Abstract
Soil is one of the oldest materials humans have used to build their dwellings and other structures. Almost universally available, easily shaped, highly sustainable, possessing high thermal mass, and easily recyclable, earthen materials are highly sustainable and often a natural choice. Improperly designed, however, earthen structures are subject to erosion, earthquakes, and other types of extreme loading. They may fail in a sudden and brittle manner as well if not properly detailed. We examine the behavior of modern earthen structural elements under shear loading. Cement-stabilized soil block, or compressed earth block, and stabilized rammed earth are used in the number of locations worldwide. In addition to their sustainability, they are cost-effective in many locations. These materials are often stabilized with a small amount of cement for strength and durability. We analyze wall units using a finite element model with embedded strong discontinuities. The bulk material model is a plasticity model that includes both tension and compression caps, a pressure-dependent shear yield surface, differences in triaxial extension and compression strength, isotropic cap hardening, and kinematic shear hardening/softening. The tensile and shear cohesion degradation under large deformation can be modeled. In addition, on detection of localization, an interface may be inserted or activated at the critical orientation. The elements have been extended to include preexisting weak interfaces, such as those between layers of rammed earth, or brick and mortar joints. However, interfaces can also be extended through the bulk material if that path is more critical for a given stress state.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Houben H, Guillaud H (1994) Earth construction: a comprehensive guide. Practical Action
Fossum AF, Brannon RM (2004) The sandia geomodel: theory and user’s guide. SAND report August, Sandia National Laboratories
Foster CD, Regueiro RA, Fossum AF, Borja RI (2005) Implicit numerical integration of a three-invariant, isotropic/kinematic hardening cap plasticity model for geomaterials. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 194(50–52):5109–5138
Motamedi MH, Foster CD (2015) An improved implicit numerical integration of a non-associated, three-invariant cap plasticity model with mixed isotropic kinematic hardening for geomaterials. Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 39:1853–1883
Gudehus G (1973) Elastoplastiche Stoffgleichungen Guer Trockenen Sand. lngenieur-Archiv 42(3):151–169
Rudnicki JW, Rice JR (1975) Conditions for the localization of deformation in pressure-sensitive dilatant materials. J Mech Phys Solids 23(6):371–394
Regueiro RA, Foster CD (2011) Bifurcation analysis for a rate-sensitive, non-associative, three-invariant, isotropic/kinematic hardening cap plasticity model for geomaterials: Part I. Small strain. Int J Numer Anal Methods Geomech 25(2):201–225
Weed DA, Motamedi MH, Foster CD (2017) A robust numerical framework for simulating localized failure and fracture propagation in frictional materials. Acta Geotech 12(2):253–275
Motamedi MH, Weed DA, Foster CD (2016) Numerical simulation of mixed mode (I and II) fracture behavior of pre-cracked rock using the strong discontinuity approach. Int J Solids Struct 85–86:44–56
Foster CD, Weed DA, A new method for embedding predefined interfaces in finite elements. Finite Elements Anal Des, in press
Parvaneh SM, Foster CD (2016) On numerical aspects of different updating schedules for tracking fracture path in strain localization modeling. Eng Fracture Mech 152:26–57
Foster CD, Weed, DA, Motamedi, MH, Tennant AG (2016) Mechanical behavior of Earthen materials in structural applications. GeoChicago
Armero F, Garikipati K (1996) An analysis of strong discontinuities in multiplicative finite strain plasticity and their relation with the numerical simulation of strain localization in solids. Int J Solids Struct 33(20/22):2863–2885
Borja RI, Regueiro RA (2001) Strain localization in frictional materials exhibiting displacement jumps. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 190(2021):2555–2580
Foster CD, Borja RI, Regueiro RA (2007) Modeling the effects of variable friction in fractured geomaterials in an embedded strong discontinuity finite element setting. Int J Numer Methods Eng 72:549–581
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Foster, C.D. (2021). Modeling of Degradation and Failure of Earthen Structural Units. In: Reddy, K.R., Agnihotri, A.K., Yukselen-Aksoy, Y., Dubey, B.K., Bansal, A. (eds) Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 90. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51354-2_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51354-2_34
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51353-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51354-2
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)