Compressive strength of earth masonry in Argentina: verification according to current regulations

Abstract

Earth construction is a traditional and accessible method, that remains constant in time for its versality and durability. Nowadays, there is a great variety of techniques, as wattle and daub, adobe, compressed earth blocks (CEB) and rammed earth, among others. The objective of this work is to evaluate the compressive endurance of two of said techniques: adobe and CEB. To do so, data corresponding to compressive endurance tests made by the Group of Investigation and Development in Earth Construction Technics (UTN FRSF) in the 2019-2023 period, of samples brought from different parts of the country, including Río Negro, Entre Ríos, Córdoba and Santa Fe provinces, was compiled, filtered and processed. The obtained results were compared with international regulations; proving that most of the BTC samples and all of the adobe samples surpass the strength required by the corresponding regulations.