Mechanical Properties and Behavior of Traditional Adobe Wall Panels of the Aveiro District
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27, Issue 9
Abstract
In the Aveiro district, Portugal, adobe was a construction material extensively used until the middle of the twentieth century. Presently, many adobe constructions are still in use, presenting important cultural, social, and architectural value. Many of these constructions, however, are in a poor state of conservation, displaying severe structural anomalies. This negligence is in part due to a lack of knowledge concerning the mechanical behavior and properties of adobe masonry. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this knowledge. Ten full-scale adobe wall panels were constructed in the laboratory with adobes collected from an existing construction and with mortar formulated with the composition traditionally used. Five wall panels were tested in simple compression and five wall panels in diagonal compression. From these tests it was possible to determine and evaluate the stress-strain relationships, strength, deformation, stiffness, and damage pattern of the adobe masonry walls. This knowledge can support the adequate rehabilitation and retrofitting of existing buildings, the calibration of numerical models, and even the design of new adobe constructions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their acknowledgments to all the institutions and individuals that provided support in the preparation and development of the experimental tests, namely, Engineer Daniel Bastos from Câmara Municipal of Murtosa, the owners of the building who allowed the collection of the adobe bricks, the staff of the Civil Engineering Laboratory of the University of Aveiro, and Engineer António Figueiredo. This paper reports research work that is part of doctoral studies funded by a scholarship with the reference SFRH/BD/39012/2007, provided by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. This research work was partially funded by FEDER Funds through COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade and by National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the project Be+Earth: BEhaviour characterization and rehabilitation of EARTHen construction, with reference PTDC/ECM-EST/2396/2012.
References
Almeida, C., Guedes, J., Arêde, A., Costa, C., and Costa, A. (2012). “Physical characterization and compression tests of one leaf stone masonry walls.” Constr. Build. Mater., 30, 188–197.
ASTM. (2002). “Standard test method for diagonal tension (shear) in masonry assemblages.”, West Conshohocken, PA.
Blondet, M. (2008). “Behavior of earthen buildings during the Pisco earthquake of August 15, 2007.” Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, Oakland, CA.
Blondet, M., and Vargas, J. (1978). Research on rural housing, Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Blondet, M., Vargas, J., Tarque, N., and Iwaki, C. (2011). “Earthquake-resistant earthen construction: The great contemporary experience of Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.” Inf. Constr., 63(523), 41–50.
Bosiljkov, V. Z., Totoev, Y. Z., and Nichols, J. M. (2005). “Shear modulus and stiffness of brickwork masonry: An experimental perspective.” Struct. Eng. Mech., 20(1), 21–43.
Bousias, S., Spathis, A.-L., and Fardis, M. N. (2007). “Seismic retrofitting of columns with lap spliced smooth bars through FRP or concrete jackets.” J Earthquake Eng., 11(5), 653–674.
Brignola, A., Frumento, S., Lagomarsino, S., and Podestà, S. (2009). “Identification of shear parameters of masonry panels through the in-situ diagonal compression test.” Int. J. Archit. Herit., 3(1), 52–73.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). (1998). “Methods of test for masonry—Part 1: Determination of compressive strength.”, Brussels, Belgium.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). (1999). “Methods of test for mortar for masonry—Part 11: Determination of flexural and compressive strength of hardened mortar.”, Brussels, Belgium.
CEN (European Committee for Standardization). (2005). “Eurocode 6—Design of masonry structures—Part 1-1: General rules for reinforced and unreinforced masonry structures.”, Brussels, Belgium.
Dowling, D., and Samali, B. (2009). “Low-cost and low-tech reinforcement systems for improved earthquake resistance of mud brick buildings.” Proc., Getty Seismic Adobe Project 2006 Colloquium, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 23–33.
Elnashai, A. S., et al. (2010). “The Maule (Chile) earthquake of February 27, 2010: Consequence assessment and case studies.”, Mid-America Earthquake Center, Urbana, IL.
Figueiredo, A., Varum, H., Costa, A., Silveira, D., and Oliveira, C. (2013). “Seismic retrofitting solution of an adobe masonry wall.” Mater. Struct., 46(1–2), 203–219.
Gere, J. M., and Goodno, B. J. (2011). Mechanics of materials, R. Adams, H. Gowans, T. Altieri, and C. Valentine, eds., Cengage Learning, Andover, MA.
Houben, H., and Guillaud, H. (1994). Earth construction: A comprehensive guide, T. Schilderman, ed., Intermediate Technology Publications, London.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization). (2004). “Geotechnical investigation and testing—Identification and classification of soil—Part 2: Principles for a classification.”, Geneva.
Kaushik, H., Rai, D., and Jain, S. (2007). “Stress-strain characteristics of clay brick masonry under uniaxial compression.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 728–739.
Lanas, J., and Alvarez, J. I. (2003). “Masonry repair lime-based mortars: Factors affecting the mechanical behavior.” Cem. Concr. Res., 33(11), 1867–1876.
Liberatore, D., et al. (2006). “Typological and experimental investigation on the adobe buildings of Aliano (Basilicata, Italy).” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions, Macmillan, New Delhi, India, 851–858.
Meli, R. (2005). “Experiences in Mexico on reducing the seismic vulnerability of adobe constructions.” Proc., SismoAdobe 2005: Architecture, Construction and Conservation of Earthen Buildings in Seismic Areas, Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Park, Y. J., Ang, A. H. S., and Wen, Y. K. (1987). “Damage-limiting aseismic design of buildings.” Earthquake Spectra, 3(1), 1–26.
Read, H. E., and Hegemier, G. A. (1984). “Strain softening of rock, soil and concrete—A review article.” Mech. Mater., 3(4), 271–294.
RILEM. (1994). “CPC 6 tension by splitting of concrete specimens, 1975.” RILEM technical recommendations for the testing and use of construction materials, E & FN Spon, London.
San Bartolomé, A., and Pehovaz, R. (2005). “Behavior under cyclic lateral loading of confined adobe walls.” Proc., SismoAdobe 2005: Architecture, Construction and Conservation of Earthen Buildings in Seismic Areas, Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Santiago, L. (2007). “The Gandaresa House of Aveiro district. Contribution to its rehabilitation as cultural patrimony.” M.S. thesis, Univ. of Évora, Évora, Portugal.
SENCICO (National Service of Training for the Construction Industry). (2006). “Building technical standard E.080 Adobe.” National Regulation for Buildings, Lima, Peru.
Silva, S., Varum, H., Bastos, D., and Silveira, D. (2010). “Earthen architecture: Research and characterization of adobe buildings in Murtosa municipality.” Earth in seminar 2010, M. Fernandes, M. Correia, and F. Jorge, eds., Argumentum, Lisbon, Portugal, 236–239.
Silveira, D., Varum, H., and Costa, A. (2013a). “Influence of the testing procedures in the mechanical characterization of adobe bricks.” Constr. Build. Mater., 40, 719–728.
Silveira, D., Varum, H., Costa, A., and Lima, E. (2013b). “Survey and characterization of the adobe built park in Aveiro city.” Proc., 6th Seminar of Earthen Architecture in Portugal and 9th Ibero-American Seminar of Earth Architecture and Construction, Centre for Archaeological Studies of the Universities of Coimbra and Porto, Coimbra, Portugal, 102–108.
Silveira, D., Varum, H., Costa, A., Martins, T., Pereira, H., and Almeida, J. (2012). “Mechanical properties of adobe bricks in ancient constructions.” Constr. Build. Mater., 28(1), 36–44.
SNZ (Standards New Zealand). (1998a). “Engineering design of earth buildings.”, Wellington, New Zealand.
SNZ (Standards New Zealand). (1998b). “Materials and workmanship for earth buildings.”, Wellington, New Zealand.
Sousa, R., Sousa, H., and Guedes, J. (2013). “Diagonal compressive strength of masonry samples—Experimental and numerical approach.” Mater. Struct., 46(5), 765–786.
Teixeira, G., and Belém, M. (1998). Building dialogues. Traditional restoration techniques, CRAT Regional Center of Traditional Arts, Porto, Portugal.
Tolles, E. (2009). “Getty seismic adobe project research and testing program.” Proc., Getty Seismic Adobe Project 2006 Colloquium, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 34–41.
Torrealva, D., and Acero, J. (2005). “Reinforcing adobe buildings with exterior compatible mesh. The final solution against the seismic vulnerability?” Proc., SismoAdobe 2005: Architecture, Construction and Conservation of Earthen Buildings in Seismic Areas, Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Van Vliet, M. R. A., and Van Mier, J. G. M. (1995). “Softening behaviour of concrete under uniaxial compression.” Proc., Fracture Mechanics of Concrete Structures—FRAMCOS-2, F. H. Wittmann, ed., AEDIFICATIO Publishers, Freiburg, Germany, 383–396.
Vargas, J., Blondet, M., Ginocchio, F., and Garcia, G. (2005). “35 years of research on earthquake-resistant adobe: Reinforced earth.” Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Vargas, J., and Ottazzi, G. (1981). “Research on adobe.”, Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Peru, Lima, Peru.
Walker, P. (2002). “The Australian earth building handbook.”, Standards Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Weiss, J. (2006). “Elastic properties, creep and relaxation.” Significance of tests and properties of concrete and concrete-making materials, J. Lamond, and J. Pielert, eds., ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 194–206.
Wu, F., Li, G., Li, H.-N., and Jia, J.-Q. (2013). “Strength and stress-strain characteristics of traditional adobe block and masonry.” Mater. Struct., 46(9), 1449–1457.
Yamín, L., Phillips, C., Reyes, J., and Ruiz, D. (2007). “Seismic vulnerability studies, rehabilitation and strengthening of adobe and rammed earth houses.” Apuntes, 20(2), 286–303.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 27 • Issue 9 • September 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 25, 2014
Accepted: Sep 12, 2014
Published online: Dec 3, 2014
Discussion open until: May 3, 2015
Published in print: Sep 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.