Influence of prickly pear gum on the physical and mechanical properties of adobe reinforced with palm fiber

Throughout history, adobe has been essential to many cultures, but its vulnerability to climate and load-bearing limitations have led to research into new natural materials to improve it. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of prickly pear gum on the physical and mechanical properties of adobe reinforced with palm fiber. Peruvian standard E.080 was used for adobe preparation under an experimental design, preparing samples with 5, 10, 15 and 20% of prickly pear gum (PPG) to replace the volume of water, reinforcing it with 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 1.5% of palm fiber (PF) by weight of the soil, carrying out tests to determine the physical and mechanical properties of the adobe under study. The results revealed that the optimal dosage was 15% PPG + 0.5% PF, suction and warping decreased by 27% and 3.4% respectively, and absorption increased by 68% compared to the control design. Compression strength in masonry unit, flexural strength in masonry unit, compressive strength in prisms, and diagonal shear strength walls showed significant increases of 24.47, 98, 24.39, and 73.4%, respectively, compared to the control design. It was concluded that the use of PPG and PF provides significant benefits to the physical and mechanical properties of adobe.