Co esponding au ho : Ko i Hono a KOUASSI
Copy igh © 2025 Au ho (s) e ain he copy igh o his a icle. This a icle is published unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License 4.0.
Iden i ica ion o ca hed al- ype e mi e mound ma e ials in he locali y o Abidjan
Ko i Hono a KOUASSI *, Conand Hono é KOUAKOU, Aka Alexand e ASSANDE and Mo o Oli ie BOFFOUE
Depa men o Ea h Sciences and Mining Resou ces, Félix Houphouë Boigny Uni e si y, Labo a o y o Soil, Wa e and
Geoma e ials Sciences, Abidjan, I o y Coas .
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 27(02), 1066-1073
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 06 July 2025; e ised on 12 Augus 2025; accep ed on 14 Augus 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.27.2.2961
Abs ac
Te mi e mounds a e buil o aw ea h by e mi es wi hou he use o s abilize s o applica ion o known s abiliza ion
me hods. Howe e , hey appea o be mo e esis an compa ed o aw ea h ma e ials made by man. This s udy
he e o e aims o iden i y he ma e ials o ca hed al- ype e mi e mounds in he locali y o Abidjan. Fo his, h ee pa s
o 5 e mi es mounds we e sampled: he nes , he wall and he su ounding soil aken as a con ol. 500g o samples
aken om he same pa o he e mi e mound (wall, nes , con ol) we e mixed o o m a single sample. Thus, he
composi e samples ob ained a e i s subjec ed o g anulome ic analysis. The nes has a sandy clay ex u e iden ical o
ha o he wall. The soil su ounding he e mi e mounds has a clayey sand ex u e wi h a signi ican p opo ion o
g a el. Then he clayiness o hese s uc u es was cha ac e ized. The nes is medium plas ic, mode a ely clayey. The
wall is mode a ely clayey, low plas ic. The soil su ounding he e mi e mounds is low clayey, low plas ic. Finally, hei
mine alogical na u e e ealed ha he nes , he wall and he su ounding soil a e composed o kaolini e, goe hi e and
qua z.
Keywo ds: Te mi e Mounds; Wall; Nes ; Con ol
1. In oduc ion
Raw ea h ma e ials a e no s able when exposed o se e e clima ic condi ions, such as ain, wind, and empe a u e
a ia ions. On he o he hand, s uc u es buil by e mi es show ema kable esis ance o bad wea he , inspi ing
nume ous s udies. Thus, iden i ying he easons o he s abili y o e mi e mounds o clima ic a ia ions could o e
p ospec s o imp o ing he esis ance o aw ea h cons uc ion ma e ials used by humans. Acco ding o s udies, wo
me hods a e he basis o he esis ance o aw ea h ma e ials o ain: he use o na u al s abilize s and physical
s abiliza ion me hods. Thus, o s abilize adobes, Millogo e al. (2016) used cow dung. This educed he po osi y o adobes
and inc eased hei wa e esis ance. Simila ly, Yalley and Manu (2013) also used cow dung o s abilize comp essed
ea h blocks. These b icks we e s abilized wi h a cow dung con en o 20% by weigh o soil gi ing a d y and we
comp essi e s eng h o 6.64 and 2.27 MPa espec i ely. Acco ding o his au ho hese esis ances a e an inc ease o
25% compa ed o uns abilized b icks. So gho e al., (2014) used Tannins om he decoc ion o Pa kia Biglobosa pods
o imp o e he s eng h o a sandy clay. Also o he au ho s like CRA e e and Guillaud, (1995) ha e de eloped 4
compac ion echniques namely s a ic comp ession, dynamic comp ession by ib a ion, comp ession by kneading and
dynamic comp ession by impac o imp o e he densi y and comp essi e s eng h, educe he po osi y and
comp essibili y o aw ea h ma e ials. Howe e , e mi es in he cons uc ion o e mi e mounds seem o use none o
he me hods men ioned abo e. They build hei nes by o ming pelle s wi h pa icles o clay, sand (Abe e al., 2009b;
B auman e al., 2000; Ga nie -Sillam e al., 1989) and o he mine al ma e ials, which hey mix wi h biological subs ances
ha hey p oduce hemsel es (Abe e al., 2009a) and s ick hem oge he , gi ing hese ema kable s uc u es. The
objec i e o his a icle is o know he composi ion o he soils used by e mi es in gene al and in pa icula mac ophage
e mi es o he cons uc ion o hei nes s. Indeed, hese e mi es build nes s ha a e e y imp essi e om an
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a chi ec u al poin o iew because o hei heigh , hei size and especially hei shape. The challenge is he e o e o
de e mine he g anulome ic composi ion, he na u e o he clays con ained in he soils used by hese e mi es and he
beha io o hese soils wi h espec o wa e .
2. Me hodology
2.1. Raw Ma e ials
The aw ma e ial o his s udy consis s o ma e ial ex ac ed om ca hed al e mi e mounds. The choice o e mi e
mound is made based on he p esence o e mi es wi hin he nes s because hei p esence is synonymous wi h eshly
handled ma e ials ha will be used o he es s. This ype has 2 pa s. The ou e pa called he wall (Figu e 1b) and a
cen al pa (Figu e 1b), he nes , whe e mos o he e mi e esides. A hi d aw ma e ial is added o he wall and he
nes : he soil in he icini y o he e mi e mound. This soil, 1m om he base o he e mi e mound and a a dep h o
50cm, is conside ed he con ol.
Figu e 1 Ca hed al e mi e mound: a) Gene al iew b) Di e en pa s
2.2. Me hods
The wall, he nes chambe , and he con ol samples we e collec ed om and a ound i e e mi e mounds loca ed a
di e en si es in he ci y o Abidjan. Fo each pa o he e mi e mound (wall, nes chambe , con ol), 500 g o ma e ial
we e aken and combined o o m a single composi e sample. Thus, he composi e samples ob ained we e: wall, nes
chambe , and con ol. These di e en samples we e subjec ed o pa icle size analysis ollowing he me hod desc ibed
in s anda d NF P 94-056, which de e mines he dis ibu ion o pa icles acco ding o hei size and he ex u e o he
ma e ials. The A e be g limi s and he me hylene blue es we e ca ied ou acco ding o s anda ds NF P 94-051 and
NF P 94-068, espec i ely. These es s p o ide in o ma ion on he clayey na u e o he soil and on he ac i i y o he
clays.
The me hylene blue alue (MBV) and he me hylene blue ac i i y index (MBAI) we e calcula ed using he ollowing
o mulas:
MBV= 𝐵
𝑚ℎ/(1+𝑤)*100 ………… (1)
Whe e :
B (g) is he mass o me hylene blue in oduced, calcula ed as B=V×0.01
V (L) is he o al olume o me hylene blue solu ion (a a concen a ion o 10 g/L) in oduced in o he suspension.
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mh(g) is he mass o soil used o he es , and w is i s ini ial mois u e con en de e mined in pa allel wi h he es .
MBAI=100∗𝑀𝐵𝑉
𝐶 ………….. (2)
Whe e C is he pe cen age o he clay ac ion (pa icle size < 2 µm) o he soil.
Mine alogical analysis o he samples was pe o med using a Siemens D5005 di ac ome e equipped wi h a coppe
an ica hode (wa eleng h λ = 1.542 Å). Mine al iden i ica ion was ca ied ou using Ma ch! so wa e, e sion 3.
3. Resul s and Discussion
The a e age alues o he a ious esul s ob ained om he i e e mi e mounds we e analyzed and discussed.
3.1. Pa icle Size Dis ibu ion
The pa icle size dis ibu ions o he nes in e io , he wall, and he con ol sample a e p esen ed in Figu e 2.
Figu e 2 Pa icle size dis ibu ion cu es o he di e en pa s o he e mi e mounds
This g aph shows ha he e mi e mounds s udied a e composed mainly o clay pa icles (Pa icle size < 2 µm), sil (2–
20 µm), and sand (Pa icle size be ween 0.02 mm and 2 mm). In con as , he con ol sample also con ains g a el
(Pa icle size > 2 mm). The g aph also shows ha he pa icle size dis ibu ion cu es o he nes chambe and he
mound wall lie abo e ha o he con ol. Consequen ly, he nes chambe and he wall con ain mo e clay, sil , and sand.
The di e en g ain size p opo ions o he nes chambe , mound wall, and con ol sample a e summa ized in he able
below:
Table 1 G ain size classes o e mi e mounds and hei con ol sample
G a el
Sand
Sil
Clay
Fines (Ø < 80 µm)
Nes chambe
00
56%
13%
31%
48%
Mound wall
00
58%
16%
26%
46%
Con ol sample
50%
30%
11%
09%
24%
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This able shows ha he nes chambe is iche in clay (31%) han he mound wall (26%) and he con ol sample (9%).
Meanwhile, he mound wall con ains mo e sand and sil (58% and 16%, espec i ely) han he nes chambe and he
con ol. Te mi es he e o e show a p e e ence o he ine ac ion o he soil. They use he mo e clay- ich ac ion o
build hei nes chambe and he mo e sand- ich ac ion o cons uc he mound wall.
This same esul has been epo ed in he wo ks o Boye (1971), Ga nie -Sillam & Ha y (1995), Alain B auman (2000),
Jouque e al. (2002, 2004), and Abe e al. (2009). These au ho s men ion ha e mi es ca y ou a pa icle size selec ion
p ocess when building hei mounds. Simila ly, Jouque e al. (2003, 2004) no e ha Mac o e mes bellicosus, a e mi e
species, p e e en ially selec s ine soil pa icles du ing mound cons uc ion in o de o imp o e s uc u al s abili y and
wa e e en ion capaci y. Acco ding o Boye (1982), clay con en is a limi ing ac o o e mi es when es ablishing
hemsel es in soils; hey disappea when he clay con en o soil ho izons alls below 10%.
The p ojec ion o he di e en g ain size p opo ions on o he soil ex u al classi ica ion iangle (Cabane, 2004) (Figu e
3)
Figu e 3 Casag ande ex u al iangle
indica es ha he nes chambe s and he walls a e sandy clays (AS) and he con ols a e clayey sands (SA). The e is
he e o e a g anulome ic di e ence be ween he e mi e mound soil and i s con ol sample. Howe e , in e ms o
ex u e, he wall and he nes chambe a e iden ical. Jouque e al. (2002, 2006) a ibu e his g anulome ic di e ence
be ween e mi e mounds and he su ounding soil o a manipula ion o soil p ope ies by e mi es acco ding o hei
ecological needs.
3.2. A e be g Limi s
The A e be g limi s a e p esen ed in Table 2.
Table 2 A e be g limi s o he di e en pa s o he e mi e mounds
Liquid limi (%)
Plas ic limi (%)
Plas ici y index (%)
Nes chambe
39.55
25.55
14.0
Mound wall
33.25
22.25
11.0
Con ol
26.90
16.60
10.3
In his able, he nes chambe has a liquid limi o 39.55% and a plas ic limi o 25.55%, while he wall has a liquid limi
o 33.25% and a plas ic limi o 22.25%. The con ol soil, on he o he hand, has a liquid limi o 26.9% and a plas ic limi
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o 16.6%. The A e be g limi s o he con ol soil a e lowe han hose o he soils used o cons uc he wall and he nes
chambe . This con i ms he mo e clay- ich na u e o he ma e ial selec ed by e mi es o hei cons uc ion.
When he A e be g limi s a e plo ed on he Casag ande plas ici y cha (Figu e 4), i appea s ha he nes chambe s
a e mode a ely clayey and medium plas ic, he walls a e mode a ely clayey and low plas ic, whe eas he con ols a e
low clayey con en and low plas ic. Simila ly, he nes chambe is mo e clayey han he wall. Acco ding o Jouque e al.
(2002), he di e ence in plas ici y be ween he con ol soils and he e mi e mound soils sugges s a di e en
composi ion o he clay ac ion be ween e mi e mounds and su ounding soils. This di e ence in clay con en and
beha io sugges s a g ea e quan i y o mine alogical clay in he e mi e mound and a simila wa e sensi i i y be ween
he walls and he con ols, in con as o he nes chambe , which is mo e wa e -sensi i e.
Figu e 4 Casag ande plas ici y cha
To assess whe he he clays ound in he e mi e mounds and in he con ol soil a e expansi e o no , hei ac i i y
coe icien s we e also calcula ed acco ding o he ollowing o mula:
Ac= 𝑃𝐼
%𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑦 (% pa icles≤2 μm) …………. (3)
Table 3 p esen s he esul s ob ained.
Table 3 Values o he Ac i i y Coe icien
Ac i i y Coe icien (Ac)
Nes chambe
0.44
Mound wall
0.52
Con ol
1.3
The ac i i y coe icien is highe in he con ol soils (1.3) han in he e mi e mound samples (wall: 0.52 and nes
chambe : 0.44). The la e ha e an ac i i y coe icien below 0.75. The wall and nes chambe hus con ain inac i e clays,
whe eas he con ols ha e an ac i i y coe icien abo e 0.75 and a e he e o e conside ed ac i e (C a e , 1985). This
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di e ence in ac i i y, despi e he ac ha e mi es collec ma e ials om he su ounding soil o build hei mounds,
could be explained by he addi ion o compounds by e mi es ha modi y he soil’s ac i i y.
3.3. Me hylene Blue Values
Table 4 p esen s he me hylene blue alues (MBV) and he me hylene blue ac i i y index (MBAI) o he clay ac ion in
he e mi e mound and con ol soils.
Table 4 Me hylene Blue Values (MBV) and Me hylene Blue Ac i i y Index (MBAI)
MBV
MBAI
Nes chambe
3.2
10
Mound wall
3.1
12
Con ol
2.7
27
The MBV alues o bo h e mi e mound and con ol soils ange be ween 2.5 and 6, which co esponds o sil y soils o
medium plas ici y. Te mi e mound soils a e close o he ca ego y o clay soils (MBV o 3.1 o 3.2) han he con ol soils
(MBV o 2.7), which a e close o he h eshold o low-plas ici y sil y soils. Fu he mo e, he ac i i y index clea ly
dis inguishes be ween he wo soil ypes: wi h MBAI alues be ween 5 and 13, e mi e mound soils a e conside ed
mode a ely ac i e, while con ol soils a e conside ed highly ac i e wi h MBAI alues abo e 18.
De e mining bo h MBAI and Ac p o ides insigh in o he na u e o he clays in hese soils; howe e , he wo es s yielded
di e en in e p e a ions. Acco ding o Oued aogo K. (2019), his may be explained by he ac ha Ac is de e mined
om A e be g limi es s pe o med on he ac ion wi h pa icle sizes below 0/400 µm. This me hod is based on
heological measu emen s (liquid limi ) and can be in luenced by de i al ma e ials such as sil . In con as , MBAI,
ob ained om he MBV es —pe o med on he ac ion below 0/5 mm—is based on he abso p ion o wa e by clay
shee s, in which de i al ma e ials such as sil and sand a e ine .
In conclusion, based on he pa icle size analysis, A e be g limi s, and me hylene blue alues, he e is a clea di e ence
in beha io and na u e be ween e mi e mound soils and con ol soils. These di e ences sugges ha e mi es modi y
he soil hey use o cons uc ion. Boye (1982) suppo s his conclusion, s a ing ha e mi es ei he ans o m clay
mine als o in oduce cons i uen s in o he soil ha al e i s ac i i y.
3.4. Mine alogical Analyses
The X- ay di ac ion spec a o he nes chambe , he wall, and he con ol sample a e shown in Figu e 5. The a ious
iden i ied peaks indica e ha all h ee ma e ials a e mainly composed o kaolini e, qua z, and goe hi e. The e o e, he e
is no mine alogical di e ence be ween he e mi e mound samples and he su ounding soil.
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1072
Figu e 5 X- ay diag ams o he di e en pa s o he e mi e mound
Acco ding o Millogo e al., (2011), qua z ac s as he agg ega e. I p o ides he o e all mechanical s eng h o he
ma e ial. Kaolini e is he mo a ha binds he elemen s oge he du ing he cons uc ion o e mi e mounds.
4. Conclusion
The g anulome ic analysis and mine alogical composi ion o ca hed al- ype e mi e mounds and hei su ounding soil
e eal he ollowing:
• The nes chambe con ains mo e han 30% clay, wi h a sandy clay ex u e simila o ha o he wall, which,
howe e , is mainly composed o 58% sand. Unlike hese wo, he su ounding soil o he e mi e mounds has a
clayey sands ex u e wi h a high g a el con en o abou 50%.
• The nes chambe has a plas ici y index o 25.55%, is medium plas ic, mode a ely clayey, wi h an ac i i y
coe icien o 0.44 and a me hylene blue ac i i y index o 10. The wall, on he o he hand, has a plas ici y index
o 22.5%, is mode a ely clayey, low plas ic, wi h an ac i i y coe icien o 0.52 and a me hylene blue ac i i y
index o 12. Howe e , he su ounding soil o he e mi e mounds has a plas ici y index o 16.6%, is low in clay,
low plas ic, wi h an ac i i y coe icien o 1.3 and a me hylene blue ac i i y index o 27.
• Mine alogically, he nes chambe , he wall, and he su ounding soil a e composed o kaolini e, goe hi e, and
qua z.
• To build hei ca hed al- ype s uc u es, e mi es use he clayey, sil y, and sandy ac ions o he su ounding
soil. They modi y he ac i i y o he clay ac ion in o de o gi e hei cons uc ions he desi ed pe o mance.
Compliance wi h e hical s anda ds
Disclosu e o con lic o in e es
No con lic o in e es o be disclosed.
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