Stress–Strain Characteristics of Unstabilised Rammed Earth

Abstract

Rammed earth is one of the most prominent earthen building materials, which is an in situ construction technique. Replicating in situ technique to build laboratory specimens is always a challenging procedure. Proctor method is one of the closest controlled techniques to replicate in situ rammed earth fabrication methodology in preparation of laboratorial specimens. This work attempts to understand the influence of Proctor method of manufacturing specimens on examining the compressive strength and stress--strain characteristics of unstabilised rammed earth (USRE). The results from two soils show good correlation of compressive strength with respect to compaction energy. The stiffness degradation of USRE calculated with the help of loading and unloading cycles is also discussed.