Abstract:
The urgency of global climate emergency has drawn significant attention to the building industry over the last few years. Today, the building sector is responsible for 38% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to UNEP. 60% -70% of embodied carbon in a conventional column-beam reinforced concrete building is in its floor system. This paper discusses the possibility of constructing an earthen slab system using mud-concrete. It investigates a doubly curved shell structure, working predominantly in compression, to fulfil both environmental and economical demands in the construction industry; reducing the cost and labour expenses nearly 50% compared with that of traditional reinforced concrete slab systems. A 1 m x 1 m prototype mud-concrete slab was constructed to check the potential for modular construction with a square footprint. Poured mud-concrete shell of 50 mm thickness is the primary structural component, while a non-structural mud-concrete filling to a horizontal level 50 mm from apex was used to create a usable floor surface. Masonry mould method was used as the formwork system for the construction considering its cost effectiveness and ease of construction.
