[01] Nermine Abdel Gelil Mohamed, Department of Architectural Engineering, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), 6^th of October City, Egypt. [02] Nourhan Abdelhamid Abbas, Department of Architectural Engineering, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), 6^th of October City, Egypt.

The awareness of constructing with compressed stabilized earth bricks (CSEB) as an appropriate technology in Egypt is increasing. The Department of Architectural Engineering at MSA University took the initiative of sending a group of students and staff members to Auroville Earth Institute in India to attend an intensive training on the production of CSEB; the University however has preferred to import a hydraulic motorized press machine from Brazil instead of the Indian manual one. In this context, this paper aims at analytically comparing and highlighting similarities and differences between The Egyptian Code for Building with Stabilized Earth, Production and Use of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks – Code of Practice of Auroville Earth Institute in India and The Brazilian specifications for Ecological Bricks. The comparison covers the following points: 1) Soil selection, 2) Cement stabilization, 3) Compressive strengths and water absorption requirements, 4) Production, 5) Stacking and curing, 6) Types of foundations, and 7) Allowed building heights. It was found out that Brazil requires fewer precautions for producing CSEB. Also it accepts more sand content in selecting the suitable soil and recommends sieving the sandy soil on a 4.75 mm mesh instead of 10 mm (Egypt and India), which is widely available in the Egyptian market. Moreover, calculating and measuring the ingredients following the Brazilian Standards is easier and more user-friendly, but not as accurate as the other two codes though. The required compressive strengths in Egypt and India are similar but are double the figures required in Brazil; and the percentage of water absorption is much higher in Brazil, reaching double the first two codes. This means that the bricks approved for construction withstands less load and humidity. Although the remarkably shorter curing period in Brazil would make the produced bricks weak and not durable, together with the fewer stacking stages make the Brazilian production more tempting to follow. One should take into account though that the reasons behind this short curing could be the higher cement content in the mixture, the less strict physical requirements and the use of hydraulic press machines, widely available in Brazil. Finally, Brazil (3 floors) stands in the middle ground between Egypt (2 floors) and India (4 floors) in terms of the allowed building heights; this is in case of building loadbearing walls with CSEB.

Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks, Egyptian Code, Indian Auroville Code, Brazilian Standards, ABNT, Cement Stabilization, Compressive Strength, Water Absorption

[01] Housing and Building National Research Center HBRC (2016). The Egyptian code for building with stabilized earth – part one: building with compressed earth units. Cairo: HBRC. [02] Auroville Earth Institute AVEI (2010). Production and use of compressed stabilized earth blocks – code of practice. Auroville: Auroville Earth Institute. [03] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 8491: Soil-cement brick: requirements. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [04] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 8492: Soil-cement brick: dimensional analysis, determination of compressive strength and water absorption: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [05] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 10833: Manufacture of brick and block of soil-cement using manual or hydraulic press: procedure. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [06] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 10834: Block of soil-cement without structural function: requirements. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [07] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 11798: Soil-cement based materials: requirements. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [08] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 12023: Soil-cement: Compaction test. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [09] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 12024: Soil-cement: molding and curing of cylindrical specimens: procedure. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [10] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 12025: Soil-cement: simple compression test of cylindrical specimens: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [11] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 12253: Soil-cement: dosage for use as a layer of pavement: procedure. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [12] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 13553: Materials for use in monolithic soil-cement wall without structural function: requirements. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [13] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 13554: Soil-cement: wettability and dryness test: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [14] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 13555: Soil-cement: durability test: determination of water absorption: wettability and drying test method: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [15] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2012). NBR 16096: Soil-cement: determination of the degree of spraying: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [16] Brazilian Association of Technical Standards ABNT (2013). NBR 10836: Block of soil-cement without structural function: dimensional analysis, determination of resistance to compression and water absorption: test method. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT. [17] Portland Cement Association. (1986). Dosing of soil-cement mixtures: dosing rules and methods of testing. São Paulo - SP: ABCP. [18] Acchar, W. & Marques, K. J. (2016). Ecological Soil Cement bricks from waste materials. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing (Springer Nature). Doi 10.1007/978-3-319-28920-5. [19] Ruiza, G., Zhangab, X., Fouad, W., Cañasd, E., & Garijoa, L. (2018). A comprehensive study of mechanical properties of compressed earth blocks. Construction and Building Materials, 176 (10 July 2018), 566-572. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.05.077. [20] Sitton, J. D., Zeinali, Y., Heidarian, W. H., & Story, B. A. (2018). Effect of mix design on compressed earth block strength. Construction and Building Materials, 158 (15 January 2018), 124-131. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.10.005. [21] Murmu, A. L., & Patel, A. (2018). Towards sustainable bricks production: An overview. Construction and Building Materials, 165 (20 March 2018), 112-125. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.038.