Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials: Characterisation, Properties and Applications

Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials: Characterisation, Properties and Applications provides a comprehensive repository of information on materials science and the modern structural engineering application of ancient, vernacular, and nonconventional building materials, with leading experts contributing chapters that focus on current applications and the engineering of these construction materials.

Opening with a historic retrospective of nonconventional materials, Part One includes a review of vernacular construction and a discussion of the future directions for nonconventional and vernacular materials research and applications. Chapters in Part Two focus on natural fibers, including their application in cementitious composites, non-cementitious composites, and strawbale construction. In Part Three, chapters cover the use of industrial by-products and natural ashes in cement mortar and concrete, and construction using soil-cement blocks, clay-based materials, adobe and earthen materials, and ancient stone masonry. Timber, bamboo, and paper construction materials are investigated in the final section of the book.

Provides a state-of-the-art review of the modern use and engineering of nonconventional building materialsContains chapters that focus on individual construction materials and address both material characterization and structural applicationsCovers sustainable engineering and the trend towards engineering for humanity

Part One Nonconventional materials and vernacular construction

1 What we learn from vernacular construction

2 Introduction to nonconventional materials and a historic retrospective of the field

3 Future directions for nonconventional and vernacular material research and applications

Part Two Natural fibres

4 Characterisation of vegetable fibres and their application in cementitious composites

5 Natural fibre-reinforced non-cementitious composites (bio-composites)

6 Straw Bale construction

Part Three Concrete and Masonry

7 Utilisation of industrial by-products and natural ashes in mortar and concrete: development of sustainable construction materials

8 Dry-stack and compressed stabilised earth-block construction

9 Unfired clay materials and construction

10 Earthen materials and constructions

11 Ancient stone masonry constructions

Part Four Timber, Bamboo and Paper

12 Nonconventional timber construction

13 Bamboo material characterisation

14 Bamboo design construction

15 Engineered bamboo

16 Paperboard tubes in structural and construction engineering