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Persian adobe heritage: Construction technology, characterisation and protection
Published in Jan Kubica, Arkadiusz Kwiecień, Łukasz Bednarz, Brick and Block Masonry - From Historical to Sustainable Masonry, 2020
Damage to adobe can be due to several reasons such as structural issues, water-related problems, wind erosion, vegetation, insects, vermin, and material incompatibilities. Structural damage and water-related damage are two important causes of deterioration of adobe.
Materials
Published in Bjørn N. Sandaker, Arne P. Eggen, Mark R. Cruvellier, The Structural Basis of Architecture, 2019
Bjørn N. Sandaker, Arne P. Eggen, Mark R. Cruvellier
The ancient techniques of employing earth in building structures have worked their way into contemporary architecture, albeit in modified form. Roughly, we can say that there are two main techniques available in this context: making un-fired earth bricks and blocks is one option; the other is the production of monolithic structural elements by using a ramming technique. Adobe in its modern form involves the manufacturing of load-bearing bricks or blocks made of tightly compacted earth, clay, and straw. So-called CEB, or compressed earth blocks, contain no straw, but add lime or cement as a stabilizer to hold the material together. In the rammed earth technique, the soil is mixed with cement, water, and waterproofing additives so as to form primary structural wall elements that are manufactured in situ.
In situ testing and modeling of cultural heritage buildings in Peru
Published in Koen Van Balen, Els Verstrynge, Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions: Anamnesis, Diagnosis, Therapy, Controls, 2016
P.B. Lourenço, G. Karanikoloudis, F. Greco
Adobe is one of the oldest and most widely used natural materials in construction. The overall seismic performance and corresponding seismic vulnerability of masonry and adobe buildings in general is highly related to the level of redistribution of the seismic loads in between the elements, enhanced by connections, stiff floors or ring beams and joists, which provide a diaphragmatic structural response, also known as "box behavior". Adobe historic buildings often lack confinement, thus resulting in loss of connectivity and structural isolation of individual elements, which under seismic loading become susceptible to out of plane failure modes. The present work is part of the Seismic Retrofitting Project (SRP), a component of the Getty Conservation Institute's Earthen Architecture Initiative. The SRP seeks to combine traditional construction techniques and materials with high-tech methodologies to design and test easy-to-implement seismic retrofitting techniques and maintenance programs to improve the structural performance and safety of earthen buildings while minimizing loss of historic fabric. This paper provides results of in situ testing and modelling of the four case studies: Casa Arones (Cusco), Hotel Comércio (Lima), Ica Cathedral (Ica) and Kuño Tambo (Acomayo). With the exception of the latter, these buildings incorporate a significant portion of timber components. In situ testing consist of an extensive sonic testing campaign and dynamic identification, allowing obtaining indirect measurements of the elastic mechanical properties of the masonry-like materials and validation of the numerical models. Then, advanced modeling was adopted for the assessment of the seismic safety.
The effectiveness of rubber short fibers reinforcing on mechanical characterization of clay adobe elements under static loading
Published in European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, 2022
Fatemeh Faghih Khorasani, Mohammad Z. Kabir
Studying of earthen buildings has been recently more attractive due to increasing attention of employers to use lower cost and polluting materials and also assisting effectively towards the preservation of traditional constructions. Iran is an ancient country with numerous masonry and adobe buildings in old tissues of different cities. Also, adobe technique is used in vast rural areas. Adobe is a sun dried molded mud when some times, fibers are mixed with the mud to improve mechanical characteristics or reduce the shrinkage of it. The physical and mechanical properties of fibers like water absorption, bonding strength, tensile strength, elasticity modulus, length, size and volume fraction are some important factors which influence durability, physical and mechanical behavior of adobes (Fratini et al., 2011; Hejazi et al., 2012).
The Use of Contact Sponge Method to Measure Water Absorption in Earthen Heritage Treated with Water Repellents
Published in International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2022
Telma Ribeiro, Daniel V. Oliveira, Susanna Bracci
Using earth as a construction material is a millenary practice. Vernacular architecture, as well as archaeological sites found in North Africa, Middle East or South America show how ancient civilizations used earth to build houses and monuments (Fratini et al. 2011). Many different types of earthen construction technologies (e.g. adobe and rammed earth) have been developed based on locally available materials (e.g. soil, sand, lime, natural fibers) and traditional know-how (Schroeder 2016). Adobe, also known as mudbrick, consists in molding a mixture of soil and water (workable enough to be molded) within a brick shape and is left to dry under the sun. In turn, rammed earth involves compacting soil into wooden formworks (Figure 1) (Rocha 2015). So, different earthen building techniques can be found all around the world according to the geographical location, type of soils and local weather conditions (Houben and Hubert 1989).
The sustainability of adobe construction: past to future
Published in International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2019
Cristiana Costa, Ângela Cerqueira, Fernando Rocha, Ana Velosa
Earth construction was one of the most used types of construction all over the world, by using simple techniques and locally available materials. This type of construction is directly related to economic and environmental advantages. However, most of the buildings that still exist are in a high degree of degradation which causes a growing concern with the preservation of this specific kind of cultural heritage. For many, the solution is to demolish these buildings rather than incorporate rehabilitation actions in order to preserve the built heritage. It is important to introduce the subject of the sustainability of these materials that are often ignored due to their supposed frailty. As such, an attempt must be made in order to find materials that are compatible for restoration purposes. Adobe is an eco-friendly, low-energy, and cost-efficient construction material. The adobe material offers indoor thermal comfort and adequate sound insulation, and allows the economization of carbon dioxide during its production (Christoforo et al. 2016). The soils used for this type of construction are usually located immediately below the soil top layer. Often, this ground is located very close to the building and as such there is no pollution even in the transport of materials, contrary to other materials such as ceramic bricks or concrete. The waste of the earth construction can be deposited at the site of extraction in the absence of any environmental hazard.