Contributions to the study of fine-grained compacted soils: Mechanical properties, nondestructive tests, and applications

Abstract

Compacted structures are gaining the attention of the scientific community, especially in applications for dwelling construction. One of the main reasons for this shift is the ecological benefits of earthen constructions. The low embodied energy allows the reduction of pollutants that result from the fabrication of construction materials. This research explores three stages of the construction process. First, the mechanical properties and the dependence on the effective stress of the compacted soil are studied. Second, a new device for geotechnical applications is implemented for compaction control. Due to the importance of environmental factors to change stress, it is important to measure and control the mechanical properties in the laboratory and on-site. The third 266 stage of this research allows determining the effect of climatic variables on compacted rammed earth walls.