Assessing the Seismic Behavior of Rammed Earth Walls with an L-Form Cross-Section

Quoc-Bao Bui, Tan-Trung Bui, Mai-Phuong Tran, Thi-Loan Bui and Hoang-An Le
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Quoc-Bao Bui: Sustainable Developments in Civil Engineering Research Group, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tan-Trung Bui: Department of Civil Engineering, Universityy of Lyon, INSA Lyon, GEOMAS, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
Mai-Phuong Tran: Sustainable Developments in Civil Engineering Research Group, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Thi-Loan Bui: Department of Civil Engineering, RACE, Ha Noi, Vietnam
Hoang-An Le: Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Transport, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Rammed earth (RE) is a construction material which is made by compacting the soil in a formwork. This material is attracting the attention of the scientific community due to its sustainable characteristics. Among different aspects to be investigated, the seismic performance remains an important topic which needs advanced investigations. The existing studies in the literature have mainly adopted simplified approaches to investigate the seismic performance of RE structures. The present paper adopts a numerical approach to investigate the seismic behavior of RE walls with an L-form cross-section. The 3D FEM model used can take into account the plasticity and damage of RE layers and the interfaces. The model was first validated by an experimental test presented in the literature. Then, the model was employed to assess the seismic performance of a L-form wall of a RE house at different amplitudes of earthquake excitations. Influences of the cross-section form on the earthquake performance of RE walls were also investigated. The results show that the L-form cross-section wall has a better seismic performance than a simple rectangular cross-section wall with similar dimensions. For the L-form cross-section wall, the damage observed concentrates essentially on the connection between two flanges of the wall.

Keywords: rammed earth; dynamic behavior; seismic performance; finite element modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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