EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL STUDIES ON COMPRESSED STABILIZED EARTH BLOCK (CSEB) MASONRY ASSEMBLAGE

Abstract

Masonry is a common building material with high compressive strength and durability and hence is widely used from ancient times. Masonry is, however, vulnerable to lateral loading. Earth Block, one of the oldest sustainable building materials in the world, is strong when dry but lacks structural integrity when exposed to moisture. Chemical additive such as cement is added into the earth to protect the block against moisture decomposition. Once the chemicals are added and the mix is formed into a block, a stabilized earth block is formed and named Cement Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB). In the growing concern of awareness regarding sustainable building material and environmental issue, Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) claimed to give the view of energy efficient, cost reduction and environmental friendly building materials. Compressed Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) represents a considerable improvement over traditional earth building techniques. Nepalese CSEB guidelines states that the minimum compressive strength of the CSEB units shall be 3.5MPa. So this thesis mainly focus on the ultimate capacity of CSEB masonry assemblage. In order to investigate the material properties of CSEB masonry wall, each three masonry assemblage were tested to compression, shear and tension. To simulate the experimental results of composite block masonry wall, finite element simulation software ABAQUS was used. Simplified micro model is prepared for simulation of the experimental results. Material non-linearity were included in all the materials used. The geometric nonlinearity were also considered during the simulation of the model. The analytical results obtained by ABAQUS analysis are compared with the experimental results. After the validation of analysed results with experiment results, comparison curve is plotted. Then the ultimate capacity curve plot is obtained for CSEB masonry. In conclusion, using ABAQUS finite element analysis verified with experimental results. Material properties for CSEB and bond mortar are determined with the help of Khwopa Engineering College Laboratory.