observe the fibers distribution.
increases with fibers addition up to the optimum fiber content. The
diagram to calculate toughness index (I5) is shown in Fig. 9. Results and discussion
Homogenous distribution and orientation of fibers are important
for the strength of crude bricks. Fibers distribution in bricks was Bricks manufacturing
observed by ImageJ software. Crude bricks were divided into 4 parts
with 6 cross‐sections of size 4*4*4 cm3. Fig. 10 elaborates the 4 parts During mixture preparation, prior hemp shiv and POFl fibers satu-
of brick with 6 cross‐sections. Bricks parts at the corners have only one ration allow us to respect the molding moisture content of sediments.
side where fibers are visible such as sides 1 and 4. In central parts of Swelling of hemp shiv and POFl fibers takes place with saturation. In

Fig. 8. Tensile strength testing and behavior of crude bricks (USU sediments and POFl fibers).

6
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Fig. 10. Brick cross-sections.

Table 5
Tensile strength of Usumacinta River and Dunkirk sediments bricks.

Sediment Fibers content (%) 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

Usumacinta USU σt (MPa)- grid 2 cm 1.79 1.56 2.37 2.37 2.93 2.38
Usumacinta USU σt (MPa)- grid 3 cm 1.79 1.79 2.56 3.19 2.02 2.59
Dunkirk DK σt (MPa)- grid 2 cm 0.35 0.48 0.41 0.39 0.35 0.34

Note: Tensile strength values are overestimated as equation (3) is valid only for elastic behavior.

the case of dry hemp shiv and POFl fibers, water absorption by hemp From 0% to 5% POFl fibers addition, it is observed that bricks have
shiv and POFl fibers is not instantaneous and the mixture remains too maximum tensile strength for USU sediments bricks at 4 % fiber con-
wet for molding. During the mixing of sediments and plant biomass, tent of grid 2 cm long fibers and 3% for grid 3 cm long fibers. The ten-
fibers clusters were observed and were manually broken and remixed sile strength of bricks with grid‐3 cm long POFl fibers is higher than
in the case of POFl fibers. DK and USU sediments mixtures were com- the bricks of grid‐2 cm long POFl fibers. Tensile strength of Usumac-
pacted with dynamic compaction. Dynamic compaction of bricks inta River sediments bricks with grid 2 cm and grid 3 cm POFl fibers
prompts the upward movement of fibers which affects the homoge- at optimum fibers content increase 64 % and 79% from control sam-
nous nature of the mixture. ples with 0% fiber content respectively. Tensile strength of DK sedi-
ments bricks is maximum with 1% hemp shiv addition which
Tensile strength increases 39% from the control sample. Dormohamadi and Rahimnia
(2020) observed a 75% tensile strength increase for crude bricks com-
Tensile strength of adobe bricks was calculated with the following pacted dynamically.
formula. The tensile strength of bricks indicates that bricks with Usumacinta
River sediments with POFl have higher strength than the bricks made
1:5  F  l with Dunkirk sediments and hemp shiv. Mineralogical composition,
Indirecttensilestrength ¼ σ ¼ ð3Þ
bd2 Atterberg limits, clay content of sediments, morphology and size of
Where F = flexural force, b = width of brick, d = height of brick, natural fibers used are a few reasons behind the low strength of Dun-
l = length of the supported span. kirk sediments bricks (Bahar et al., 2004).
The average tensile strength of crude bricks with Dunkirk sedi- It can be observed from Table 5 that crude bricks with Usumacinta
ments and hemp shiv along with Usumacinta River sediments and sediments and Dunkirk sediments have the tensile strength of more
POFl fibers of grid 2 cm and gride 3 cm is summarized in Table 5. than 0.25 MPa which is recommended tensile strength by New Zeal-
With increasing fiber content, the brittle behavior of bricks trans- and standard, NZS 4298 (1998). The minimum tensile resistance rec-
forms into ductile behavior with increasing load‐bearing capacity of ommended for adobe in Mexico with Brazilian tensile test is
bricks. It can be seen in Fig. 8b that bricks have brittle failure at 0% 0.08 MPa while with indirect tensile strength test minimum recom-
POFL fiber addition which changes into ductile with fibers addition. mended value for adobe bricks is 0.012 MPa. Compressive strength
recommended for adobe bricks in Mexican and French standards is
1 MPa (AFNOR XP P13‐901, 2001; NORMA E.080, 2017).
Table 6 Fibers addition increases the tensile strength of bricks however, it
Flexion stiffness of bricks. has a negative impact on the compressive strength of adobe and com-
Fiber USU grid-2 cm USU grid-3 cm DK grid-2 cm
posite material. During drying of bricks, fibers shrink and micro‐cracks
content (%) (N/mm) (N/mm) (N/mm) are developed around fibers. Bridging of these microcracks may lead to
the formation of macro cracks which reduce the mechanical perfor-
0 3080 3080 109
1 1913 2400 416
mance of bricks. As the size of these cracks is small, the development
2 2287 2541 198 of macrocracks is not very common (Li Piani et al., 2020).
3 1335 1526.5 262 The USU and DK sediments bricks show satisfactory tensile
4 1185 965 182 strength. However, plant aggregates in bricks are sensitive to water
5 1151 1051.5 269

7
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Table 7
Toughness I5 index of crude bricks.

Fibers (%) 0 1 2 3 4 5

I5, USU grid-2 cm 1 3.95 4.02 4.38 4.24 4.73

I5, USU grid-3 cm 1 2.58 4.18 4.42 3.83 3.89
I5, DK grid-2 cm 1 2.42 2.78 2.74 3.34 3.30

Fig. 11. Hemp shiv and palm oil flower fibers distributed in a cross-section of the sample.

and humidity. Treatment of fibers increases the shelf life of fibers and Table 8
reduces their hydrophilic nature. The use of binders such as cement The average number of fibers and area occupied by fibers in a crude brick cross-
and lime have a positive impact on the durability of bricks. As a recom- section.
mendation in future studies, it is necessary to carry out medium‐ and Cross section USU USU DK
long‐term durability tests (wetting and drying, erosion test etc.). (POFl grid-2 cm) (POFl grid-3 cm) (Hs grid 2 cm)

Fibers number 280 272 98

Bending stiffness Area (%) 6.45 6.71 15.34

Bending stiffness was calculated from flexural load–deflection

curves. The average value of flexion stiffness is presented in Table 6.
Table 6 shows that with increasing fiber content, stiffness decreases.
Similar observations were made by Khoudja et al., (2021). This is cross‐section while palm oil fibers are thin and their distribution is less
because the peak value of the flexural load is achieved after high homogenous. In Usumacinta sediments bricks, clusters of palm oil
deflection with higher fiber content. The vertical rise of the load–de- fibers can be seen in Fig. 11a.
flection curve is gradual with increasing fiber content while it is sharp As palm oil fibers are light and thin, their numbers are also high in
in the case of the controlled specimen with 0% fiber content. each cross‐section as we can see in Table 8.
The flexion stiffness of Dunkirk sediments is very low when com- The average number of fibers for six cross‐sections of a crude brick
pared with Usumacinta River sediments bricks. This is because the ten- with 3 cm long fibers is 272 fibers and they cover 6.71% area of a brick
sile strength of Dunkirk sediments bricks is also considerably lower cross‐section. In the case of 2 cm long fibers, the average number of
than Usumacinta River sediments bricks and flexion stiffness increases fibers for a cross‐section is 280 fibers and they occupy 6.46% area of
with tensile strength. a brick cross‐section. The number of hemp shiv is less as these hemp
shiv aggregates are thick and they occupy more area. Fibers are dis-
Toughness of bricks tributed in a longitudinal and transversal direction in the bricks
(Bui, 2021).
The toughness index for Dunkirk and Usumacinta River sediments
bricks was found according to ASTM standard (ASTM C 1018 – 97,
1998). Results are presented in the following Table 7. Conclusion
Toughness index is generally maximum at optimum fiber content
and maximum tensile strength. Table 7 shows that a maximum tough- This study is focused on the reuse of Dunkirk (DK) and Usumacinta
ness index is observed for grid‐3 cm long fibers at 3% fiber content River sediments (USU) with hemp shiv and POFl fibers respectively in
which is optimum fiber content. For grid‐2 cm fibers and hemp shiv, crude bricks. Analysis of dredged sediments and plant biomass was
toughness is increasing with fiber content but it is not maximum at done to find their characteristics. Mineralogy of Usumacinta River sed-
the optimum fiber content. Heterogenous distribution of fibers inside iments shows that clay and silt content in USU sediments is higher
the sediments mix, their length and orientation affect the toughness than DK sediments. Furthermore, the morphology and size of particles
index of crude bricks. show that POFl fibers are short with low width while hemp shiv is
coarse aggregate material.
Fibers distribution Bricks manufacturing steps such as sediments mixing, molding and
drying were performed. Bricks were compacted with dynamic com-
Fibers distribution inside Dunkirk sediments bricks and Usumac- paction with compaction energy of 600 kN.m/m3 and oven‐dried at
inta River sediments bricks is illustrated in Fig. 11a and 11b respec- 40 °C. Both harbor and river dredged sediments bricks characteristics
tively. Hemp shiv is thick and uniformly distributed across the brick and results were analyzed.

8
M. Hussain et al. Cleaner Materials 3 (2022) 100046

Tensile strength testing shows that adobe is a brittle material but Bui, T.T.H., 2021. Study on performance enhancement of coconut fibres reinforced
cementitious composites. PhD thesis, Université de Caen Normandie, 192p.
the addition of natural fibers transforms it into ductile material.
(English), https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03240390.
Fig. 8 shows that at 0% fiber content, there is no toughness in brick, Calatan, G., Hegyi, A., Dico, C., Mircea, C., 2016. Determining the optimum addition of
and it starts to increase with higher fiber quantity. vegetable materials in adobe bricks. Procedia Technol. 22, 259–265. https://doi.
Bricks with Usumacinta River sediments have maximum strength at org/10.1016/j.protcy.2016.01.077.
Dormohamadi, M., Rahimnia, R., 2020. Combined effect of compaction and clay content
4% palm oil fibers addition with grid‐2 cm fibers and 3% fibers con- on the mechanical properties of adobe brick. Case Stud. Constr. Mater. 13, e00402.
tent with grid‐3 cm fibers. Bricks with Dunkirk sediments have a max- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2020.e00402.
imum tensile strength at 1% hemp shiv addition. Crude bricks with Ghavami, K., Toledo Filho, R.D., Barbosa, N.P., 1999. Behaviour of composite soil
reinforced with natural fibres. Cem. Concr. Compos. 21 (1), 39–48.
Usumacinta River sediments have higher tensile strength due to suit- Houben, H., Guillaud, H., 1994. Earth Construction: A Comprehensive Guide.
able USU sediments mineralogy and POFL fibers morphology. Intermediate Technology Publications, London.
Fibers distribution analysis shows that POFl fibers occupy nearly Hussain, M., Saouti, L., Levacher, D., Djeran-Maigre, I., Razakamanantsoa, A., Leblanc,
N., Zmamou, H., 2020. Production of waste fiber-reinforced raw earth specimens by
6–7% while hemp shiv occupies 15.34% area of the brick cross‐ controlled compaction. Proceeding of the 3rd Euromaghreb Conference,
section. Crude bricks from both Usumacinta River sediments and Dun- Sustainability and Bio based Materials on the road of Bioeconomy, Euromaghreb
kirk sediments meet the minimum recommended tensile strength of 2020, Rouen, France.
Jiang, Y., Lawrence, M., Ansell, M.P., Hussain, A., 2018. Cell wall microstructure, pore
0.25 MPa according to standard NZS 4298 (1998) and NORMA E.080). size distribution and absolute density of hemp shiv, April 2018. Royal Soc. Open Sci.
5 (4), 171945. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171945.
Khoudja, D., Taallah, B., Izemmouren, O., Aggoun, O., Herihiri, O., Guettala, A., 2021.
Declaration of Competing Interest Mechanical and thermophysical properties of raw earth bricks incorporating date
palm waste. Constr. Build. Mater. 270, (2021) 121824.
Lenormand, H., Leblanc, N. (2020). Des particules végétales en abondance et
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
renouvelables.6p. https://www.construction21.org.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ- Li Piani, T., Weerheijm, J., Peroni, M., Koene, L., Krabbenborg, D., Solomos, G., Sluys, L.
ence the work reported in this paper. G., 2020. Dynamic behaviour of adobe bricks in compression: the role of fibres and
water content at various loading rates. Constr. Build. Mater. 230, (2020). https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117038 117038.
Acknowledgements Manap, N., Aizat, R.A., Bedali, R., Sandirasegaran, K., Masrom, M.A.M., Yahya, M.Y.,
2015. Strength of brick made from dredged sediments. J. Teknol. 78 (7–3)
https://doi.org/10.11113/jt.v78.9490.
This work has been funded by the project “From traditional uses to Mesbah, A., Morel, J.C., Walker, P., Ghavami, K., 2004. Development of a direct tensile
an integrated valorisation of sediments in the Usumacinta River basin test for compacted earth blocks reinforced with natural fibers. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 16
(1), 95–98.
(VAL‐USES)” from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche of France MOPT, Ministerio, de, Obras, Públicas, y, Transportes,, 1992. Bases para el diseño y
(ANR‐17‐CE03‐0012‐01) and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tec- construcción con tapial. Centro de Publicaciones, Secretaría General Técnica,
nología of Mexico (FONCICYT‐290792). Madrid, Spain.
NORMA E.080 (2017). Diseño y construcción con tierra reforzada. Ministerio de
vivienda, construcción y saneamiento. Anexo - resolución ministerial n° 121-2017-
vivienda. https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_file.cfm?doc_id=109376.
References NZS 4298, 1998. Materials and workmanship for earth buildings, Building code
compliance document E2 (AS2), 91p.
Adam, E.A., Agib, A.R.A., 2001. Compressed stabilised earth block manufacture in Parisi, F., Asprone, D., Fenu, L., Prota, A., 2015. Experimental characterization of Italian
Sudan. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO, composite adobe bricks reinforced with straw fibers. Compos. Struct. 122, 300–307.
Paris, 11. Open Access Library Journal, Vol.1 No.5, August 27, 2014. Rakshith, S., Singh, D.N., 2017. Utilization of dredged sediments: contemporary issues.
AFNOR EN 196–1, Méthodes d'essais des ciments - 2016 Partie 1: détermination des J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng. 143 (3), 04016025. https://doi.org/
résistances. 10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000376.
AFNOR XP P13-901, 2001. Compressed earth blocks for walls and partitions: definitions Ramakrishnan, S., Loganayagan, S., Kowshika, G., Ramprakash, C., Aruneshwaran, M.,
– specifications – test methods. 2021. Adobe blocks reinforced with natural fibres: a review. Mater. Today Proc. 45,
AFNOR NF X31-107, 2003. Qualité du sol - Détermination de la distribution 6493–6499.
granulométrique des particules du sol - Méthode à la pipette. Salih, M.M., Osofero, A.I., Imbabi, M.S., 2018. Mechanical properties of fibre-reinforced
Anger, B., Moulin, I., Commene, J., Thery, F., Levacher, D., 2017. Fine-grained reservoir mud bricks. Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Civil Engineering.
sediments: an interesting alternative raw material for Portland cement clinker Schroeder, H. 2012. Modern earth building codes, standards and normative
production. Eur. J. Environ. Civ. Eng. 23 (8), 957–970. https://doi.org/10.1080/ development. https://doi.org/10.1533/9780857096166.1.72. Modern Earth
19648189.2017.1327890. Buildings. Materials, Engineering, Constructions and Applications. Woodhead
ASTM E2392/E2392M-10 (2016). Standard guide for design of earthen wall building Publishing Series in Energy 2012, Pages 72-109.
systems. Seifi, S., Sebaibi, N., Levacher, D., Boutouil, M., 2018. Mechanical performance of a dry
ASTM C 1018 – 97, 1998. Standard test method for flexural toughness and first-crack mortar without cement, based on paper fly ash and blast furnace slag. J. Build. Eng.
strength of fiber-reinforced concrete using beam with third-point loading. 22, 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2018.11.004.
ASTM C1557-03, 2004. Standard test methods for tensile strength and young’s modulus Siham, K., Fabrice, B., Edine, A.N., Patrick, D., 2008. Marine dredged sediments as new
of fibers. American society for testing and analysis. materials resource for road construction. Waste Manage. 28 (5), 919–928.
ASTM D7357 – 07, 2012. Standard specification for cellulose fibers for fiber-reinforced Subramanian, G.K.M.; Balasubramanian, M.; Kumar, A.A.J. (2021). A review on the
concrete. mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced compressed earth blocks. J. Nat.
Bahar, R., Benazzoug, M., Kenai, S., 2004. Performance of compacted cement-stabilised Fibers 1–15, doi:10.1080/15440478.2021.1958405.
soil. Cem. Concr. Compos. 26 (2004), 811–820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. Thygesen, A., Daniel, G., Lilholt, H., Thomsen, A.B., 2008. Hemp fiber microstructure
cemconcomp.2004.01.003. and use of fungal defibration to obtain fibers for composite materials. J. Nat. Fibers
Binici, H., Aksogan, O., Shah, T., 2005. Investigation of fibre reinforced mud brick as a 2 (4), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.1300/J395v02n04_02.
building material. Constr. Build. Mater. 19 (4), 313–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/ Vasic, M.V., Pezo, L.L., Radojevic, Z., 2020. Optimization of adobe clay bricks based on
j.conbuildmat.2004.07.013. the raw material properties (mathematical analysis). Constr. Build. Mater. 244,
Bledzki, A.K., Gassan, J., 1999. Composites reinforced with cellulose based fibres. Prog. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118342 118342.
Polym. Sci. 24(2), 221-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6700(98)00018-5. Wang, D., Zentar, R., Abriak, N.E., Xu, W., 2010. Determination of physical
Boullosa Allariz, B., Levacher, D., Müller, M. (2019). Étude du séchage naturel des characteristics of dredged fine marine sediments, Journées Nationales de
sédiments du port de Dunkerque en vue de valorisations ultérieures. Déchets Géotechnique et de Géologie de l’Ingénieur JNGG2010, Grenoble 7-9 juillet 2010,
Sciences et Techniques, 2019, 80, pp.39-42. ff10.4267/dechets-sciences- 345-351.
techniques.4099ff. ffhal-02177615.