Steel nail embedded in rammed earth wall to support vertical loads: An investigation

Abstract

Rammed earth (RE) is a construction material manufactured by compacting the soil by layers in a formwork. This material has been the focus of numerous scientific researches in the last decades because of its sustainable properties and the heritage of RE buildings throughout the world. Several studies were performed to investigate different aspects of this material, however, there were few studies investigating on the capacity of nails on RE walls. Indeed, this resistance is important when occupants want to hang furniture (photo frames, kitchen cabinets…). This paper presents firstly an experimental study on the capacity of smooth steel nails (without dowel) horizontally fixed on RE specimens to carry vertical loads. Different types of nails with different diameters (from 3.1 to 5 mm) were tested, at different anchorage lengths into the RE specimens (from 65 to 120 mm). The results showed that one nail could hang 200–1000 N of vertical load, depending on the type of nail, the anchored length and the loading rate. It was worth noting that the steel nails were excessively deformed after the test. A numerical model was developed to analyze the results. The numerical results showed that RE was first plasticized in certain zones and then the steel nails were also plasticized. Influences of the creep phenomenon was also observed and analyzed.