How they account for wind driven rain

The intention of this experiment is to find out if different types of soil mixtures affect how a mud-brick absorbs water.

The objective of the experiment is to test different soil mixtures to see if there are mixtures that are more susceptible to absorption of water, and how much of a difference there is in the amount of water the bricks absorb. We are also testing how long the water stays absorbed.

Take three test bricks of each soil type, and put each of the test bricks in a plastic container with a specific amount of water for a specific amount of time. Remove the test bricks and measure to amount of water, if any, that remains. Place the sated bricks in an airtight container and wait a specific amount of time. Measure the amount of water that has drained from the bricks.

The supplies that are needed for the experiment are bricks, a plastic container, water, watch, an airtight container, and a measuring cup.

We expect that the blocks with a higher content of sand will absorb less water, and they will dry quickly. We also believe that the higher the clay content in the bricks the more likely the block is to absorb more water and more water will drain out.

Inconsistency in brick making may cause cracks and affect the experiment. If there is a leaking the second part of the experiment then there will be err, and in the second part of the experiment the brick must be oriented in a way that it can be drained.

The intention of this experiment is to find out how the stability and strength of different mixtures of soil in mud-bricks will be affected by wind driven rain.

The objective of this experiment is to find the optimum soil mixture to build mud-bricks when wind driven rain is a factor.

Take a specific number of bricks, three of each soil mixture, and put them under the same amount of water pressure for the same amount of time. This can be done with a power washer set at a specific pressure form a specific distance. Then retrieve the samples and measure their compressive strength, if it is not obvious qualitatively.

The supplies needed for the experiment are the mud-bricks, a power washer (water, hoses, power), watch, and a mechanism for measuring strength (if unable to be done qualitatively).

We expect that the bricks made out of mixtures with high contents of clay will be strongest in the end. This is because we believe the small grains in clay will not take as much effect to the water, as the large grains in sand.

The brick has the ability to move when blasted. This would not occur if it were part of a wall structure. The amount of water that the brick absorbs is also an immeasurable factor.

From this experiment we should be able to determine the mixture of soil for a mud-brick that will stand up to wind driven rain. We should also be able to hypothesize, based on these findings, what mixture of brick will most likely hold up to wind driven rain in a wall structure.

The intention of this experiment is to find how different types of soil mixtures are affected by the freezing and thawing of water.

The objective is to find the best mixture of soil to withstand the strains that the freezing and thawing action of water puts on mud-bricks.

The method by which this will be experimented is to take a specific number of mud-bricks, at least three of each mixture, and soak them in a specific amount of water for a specific amount of time. After this all of the bricks are to be put into a freezer and frozen for a specific amount of time. At the end of this the blocks should be compared qualitatively. If differences cannot be found by comparing them qualitatively a compression test should be done.

The supplies required are mud-bricks of different mixtures, water, freezer, watch, a tub to soak with water, and a mechanism to measure strength (if cannot be compared qualitatively).

The results that we expect are that the mud-bricks that contain the most sand will have the greatest strength after freezing and thawing. The reason that we suspect this is we hypothesize that bricks with high clay content will absorb more water and are more susceptible to freezing and cracking.

We suspect some bricks may not survive the water absorption process. Making some of the bricks untestable.

This experiment should tell us which mixtures for mud-bricks are the most suitable for the stresses of freezing and thawing. It should also clue us in to how and why different soils are susceptible to failure when frozen.

The intention of this experiment is to find out if the way in which the bricks are constructed affects their ability to absorb water.

The objective in this experiment is to test whether the amount of weight used to compact a brick affects its ability to absorb water.

Construct three mud-bricks under each weight that is to be tested. Each of the bricks is to be made of the same soil type. Put each of the test bricks in a plastic container with a specific amount of water for a specific amount of time. Remove the test bricks and measure to amount of water that remains. Compare this to the results from the Water Absorption Test.

The supplies that are needed are the mud to make bricks out of, different weights to make the bricks with, the contraption that forms the bricks, a plastic container, water, watch, results from the first experiment.

We expect that the more weight used to compact the bricks; the less likely the mud-bricks are to absorb water. This is because if the grain is more compacted the less room there is for air, therefore a lack of room for water to enter.

If the Absorption Test fails then this experiment has no control to which we can compare. The inaccuracy of the measurement of the water displacement would also create error.

This experiment should tell us the range in which optimum compacting for mud-bricks lies. It should also tell us if we risk integrity by over-compacting the bricks.

The intention of this experiment is to find out if the amount of cement mixed into the soil for the mud-brick affects the brick's ability to absorb water.

The objective in this experiment is to find the optimum amount of cement that should be added to a mud-brick's soil mixture. The optimum amount being when the brick absorbs the least amount of water.

Construct three mud-bricks under each amount of cement that is to be tested. Each of the bricks is to be made of the same soil type. Put each of the test bricks in a plastic container with a specific amount of water for a specific amount of time. Remove the test bricks and measure to amount of water that remains. Compare this to the results from the Water Absorption Test.

The supplies that are needed for the experiment are bricks with proper amounts of cement, a plastic container, water, watch, an airtight container, and a measuring cup.

We expect that when more cement added to the soil mixture there will be less water absorbed. We think this because we believe that the cement will have low water absorption, so if more of the brick is made of cement it can absorb less water.

If the Absorption Test fails then this experiment has no control to which we can compare. The inaccuracy of the measurement of the water displacement would also create error.

This experiment should tell us the range in which the optimum amount of cement to add to each soil mixture is. This also help us to set up parameters in which we can use the cement, so that we can use as little cement as possible and still keep the water retention of the bricks low. This is desirable do to the high cost of cement (when compared to soil).