Bio-Building Materials for Load-Bearing Applications: Conceptual Development of Reinforced Plastered Straw Bale Composite Sandwich Walls
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 26, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper presents a conceptual development of plastered straw bale composite sandwich wall systems for load-bearing applications. Straw bales are environmentally friendly and may be an alternative to conventional building materials such as masonry blocks for low-rise buildings. An experimental program is conducted to examine the feasibility of the composite system: material testing with three types of plaster materials and structural testing using seven prototype sandwich walls. Test parameters include the effect of reinforcing materials on the behavior of plaster skins and the type of reinforcement such as dense and coarse grid wire-meshes and nonmetallic glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforcing bars. The composite system significantly improves the load-bearing capacity of a straw bale, particularly noticeable when the coarse mesh and GFRP bars are used. The wire-meshes restrain the lateral displacement of the plaster skins and preclude the volumetric expansion of the sandwich walls subjected to axial compression. The test specimens fail by plaster crushing, local buckling, or skin collapse. The specimen with the coarse mesh is recommendable for multistacking applications of straw bale walls, given that such a combination provides low accumulated compliance and high energy absorption capacity when compared with other specimens.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge financial support from North Dakota State University Alumni Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 26 • Issue 1 • February 2012
Pages: 38 - 45
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 23, 2010
Accepted: Jan 19, 2011
Published online: Jan 20, 2011
Published in print: Feb 1, 2012
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