Assessment of seismic performance of earth masonry with shaking table tests and finite element modelling

Earth based masonry such as Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) and Cement Stabilized Rammed Earth (CSRE) has gained a considerable popularity in the recent past due to significant research undertaken worldwide and also due to the quest of seeking alternative building materials of comparable performance to mainstream materials in the construction industry. The compressive strength parameters could be easily adjusted for CSEB and CSRE by varying the compaction and the stabilizer content. The lateral strength could be enhanced by changing the width and also using external elements like tie beams placed strategically at important locations such as, below and above openings. This would enhance the confinement offered to masonry thus improving the lateral strength significantly. However, the performance under dynamic natural (earthquake) forces for both CSEB and CSRE still needs further detailed studies to enhance the disaster resilience of earth based masonry structures. The research presented in the paper is intended to provide useful information based on a detailed experimental programme using the shaking table. The test results have been used to validate the computer simulations so that studies on more complicated structures could be carried out in future using the appropriate software and the modelling techniques described in this research, where both in-plane and out-of-plane dynamic response have been investigated.