EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON SEISMIC BEHAVIOR OF ADOBE MASONRY WITH HEMP FIBRE ROPES

Earthquake Engineering

Vernacular structures are found widely around the world in reflection of the comparatively low cost, material availability, and ease of construction. Earthquakes occurring demonstrate again and again that vernacular structures are highly vulnerable and that millions of residents who live in these houses are at great risk. This emphasizes the need to find simple and economic solutions. This study aimed to improve the seismic strength of the unstabilized adobe houses involving the application of hemp fibre rope nets to the surface of adobe walls. The main objective of the study is to observe the seismic behaviour of adobe masonry wall using hemp fibre ropes and examine failure or damage patterns. The material for adobe housing were tested and adobe models using hemp fibre ropes were casted and tested in shake table and damage due to shaking were observed. To attain this objective two series of tests were performed. A material testing programme for reduced scaling of material and shake table testing programme for dynamic testing on 3 reduced scale Adobe masonry house models were performed. 3 models can distinguish as a simple reduced scale masonry structure with no extra or additional features, a similar masonry structure aided with hemp fibre ropes uniformly spaced grid as the earthquake resistant feature and a similar masonry structure aided with hemp fibre rope at the wall junctions and the openings. After testing it is concluded that masonry structure model A2 and A3 shows more ductile behaviour which avoids life-threatening collapse of structure.

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