Lateral Strength of Traditional Adobe Walls Affected by Moisture: A Numerical Parametric Study

ABSTRACT

This paper studies the lateral strength of traditional (unstabilized) adobe walls subjected to lateral loading, either in-plane or out-of-plane, using the finite element method. The focus of the numerical parametric study is on adobe walls that have a moist region in their lower part immediately above the footing. The variables of the parametric study are the length, height, and water content of the moist region. The lateral strength of adobe walls can be affected by the moist region depending on its size and water content. Generally, the threshold of gravimetric water content of the moist region associated with a considerable decrease in lateral strength is 12% for I-shaped walls under in-plane lateral loading and 10% for cantilever walls under out-of-plane lateral loading. A short moist region that is at most one-third or one-fourth of the wall length for out-of-plane or in-plane loading, respectively, does not compromise significantly the wall lateral strength even at relatively high water content. Even though the results depend on the model geometry and characteristics, this information can be useful to those working in adobe repair and preservation because approaching or exceeding these limiting water contents might indicate an immediate need for shoring the walls.

KEYWORDS:

• Adobe
• earth brick
• finite element method
• in-plane loading
• lateral strength
• masonry
• moisture
• numerical modeling
• out-of-plane loading
• pushover curve

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under NSF Cooperative Agreement Number EEC-1449501. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSF.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation [NSF Cooperative Agreement Number EEC-1449501].