Critical review on the material characterization of adobe elements

Adobe is a traditional masonry made of sundried earthen bricks and mud mortar. Despite a millennial history of buildings of architectural value, adobe still connotes a so called ‘not engineered’ construction type. Namely, the material and structural properties of adobe are still not entirely addressed, resulting in an equally uncertain normative...

Dynamic behaviour of adobe bricks in compression: The role of fibres and water content at various loading rates

This paper presents the results of an experimental research aimed at assessing the material performance of adobe bricks in compression for a wide range of induced strain rates, from statics to high velocity impact. Adobe connotes a traditional masonry whose bricks are made of sundried soil mixtures possibly reinforced with natural fibres and...

An application of the energy partition method on the blast response of composite panels

Landmines are used in battle fields to damage military vehicles. Current vehicle applications in Out of area operations (OoA) are mainly based on steel and aluminum. These offer protection at the expenses of high weight, mobility limitations and design restrictions. A prototype of composite panel which outperforms the blast response of...

The Adobe delta damage model: A locally regularized rate-dependent model for the static assessment of soil masonry bricks and mortar

A local damage model is proposed for the numerical assessment of the static performance of Adobe masonry components. The model was applied to simulate the experimental behaviour of sundried soil bricks and mud mortar tested in uniaxial compression and bending. Numerical simulations of the model are made mesh objective by means of a rate...

Dynamic simulations of traditional masonry materials at different loading rates using an enriched damage delay: Theory and practical applications

The mechanical performance of traditional adobe masonry components An experimental-analytical characterization of soil bricks and mud mortar

Adobe is an ancient building technology made of sun dried bricks joined together by mud mortar. This paper deals with the physical and mechanical characterization of three different typologies of adobe bricks and one typology of mud mortar produced in Europe. They differed in terms of internal soil element proportions and amount of organic...

Modelling the mechanical response of adobe components under uniaxial loading

The ballistic resistance of adobe masonry: An analytical model for impacts on mud bricks and mortar

A significant number of published papers in the field of penetration mechanics devotes attention to the study of targets made of metal and ceramic materials for protective equipment. In recent times, the progression in harshness of urban warfare is leading western governments to investing in research focused on the ballistic response of building...