Characterisation of local construction materials Burkina Faso

Summary
The roofs of houses in Burkina Faso often consist of a single corrugated iron sheet. As the temperature can reach 40° in the shade, this type of construction, although having the advantage of being cheap, is inappropriate to local conditions. On the other hand, local craftsmen manufacture similar roofs using locally available wood and tiles made of mortar. Burkina has as yet no construction norms for wood or nailed joints, let alone for these tiles in mortar. This is why, in collaboration with the institute 2iE in Ouagadougou we have carried out a research project to work on the classification of obeche and sapele, the woods used for construction; the resistance of nailed joints and the manufacture of tiles in
mortar. The second part of this project consisted in developing and fabricating a solar steam engine.

Goal
- To characterize various construction materials used for the construction of traditional roofs in Burkina Faso
- To share with the people of Burkina our expertise in the realm of materials testing,
- To raise awareness in our school of the problems facing developing countries and to encourage exchange programmes for both students and teachers,
- To promote the development of durable management and the optimal use of local resources by establishing standard norms for constructions based on local material.

Results
The main results have been achieved in two domains, i.e.
- The characterization of construction woods
Having checked in Fribourg that the results obtained by means of simple laboratory equipment present the minimum necessary accuracy, we set up a laboratory in the Institute 2iE of Ouagadougou and there carried out all the tests as planed
- The fabrication of a solar steam engine
A solar steam engine has been developed by our Mechanics Department over the last 18 months. Two recent graduates in mechanics, one from Switzerland and one from Senegal, have finalised the prototype in collaboration with students from Burkina

Partner Organisation
L’institut 2iE du Burkina Faso
Institut international de l’ingénierie de l’eau et de l’environnement
Higher Education and Research Institute at the service of 14 West African countries

Achievements
- A good basis has been created to continue the study of construction wood in Ouagadougou
- The solar steam engine is now working and our former Senegalese student is planning to develop his own company to fabricate this machine
- This project raised the awareness of some of our students of the problems involved in development
- The necessary contacts were created to allow our school to extend its activity in this area. For example, one of our students carried out his diploma work in an NGO in Burkina. We plan now to continue this activity in Togo.

Duration
April 2005 to December 2007

Contact
University of Applied Sciences
Christian Deschenaux, Lecturer
Bd. de Pérolles 80
1700 Fribourg, SWITZERLAND
christian.deschenaux@hefr.ch

International Institute 2iE
Ismaila Gueye, Lecturer
Rue de la Science, 01 BP 594
Ouagadougou 01, BURKINA FASO
ismaila.gueye@2ie-edu.org