Load Capacity of T-REP Elements: In-plane Shear Compression Tests

Structural elements made of earth material and built accordingly to the “pisé” traditional building technique exhibit satisfactory mechanical responses when they are loaded by gravity forces; on the contrary, they appear to be comparatively weak when subjected to horizontal actions. The present contribution illustrates an experimental campaign recently performed jointly by the universities of Pisa and Minho on an innovative structural element composed of a rammed earth panel framed by timber elements (Timber-reinforced Rammed Earth Panel, TREP). Four 1:2 scale TREP elements and two bare frames have been built and subjected to quasi-statically horizontal and vertical loads acting in the elements middle-plane. Two TREP and one timber frame have been subjected to a progressively increasing horizontal load. A cyclic loading protocol has been adopted for the horizontal load applied to the other two TREP and the other timber frame. The first results from the experimental tests are described and a comparison with the results available in the literature for unreinforced rammed earth walls is given. The experimental results seem to highlight a good mechanical behavior of the TREP elements, which is likely to be due to the restraining effect exerted by the timber frame.