Construction Considerations for Low-Cost Earth Brick Shells
Earthen shells are typically designed as pure-compression structures; however, some issues associated with construction practice, fxity, and certain actions (i.e., loading), which induce tensile stress, are often overlooked. Thus, cracking is not uncommon in unreinforced earthen shells. Cracking...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.usm.my/42652/ http://eprints.usm.my/42652/1/jcdc2018.23.1.3.pdf |
| Summary: | Earthen shells are typically designed as pure-compression structures; however, some
issues associated with construction practice, fxity, and certain actions (i.e., loading), which
induce tensile stress, are often overlooked. Thus, cracking is not uncommon in unreinforced
earthen shells. Cracking is particularly undesirable in these shells due to issues associated
with the durability of earthen building materials. Moisture, in particular, may signifcantly
compromise the strength and longevity of earthen masonry. In this paper, conventional
and contemporary techniques utilised for the construction of earthen shells are reviewed.
Furthermore, construction concerns with several methodologies are identifed based on case
study investigations and lessons learnt from several shells designed, built and monitored by the
authors. An important fnding is that fxity generated during construction with formwork can
lead to signifcant cracking in earthen shells |
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