Abstract
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.
Highlights
Adobe masonry is one of the oldest building techniques and is found in all continents in traditional dwellings, historic landmarks and new construction
Compared to other building types, adobe masonry has a lower value of strength-to-weight ratio [15]
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]
Summary
Adobe masonry is one of the oldest building techniques and is found in all continents in traditional dwellings, historic landmarks and new construction. Numerical modelling has shown that the in-plane (lateral) strength of adobe masonry walls can decrease considerably when there is a moist region immediately above the footing and that the reduction in lateral force resistance is a function of the length of the wet region and the water content of the material [24]. This paper describes the materials, methods, wall models, test setup and instrumentation, and results of in-plane lateral load tests conducted on two quarter-scale adobe masonry walls to experimentally investigate the strength behaviour and failure mechanisms of adobe walls with different water content. One of the walls was tested at air-dry condition (Wall 1) and the second wall was tested with a higher water content along the bottom part (Wall 2) to investigate the effect of extreme monotonic lateral loading when there is a wet region near or at the wall-footing interface. Understanding monotonic lateral loading will lead to a better understanding of the wall behaviour and allow for future work to incorporate the testing of adobe walls under reverse cyclic loading or shake table testing
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