Abstract:
In recent years, earthen constructions attracted the interest of researchers and
companies in the construction sector and found to be a great alternative to the existing
cementitious techniques. Rammed earth construction technique is creating renewed interest as
an environmentally sustainable building solution for the construction sector. The earth
material considered for rammed earth construction is a soil graded from clay to fine gravel
with a small water amount. The technique consists of compacting the soil in layers with
equivalent thicknesses using a wooden or steel formworks. The formwork is then removed
and the soil is left for curing.
An experimental test program is carried out in the purpose of characterizing the
geotechnical and mechanical properties of rammed earth material. The geotechnical properties
are obtained from the combination of sieving/sedimentation analysis and standard proctor test.
Whereas, the test program on the mechanical properties includes normal and diagonal
compression tests on unstabilized/stabilized and unreinforced/reinforced rammed earth
material. Data acquisition and post-processing of test results are performed using the Digital
Image Correlation (DIC) technique for better understanding of the behavior and failure modes
of the rammed earth material. Experimental results showed that the stabilization and fiber
reinforcements have an influence on the normal and diagonal compressive strength of the
rammed earth material.
