Abstract

CANOLA, Hernán Darío  and  ECHAVARRIA, César. Concrete blocks with bitumen emulsion for foundation walls. Ing. Desarro. [online]. 2017, vol.35, n.2, pp.491-512. ISSN 0122-3461.

The walls of the first level of the building often exhibit moisture problems as a result of exposure to rain and water absorption in the soil by the foundation wall. Unfortunately, conventional concrete blocks, purchased on the market and used as foundation wall, have a high coefficient of capillary suction and a low resistance to water penetration. In this research, concrete blocks and cylinders were produced and analyzed experimentally. They were manufactured with washed concrete sand, type I Portland cement, cold bitumen emulsion and a 0,40 water-to-cement (w/c) ratio by weight. Blocks and cylinders were analyzed first without the addition of bitumen emulsion and then with the addition of 10 %, 20 %, 30 % and 40 % of bitumen emulsion by weight of the cement. Capillary water absorption test, resistance to water penetration test and compressive strength test were completed. A comparative analysis of the results was performed in order to determine the optimum addition of bitumen emulsion. It was determined that the blocks with bitumen emulsion have better properties than conventional blocks without additives. Furthermore, it was concluded that the blocks with cold bitumen emulsion reduce moisture problems in the walls since these blocks have a low coefficient of capillary suction.

Keywords : Capillary suction; cold bitumen emulsion; compressive strength; concrete block; foundation wall; water penetration.

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