Earth represents an ecological building material that is thought to reduce the carbon footprint at a point in its life cycle. However, it is very important to eliminate the undesirable properties of soil in an environmentally friendly way. Cement-stabilized rammed earth, as a building material, has gradually gained popularity due to its higher and faster strength gain, durability, and availability with a low percentage of cement. This paper covers a detailed study of hollow compressed cement-stabilized earth-block masonry prisms to establish the strength properties of hollow compressed cement-stabilized earth-block masonry. The test results for masonry prisms constructed with hollow compressed cement-stabilized blocks with two different strength grades and two earth mortars with different strengths are discussed.

In order to improve the shear behavior of hollow concrete block masonry, precast concrete anti-shear blocks were proposed to enhance the shear strength of hollow concrete block masonry. Four groups of hollow concrete block masonry triplets with precast concrete anti-shear blocks were tested under shear loading, and their behaviors were compared with a control group. The results show that as the height of precast concrete anti-shear blocks increases, the shear strength of the masonry increases. The maximum shear strength of masonry triplets with precast concrete anti-shear blocks was 234.48 percent higher than that of the control specimens. The shear strength of masonry triplets was mainly determined by the failure of hollow concrete block unit. The majority of specimens exhibited double shear failures; however, these failures showed characteristics of ductile failure to a certain extent. Based on the experimental results, a equation for calculating the shear strength of masonry with precast concrete anti-shear blocks was proposed.

Rammed earth is widely utilized in both developed and developing countries due to its low embodied energy and good natural moisture buffering of indoor environments. However, its application in seismic active regions was limited owing to its intrinsically low resistance to dynamic actions. is paper presents the test results of four cement-stabilized rammed earth walls with confining tie-column elements under cyclic loading, aiming at assessing the cyclic behavior of proposed rammed earth walls with confining tie-column elements. e test results revealed that the proposed confining tie-column elements could significantly improve the cyclic behavior of cement-stabilized rammed earth wall, exhibiting good strength and ductility.

Rammed earth (RE) constructions are widespread in underdeveloped rural areas in developing countries. However, these RE constructions are often susceptible to earthquake damage due to their poor seismic performance. Precast concrete tie columns and ring beam (tie bars) were proposed to improve the seismic behavior of RE constructions. Four RE walls, including a traditional RE wall and three RE walls with precast concrete tie columns and ring beam (tie bars), were tested under reversed cyclic loading, and the seismic behavior of these tested specimens was evaluated in terms of failure pattern, energy dissipation, displacement ductility, and stiffness degradation. e results showed that a significant increase of the load-bearing and deformation capacity could be achieved with the application of precast concrete tie columns in combination with RE. e load-bearing capacity and deformation capacity of traditional RE wall were increased by an average of 113% and 417%, respectively. ese test results could provide reference to the design and construction of the environmental-friendly structures in rural areas.

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