Experimental testing and finite element modelling of earth block masonry

Miccoli, Lorenzo; Garofano, Angelo; Fontana, Patrick; Müller, Urs

doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2015.09.020

Cited by 66 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Earthen construction can be divided into four main categories: compressed earth block (CEB), rammed earth, adobe, and cob construction. While a lot of studies were published on the mechanical behaviour of rammed earth, CEB, and adobe [7,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29], very few researchers studied the mechanical properties of cob, which constitutes a diffuse alternative to rammed earth and adobe in specific geographical conditions [21,[30][31][32][33]. In fact, it is estimated that at least 200,000 units are constructed in EU by the cob technique, date back to the first half of the 20th century, the 19th century, the 18th century, and even older [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and FEM Investigation of Cob Walls under Compression

Quagliarini

Maracchini

2018

Advances in Civil Engineering

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Earth has been used as construction material since prehistoric times, and it is still utilized nowadays in both developed and developing countries. Heritage conservation purposes and its intrinsic environmental benefits have led researchers to investigate the mechanical behaviour of this material. However, while a lot of works concern with rammed earth, CEB, and adobe techniques, very few studies are directed towards cob, which is an alternative to the more diffused rammed earth and adobe in specific geographic conditions. Due to this lack, this paper presents an experimental program aimed at assessing the failure mode and the main mechanical properties of cob earth walls (compressive strength, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio) through monotonic axial compression tests. Results show that, if compared with CEB, adobe, and rammed earth, cob has the lowest compressive strength, the lowest modulus of elasticity, and Poisson’s ratio. Differences are also found by comparing results with those obtained for other cob techniques, underlining both the high regional variability of cob and the need of performing more research on this topic. A strong dependence of material properties on loading rate and water content seems to exist too. Finally, the ability of a common analytical method used for masonry structures (an FEM macromodelling with a total strain rotating crack model) to represent the mechanical behaviour of cob walls is showed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and FEM Investigation of Cob Walls under Compression

Quagliarini

Maracchini

2018

Advances in Civil Engineering

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“…In addition to its low tensile strength, adobe is affected by the moisture that penetrates from the ground or through the plaster into the walls [16]. Even though several studies have investigated the lateral load resistance behaviour of adobe walls or systems (e.g., [15,[17][18][19][20]), these did not explicitly consider the detrimental effects of higher water contents that may exist within the adobe walls. Experimental testing has shown that the water content of the adobe soil at mixing and at testing has important effects on the tensile and compressive strengths of adobe units [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Laboratory Study on the Strength Behaviour of Two Laterally Loaded Adobe Walls

et al. 2018

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Adobe is a traditional construction technique found in historic and new construction throughout the world, often in earthquake-prone regions. Adobe structures are particularly susceptible to seismic forces due to their substantial mass and low tensile capacity. In addition, adobe is affected negatively by moisture that may penetrate from the ground or through the plaster. This paper describes the preliminary findings of an experimental program to investigate the effect of higher water content in the lower part of the wall on the wall strength behaviour under lateral loading. Lateral load tests were conducted on two quarter-scale adobe walls, one in air-dry condition (Wall 1) and another with greater water content in the lower part (Wall 2). The model walls demonstrated similar behaviour during loading in terms of deflections; however, the higher water content in the lower part had a significant effect on the wall strength. The in-plane (lateral) load capacity of Wall 2 was approximately 74% of the capacity of Wall 1.

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“…This type of stress-strain response is linked to the actual failure mode of the sample. Details on mechanical testing are reported in a previous study [9,10]. The shear strength (fs) of the samples was calculated from the maximum load.…”

Section: Diagonal Compression Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The E and ν of the units are taken from the characterisation tests on adobe samples [9]. The ft value of earth blocks obtained from the tests was assumed for the potential block cracks, while for their stiffness and tensile fracture energy (G I f) values available in the literature [30,33] were assumed.…”

Section: Constitutive Lawsmentioning

confidence: 99%