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SUITABILITY OF USING STRAW BALE AS A BUILDING MATERIAL IN SUDAN

Conference Paper · November 2015

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 UKIERI Concrete Congress - Concrete Research Driving Profit and Sustainability
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SUITABILITY OF USING STRAW BALE AS A BUILDING

MATERIAL IN SUDAN

Fathelrahman M Adam1, Salah Ahmed Ali 2

1. Jazan University, KSA on leave from Nile Valley University, Sudan

2. Nile Valley University, Sudan

ABSTRACT. This paper includes many of the properties of straw bales that used in
construction. And through numerous laboratory experiments and many case studies been
done for existing buildings built from straw bales and according to the extensive works had
been published about straw bale building (books, reports, dissertations and scientific papers)
this all lead to prove without any doubt that the straw bales are suitable for using in
construction of buildings. The most important benefits of straw bales are environmentally
friendly and low cost due to the availability in abundance as agricultural residues and it re-
used as building material. Sudan is one of the agricultural countries who own suitable soil for
growing crops in all parts of the country in vast areas, which can be said that the production
of straw bales from remnants of the harvest of these crops will be achieved in a more
abundant. All of this leads to conclude that the using of straw bales in the construction in
Sudan is possible in order to provide low cost building material, environmentally friendly and
help in achieving sustainable development.

Keywords: Straw bale, Energy efficiency, Moisture resistance, Plaster, Compressive test

Dr Fathelrahman M Adam is assistant professor at Jazan University on leave from Nile

Valley University. His research interest includes analysis of structures using finite element
method, concrete design optimization, concrete technology and low-cost building materials.

Dr Salah Ahmed Ali , is associate professor at Nile Valley University. His research interest
includes water resources sustainability, hydrologic informatics, and interactions of water
infrastructure with climate as well as low-cost building materials.

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INTRODUCTION
Due to the exhaustion of natural resources all over the world and due to the effects of global
warming and with searching about low cost material, all of these reflect the importance of
searching about alternatives of building materials urgently.
One of these building materials popped up in focus and recently gained popularity throughout
the world is straw bale. Straw is the dead, dried stems of cereals. It is left over after the grain
is removed in the harvesting process. Wheat, sorghum, sesame, rice, and some herbalists are
the most commonly grown cereal crops in the Sudan. Some of their straw is currently used
for animal. A certain amount would still be required for these purposes. The straw when
bundled together into a bale with various shapes and sizes, it becomes a solid block that is
highly resistant to decomposition beside it is flexible and easy to work with.

Straw bale buildings were first constructed in the USA in the late 1800’s, when baling
machines were invented [1]. The pioneers in the Sand Hills of west Nebraska started using
bales of meadow hay to build everything from churches to houses [2]. The oldest European
straw bale house was built in France in 1921. [3]. Today's examples of straw bale houses,
even those that were directly inspired by the Nebraska dwelling, have departed from the
characteristics of vernacular houses; they are designed and built by individuals of all
imaginable cultural backgrounds, with access to very different materials and economic
resources, responding to an endless variety of sites and lifestyle conditions. As these building
have spread around the world, they have been influence by practitioners of many different
trades, bearing a great diversity of local construction wisdom, many of whom got interested
because of creative challenge of working with an odd new material [4].

In Sudan, the straw was used in building in the past and some places are still using it in
present to build traditional houses. These houses are poorly constructed and uncomfortable
much of the year and results in high utility bills, and damaging environmental practices such
as over-cutting of trees. Some of these houses are shown if Figure 1. The structures shown in
Figure had illustrate clearly simple and unprotected buildings from exposure conditions
which leads to deterioration of buildings rapidly, increase in maintenance cost and minimize
the life time.

Figure 1 Traditional Houses built from local straw

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Sudan is very rich by agricultural resources in all around the country and this leads to the
provision of massive amounts of straw helps in production of building materials suitable for
constructing buildings. The straw can be produced from many different sources by collecting
dry stalks of plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. As an example of these
sources are wheat, sorghum, sesame, sunflower, rice, millet, hibiscus and some herbalists.
Some of those are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Sources of straw before harvesting

Sudan is in severe in needed using straw bale as building materials, this for many reasons
includes: there is a large area used as farms which serve the production of straw bale, there is
severe need of low cost materials used in building due to existence a broad cross section of
the community dwell in poverty line, suitable for used in build the housing complexes that
build as government buildings, investment buildings or in the areas of displaced and
homeless people finally and for important reason this material is environmentally friendly,
minimize cost of energy and suitable for the harsh environment of the Sudan.

This paper addresses in brief the benefit of using straw bale as building materials from point
of view of its performance from side of structural, environmental, durability with related to
its properties with including the important testing performed in different types of straw bale.
Also this paper includes a brief description of general steps of how to construct building
using straw bale. In conclusion the paper decides the effectiveness of using straw bale in
Sudan with brief recommendations.

About Straw bale

Straw bale is a rectangular compressed block of straw and bounded by ties after harvest,
using mechanical baling equipment, at moisture contents less than 20%. According to
Myhrman and MacDonald [5] there are two types of bale differ on dimensions and number of
ties bind them, the detail shown in Table 1.

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Table 1 Geometric Data and Weight of Straw Bales

NUMBER OF LENGTH WIDTH HEIGHT WEIGHT

TIES (m) (m) (m) (kg)
Two 0.89-1.02 0.46 0.35 18.2-22
Three 1.09-1.19 0.58 0.35-0.41 34-36.8

Definitely for the bale used in construction, there are other sizes and weights of bale
dependent on the type of harvesting machine used and according to the source of straw.
Originally, bales were small to allow for ease of manual handling, but with increased use of
equipment, larger bales could be accommodated

Generally the bales were stored in a closed area, and the moisture content was checked
regularly. The Densities of bales can vary according to the type of grains; moisture and
amount of compaction provided by the baler, but most codes in the United States have
determined that a minimum density of 100 kg/m3 is desirable for building [6].

Properties of Straw Bale

Several tests of the properties of the straw bales have been conducted. Through the results of
these tests the straw bale reveals its usability and convincing us to use it as very qualified
construction materials.
Some properties of straw bale summarize below:

Energy Efficiency

The energy efficiency or insulation is rated by U-value (the resistance to heat flow); it is
amount of heat transmitted per unit area between inside and outside environment. The lower
U-value means better insulation. Straw bale demonstrates excellent insulation properties.
Straw bale with plaster stores latent heat, because it has high thermal mass. This means there
are no sudden changes in temperature if you open the windows or doors occasionally [1].
According to Adedeji [7], the straw bale exceeds the requirement of building regulations for
thermal insulation. He stated that the straw bale of width exceed 450 mm have a U-vale of
0.13 W/m2K, which it consider is a best value in comparison with other conventional wall
materials such as brickwork of thickness 105 mm have U-value of 0.33 and concrete block of
thickness 100 mm have U-value of 0.4 [7]. Steen et.al [2] stated that the straw bale wall is
two to three times better than the wall system of most well-insulated homes and five to ten
times better than older houses.

Sound Insulation

Straw bale walls are also super-insulative acoustically. There are two recording studios in the
USA built of straw bales for their sound proofing quality and insulation. Straw bale wall
systems have also been used near airport runways and motorways in the USA and Europe as
sound barriers [8]. In the same vein, Adedeji [7] said “there is over-whelming experimental
evidence that straw walls offer far more sound insulation than 20th century wall building
materials” [9].

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Fire Resistance

With plastering both sides of straw bale wall, the risk of fire is reduced even further, as the
plaster itself provides fire protection [7]. Through test conducting at Richmond Field Station
in 1997 by students at University of Barkeley, the straw bale reflects good fire resistance
performance which reach to 30 min fire resistance for non-plastered straw bale and to 2 hours
fire resistance for plastered straw bale [9,10].

Structural Strength

Many researches have confirmed that the straw bale walls have a great ability to carry loads
and it capable to withstand loads of multi-story building up to three stories with help of using
framework. According to Goodhew et al [11], in the UK, work coordinated by Professor
Peter Walker at the University of Bath investigated the compression load characteristics of
five walls of different structural properties in laboratory conditions. The results varied from
an ultimate load of 19.2 kN/m with 170 mm vertical deflection on an un-plastered wall,
compared with a the lime-rendered wall that withstood a maximum load of 66 kN/m with 55
mm of deflection.
According to Adedji [7], straw bale has an average compressive strength of 2.53 N/mm2 with
minimum value of 1.01 N/mm2 of eccentric load acting at 1/6 of wall thickness.
Taha et al [12] conduct a many compressive tests on different plastered straw bale models,
and find that the maximum modulus of elasticity is about 9.45 N/mm2.

Seismic Resistance

The nature of Straw bales is flexible; this makes it ideal for seismic resistance, as long as the
connection between the bale wall system and the roof and foundation are more monolithic.
The evolution of straw bale buildings in the state of California should help of seismic
resistance straw bale design [2].

Moisture Resistance

Wall systems are designed to be able to withstand a certain amount of moisture and with a
way for this moisture to escape from the system. This is referred to as a moisture balance,
meaning there is a balance between wetting and drying, and moisture isn't able to accumulate
over time causing problems. Straw and wood can both typically store around 20% of their
weight in water without any damage [13].

Cost Advantage

Straw bale is a low cost material for many reasons from it: It is readily available and it can
be obtained from both near and far sources and require limited transportation. The waste of
construction material can be disposed burn it locally, which reduces the cost of removing the
debris. The building method is so straightforward; people without previous building
experience can participate in the design and construction, thereby saving on labor costs [8].
The most significant saving on straw bale houses is in the long-term fuel reductions due to
the high level of insulation. Heating costs can be reduced by up to 75% annually compared
with modern style housing, and the savings therefore accrue throughout the life of the
building [8].

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Structural Components of Straw Bale Building

Like other traditional building, a building construct from straw bale, structurally consist of,
foundations, walls, frames, and roofs. The main body of the building is the wall and/or
frames, so the building is classified according to the wall type. There are two main types of
walls which classify according to the method of loads transferred from the roof to the
foundation.

Types of straw bales walls

The types of straw bales walls include:

1. Load bearing Wall:
This is the original way of building with straw bales, pioneered by Nebraskan settlers
in the USA in the late 1800s in which bales are stacked in a running bond and pinned
together. With it the weight of the roof and the ceiling is transferred through the bales
of straw down to the foundations. The plaster is being used in both sides inner and
outer of the wall. Sample of straw bale house under construction of load bearing wall
is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Building Construct from Straw Bale Load Bearing Walls

2. Straw Bale Infill

In this method a post and beam framing system have been used to carry roof and
ceiling, wind and seismic loads down to the foundation. Once that structure is in
place, the walls are then in filled with straw bales for insulation. The frame used is
self supporting and sometimes bracing rods are used for lateral stability. The material
used maybe timber or steel. Sample of straw bale house under construction of infill
wall is shown in Figure 4.

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Figure 4 Building Construct from Straw Bale Infill Walls

There are many types of straw buildings that use a combination of ideas from the above
techniques, or use new ideas. It is still an experimental method, and being so simple, allows
for invention during practice.

A comparison between the main types of straw bale walls are carried out, according to the
advantage and disadvantage as received from Reference [8] and listed in Table 2.

Table 2 Advantage and Disadvantages of Straw Bales Walls

WALL TYPE ADVANTAGE DISADVANTAGE

A simple, straightforward and The straw must be kept dry
accessible building method throughout the whole
Easy for non-professionals to building process until it is
design, following readily plastered.
comprehensible basic principles. This can be very difficult on
Designs from one room to two- a large building, or one that
storey homes can be created is being constructed slowly.
using a simple, step by step Openings for windows and
approach. doors must not exceed 50%
Curves and circles are easy to of the wall surface area in
achieve, for little extra cost. any wall.
Load Bearing
Ideal for self-builders because Maximum unsupported
Wall
of its simplicity, accessibility, (unbraced) wall length is 6
ease of design, and low cost. m
The straw is very forgiving.
Total accuracy in plumb is not a
design goal but wilder
variations
Can be brought back into shape
easily.
Great versatility of design
shape.
It’s fast
The roof can be constructed It is more complicated than
Infill Wall
before the straw is placed, the Nebraskan.

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giving secure weather Style to construct.

protection. It requires a high level of
Framework and posts can be carpentry skill (or
constructed off site. metalwork experience in the
Provides greater stability for case of a steel frame) to
window frames than in the load construct the frames.
bearing style. It uses a large amount of
In conjunction with a steel timber
frame, can create large
warehouse space (and gives an
even temperature throughout the
year).

Foundation of Straw Bales Walls

As any foundation, the factors that affect the design include the bearing capacity of the soil,
soil type, depth of frost line and water table, slope and drainage, high wind loads and seismic
conditions. Special requirements for straw bale wall which it needs to be kept dry, meaning
that it must be raised off the ground sufficiently to avoid damage by splash back from rain
bouncing off the ground. Also provide drainage directly below the bales so that any moisture
that does enter can safely leave. If the location is liable to flood, consider using pier
foundations to raise the bales above the potential flood level. Decisions are made according
to cost, local conditions, availability, suitability and longevity of materials, building control
and structural engineer demands. Options include concrete or limecrete with brick and/or
block stem walls, stone, recycled tires or piers of timber, concrete, brick or steel. In all cases
it is a good idea to provide a timber ladder frame on which to secure the first course of bales
[14]. Figure 5 shown typical types of foundations of straw bales buildings.

Figure 5 Different Types of Foundation

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Wall finishes

The best straw bale walls are plastered inside and out by binding materials. The plaster adds
further strength to the bales; it makes the walls airtight and protects the straw from fire and
vermin. It also improves thermal performance by minimizing heat loss by convection and it
acts as a temperature and humidity regulator [1]. Plaster can be made of a variety of
materials, but all have three basic components: a binding agent after which the plaster is
named such as gypsum, lime or earth; structural filler, usually sand or another aggregate; and
water, needed to mix the other two components [15]. Plaster should be applied in a thickness
of 25-75mm [16]. Any ruptures that may occur in plaster over the lifetime of the building
should be repaired as soon as they are discovered in order to prevent any long-term damage
to the building [15]. To avoid cracking from differential movement, cement plasters must
always be reinforced with expanded metal mesh around window and door openings, at inside
and outside corners, and wherever the substrate changes, as at a wood post in a straw bale
wall [16]. Although it’s not strictly necessary under normal conditions, cement plasters are
generally reinforced with some type of mesh over the whole straw bale wall surface. In
seismic areas, mesh is required and may be used as part of structural system to resist shear
forces [16].

Some construction Considerations

Following are brief points gathered from Reference [8] and summarized as tips about
construction of straw bale buildings.
For larger load bearing buildings, it can be helpful to use temporary corner braces, to
provide a guide to keep corners vertical.
Structural doorframes are fixed securely to the foundations or base plate before the
straw is laid.
The window boxes are built into the walls as they go up and pinned through the base
and sides.
At every radical change of direction, such as at corners, the bales need to be pinned
together with hazel hoops or staples.
Once the walls are 4 bales high, they need to be pinned with lengths of hazel. The
pins give the wall integrity, so that each bale acts together with the others instead of
independently.
With using frame system, the pins run from base-plate to wall plate in one continuous
piece.

Codes and Standards

The first straw bale codes were created in the United States, where straw bale building was
born in Nebraska over one hundred years ago [16]. Outside of the United States there are
only two officially adopted straw bale codes at Belarus and Germany, and both are rather
limited. However, the work being done with straw bale building in those countries and
throughout the rest of the world is extensive, and equals or surpasses that of the United States
in quantity, variety, and innovation [16]. A survey of codes related to straw bale buildings
around the world, includes countries of particular interest due to of their manner and
permitting extent of straw bale building activity there. These as listed by Reference [16] are
Australia, Belarus, Canada, Central America, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, The Netherlands, New Zealand,

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Russia/Siberia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South America, Spain, United Kingdom, United
States. More details about these codes and standards can be found in Reference [16].

CONCLUSION
Through the brief details mentioned in this paper which proved beyond any doubt that the
straw bales are suitable for use as construction material. The extensive experiments that been
done on straw bales emphasized that: straw bales have many benefits; these are summarized
in the following:
Has a good insulation property this mean energy efficiency, which helps in reducing
cost of cooling in summer and heating in winter.
Has a good sound insulation property.
High fire resistance with using plaster.
Has ability to withstand the vertical and lateral load in addition to seismic loads.
Has ability to balance moisture.
Low cost material with relative to its availability and it considered as recycled
materials from remnants of the harvest, this contribute to the conservation of the
environment

Taking into account these benefits with taking in consider the interest of more than 24
countries using straw bales in buildings and inserting their requirements in its standards and
codes, we concluded that the straw bales is suitable for use in Sudan as building material.
This talk can be emphasized by drafting the following reasons

1. Different types of the residues of agricultural crops collected after harvest season,
these are the main sources of straw bales are available in abundance in all parts of
Sudan
2. In Sudan the using of straw in building, is familiar, but is done by traditional way this
lead it to deteriorate rapidly, if this practice were directed to the use of straw bales by
the right and scientific way, surely will find wide acceptance.
3. Low cost material is strongly required nowadays, besides the availability of high-cost
materials. For this situation the straw bale is the best choice.
4. The Government and some private construction companies seeking to provide low-
cost buildings in the form of villages and small towns to serve a large segment of low-
income citizens and about thinking what is the suitable material, considerably the
using of straw bales in construction is the suitable choice and this definitely lead to
minimize the cost
5. If the Government and/or the International Organizations seeking about resettle the
displaced and war-affected people in some areas of Sudan, the choice of using straw
bales as construction materials is quite suitable.
6. The fact that construction using straw bales does not require high skill labor, this
situation is more suitable for rural areas, especially in these areas the work can be
described as a symbiotic and voluntary work so the construction by this way
contribute significantly in reducing cost

Each of the above we conclude that the use of straw bales in the building is possible in Sudan
and it expected to find wide acceptance. This requires recommending by conducting
numerous experiments for the different types of sources of straw bales that available in Sudan
in order to know its properties and to find the necessary data for design. Also experiments

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related to straw bale wall with plaster must be done in order to select appropriate materials
that verify the necessary protection for the straw bales wall and help in increasing the
resistance to loads

REFERENCES

1. BARBARA JONES, Building with Straw Bales: A practical guide for the UK and
Ireland, Green Books, 2002.
2. STEEN A. S., STEEN B., BAINBRIDGE D. AND EISENBERG D, The Straw Bale
House, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 1994.
3. CAROL ATKINSON, Energy Assessment of a Straw Bale Building, University of East
London, MSc Thesis, Jan. 2008.
4. LACINSKI P. and BERGERON M., Serious Straw Bale, Chelsea Green Publishing,
2000.
5. MYHRMAN M. A. AND MacDonald S. O., Build it with bale, Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publishing Data, Ver. 2, December 1997.
6. http://www.strawbale.com/irc-code-2013/.
3TU U3T

7. ADEDEJI, A. A., Introduction and Design of Straw Bale Masonry, OLAD PUBLISHERS
& PRINTING ENTERPRISES, 2007.
8. AMAZON NAILS, INFORMAION GUIDE TO STRAW BALE BUILDING,
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/, 2001.
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9. FAWALE B. L., AJAYI J. O., OYEDMI P. O. Evaluation Of Effectiveness Of Strawbale

As A Building Material, Project Report, www.engineeringcivil.com.
3TU U3T1

10. PRAGYAN B., DHARMA R. D., KESHAB N.AND CHAMBERLIN K. S., Straw Bale
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Sustainability 163, Pages 185–189 Issue ES4, December 2010
12. TAHA A., ADEL BAHNASAWEY AND WEI W., Compressive Strength of Fiber
Reinforced Earth Plasters for Straw Bale Buildings, Australian Journal of Agriculture
Engineering, AJAE 1(3), pp-86-92, 2010.
13. STRAUBE J. Building Science for Strawbale Buildings, Building Science Digests,
http://www.buildingscience.com, 2009
14. CAROL ATKINSON, Building With Straw Bales, Lecture notes,
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3TU U3T

15. CHALSIE SEARLE, Straw Bale Building and the National Building Code of Canada,
http://msep.mcmaster.ca/epp/publications/student/Charlsie%20Searle.pdf
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16. KING B , Design of Straw Bale Buildings, Green Building Press, 2006.

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