Factors Influencing the Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Behavior of Unstabilized Rammed Earth Walls

Abstract

Waterproof capacity, thermal isolation, and pushover strength are the main characteristics when an unstabilized rammed earth (URE) wall is constructed. In this paper, a comprehensive numerical simulation model is built to evaluate the effect of 15 different factors on those three aforementioned properties of URE walls. The simulation results show that the hydraulic, thermal, and mechanical properties of the wall are interconnected. It is found that the waterproof capacity of the wall can be mainly improved by increasing the dry density, decreasing the rising damp effect, and reducing the fine content value of the wall. The thermal insulation characteristic of the wall can be ameliorated by increasing the wall thickness and reducing the rising damp effect, fine content, and dry density. In addition, the pushover capacity of the wall can be strengthened by increasing the wall width, fine content, wall thickness, and vertical load and decreasing the rising dampness and wall height. In addition, time has a positive effect on the waterproof capacity, thermal insulation, and mechanical strength of URE walls. These properties change significantly in the first 100 days and then stabilize after 180 days for a typical URE wall. Eventually, a new theoretical approach is proposed to predict the long-term THM behavior of URE walls by considering the 15 factors in its framework.

Sustainable Analysis of Cement-Stabilized Rammed Earth Construction in Rural Areas: A Case Study in Southeast China

“…Until the 1990s, research on rammed earth construction remained at the level of consolidating work progress, material science, and construction tool upgrading [9]. Researchers have attached great importance to testing the physical properties, hydrothermal performance [10][11][12], resistance to natural threats by adding binders [11,[13][14][15][16], or contemporary structures [17][18][19][20][21]. Martin Rauch, a rammed earth architect and researcher known for his extensive knowledge of rammed earth construction, defined rammed earth as a composition of clay, sand, and gravel packed into molds and compressed layer by layer to create a cohesive structure [8].…”