Effect of suction on the mechanical characteristics of uniformly compacted rammed earth

[摘要] Rammed earth, in the current environmental situation, is an alternative construction technique which can help in reducing energy and raw material consumption owing to its "sustainable" characteristics. To fully understand its behavior and properties, recent scientific investigations consider it as a compacted unsaturated material with suction as its one of the main sources of strength. Eathern constructions face, over their lifetime, variations in the suction state which have a significant impact on their mechanical characteristics. In the present contribution, unconfined compression tests are performed, with and without unload-reload cycles, on homogeneously compacted samples subjected to various suction conditions. This study shows that both the unconfined compressive strength and Young modulus reduce with the reduction of suction states. Suction also seems to influence the amount of plastic strains and damage phenomenon. Indeed, the soils analyzed are slightly active and shows both plasticity behavior and damage phenomenon.

[发布机构] Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LOCIE, Chambéry; 73000, France^1

[效力级别] 运输工程

[关键词] Construction technique;Mechanical characteristics;Raw material consumption;Scientific investigation;Unconfined compression tests;Unconfined compressive strength;Unload-reload;Unsaturated materials