Reliability of earth masonry
Acronym Reliability of earth masonry
Project partner TU Darmstadt, Institut für Massivbau
Duration 01. July 2021 – 31. December 2023
Grantor Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR)
Forschungsinitiative „Zukunft Bau“
Project content In the framework of this research project the reliability of earth masonry under compression will be investigated, taking into account the influence of humidity. A user-friendly safety concept will be developed which, in addition to the conventional material scatter, also takes into account the influence of varying moisture contents. Therefore, experimental investigations on different earthen building materials will be carried out in order to determine the climate dependency of design-relevant strength and deformation properties. On this basis, engineering models can be developed for the analytical calculation of the load-bearing capacity of earth masonry considering the influence of moisture. Furthermore, statistical distributions of the moisture content in typical earth masonry constructions will be derived by conducting hygrothermal simulations. For this purpose, parameter studies are carried out which include various boundary conditions, such as different interior and exterior climates as well as varying wall constructions. Based on the knowledge gained about the climate-dependent load-bearing capacity and the statistical distributions of the moisture content within an earth masonry wall, the reliability of earth masonry can be analysed. As a result of this comprehensive investigation, a partial safety factor for earth masonry affected by humidity can be proposed, considering the normatively prescribed reliability index.