Rammed earth walls in Mediterranean climate: material characterization and thermal behaviour

Rammed earth is considered a very sustainable construction system due to its low embodied energy, long service life and high recyclability. However, authors found that there is a lack of experimental results at real scale regarding rammed earth thermal behaviour. For this reason, this paper is first focused on the characterization of two different types of earth in order to check the suitability of being used in rammed earth walls. After the characterization, two experimental cubicle-shape buildings were built in Barcelona and Puigverd de Lleida (Spain) in order to test the thermal behaviour of their walls in two different climatic conditions. Temperature profiles inside walls have been monitored using thermocouples and temperature profile of southern walls was analysed in free floating conditions during summer and winter periods of 2013. Results show that thermal amplitude from outside to inside temperatures are decreased by rammed earth walls, achieving constant temperatures in inner surface of southern walls.