Caracterización física y mecánica del adobe en el cantón Cuenca

Abstract

The raw earth is one of the oldest and most widely used construction materials worldwide, it has been popular for its easy production, workability, also for its important thermal properties, fire retardant, moisture balance inside the building, as well as being economic and reusable. Despite benefits of raw earth as construction material, it became obsolete by the appearance of new building materials (steel, concrete, etc.) more polluting and energy-demanding, but which, unlike land It can have a better seismic behavior. That is why it is important to study the behavior and physical and mechanical characteristics of adobe, one of the most widespread raw-earth construction techniques in our region. The study has physical tests (granulometry, liquid limit, plastic limit, index of plasticity and content of organic matter) and mechanical (compression, flexion and indirect traction). Important information for structural design of new buildings, conservation of existing buildings and to determine the vulnerability of this type of construction to seismic forces. Providing a tool in the structural field, allowing the designer to have data for basic calculations or software modeling and analysis of structures by means of finite elements, especially in nonlinear calculations, and thus better approximate the behavior of buildings.