Boundary Effects and Material Behavior of Rammed Earth
Date
2018-02-24
Authors
Kutturu, Geethanjali
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Abstract
Rammed earth (RE) is the ancient method of construction which is revived in modern days construction due to its sustainability, longevity, low material transportation costs etc., The current study is conducted to predict the boundary effects due to compaction with different ramming heads and to determine the effect of change in constituents on the material properties by non-destructive tests and destructive tests by Schmidt Rebound hammer, UPV (Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity) testing, IR Camera (Infrared Camera), uniaxial compression testing, flexural testing. Cylindrical and prism specimens of different mix designs are subjected to accelerated wetting and drying cycles creating the weatherability effect and reduction in compression strength is measured and prisms are tested to determine the modulus of rupture. This addresses the quality and life of SRE (Stabilized Rammed Earth) and adoption of certain techniques and rammers with different ramming heads to withstand to cold climatic conditions. Also study on First People’s House, located at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, provided insight into compressive strength and insulation effects of thermally insulated RE walls after 9 years of natural weathering.