THE EFFECT OF NERE POD DECOCTION ON THE THERMOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BALKUY CLAY

Abstract

This article is devoted to the thermomechanical characterization of clay taken from the Balkuy area (Latitude: 12.30 North; Longitude: -1.47 West), a locality of south of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Thermal characterizations were carried out on clay materials formulated from different concentrations (or decoction) of nere pod. The results obtained show an improvement in thermal conductivity of 31.25%, 36.87%, 46.87%, 65.93% and 73.12% respectively when the formulation is made with a concentration of 4g/l to 20g/l in 4g/l steps, respectively. The diffusivity increases by 35.25% for a clay formulated with a concentration of 16g/l corresponding to an optimum formulation. However, the density of the different formulations increases respectively by 2.64%, 16.05%, 17.34%, 18.25% and 18.85% when the clay is formulated with a concentration of 4g/l to 20g/l following an evolution step of 4g/l.  Increasing the concentration of nere pods in clay improves compressive strength. The mechanical strength of clay mixed with water is 1.181 MPa. This strength is multiplied by 10.30 when the clay is mixed with a concentration of 8g/l, for a curing period of 28 days. This concentration of  8g/l of nere pod corresponds to an optimum level that improves compressive strength .