Effect of moisture content on the mechanical characteristics of rammed earth

In this paper, influence of moisture content on the mechanical characteristics of rammed-earth has been studied. Samples from different soils (sandy, clayey, stabilised) were manufactured and tested in unconfined compression at several moisture contents. Compressive strength, elastic modulus and Poissonʹs ratio were determined. A simplified method to measure the suction within rammed earth samples has been developed and validated. The variation of mechanical characteristics related to moisture content and suction are presented. This paper shows that a slight increase in the moisture content of dry rammed-earth is not followed by sudden drop in wall strength. Qualitative explanations at the nano-scale are presented.