Title
Experimental analysis of the thermohygrometric effects on the dynamic behavior of adobe systems
Date Issued
2019
Access level
restricted access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Through long-term monitoring, modal parameters identified in-situ can provide important information about the safety state of civil buildings and infrastructures. Unfortunately, structures are subjected to changing environmental conditions that can mask variations in the dynamic properties caused by damage and, therefore, lead to an incorrect condition assessment. The quantification of the influence of environmental conditions on modal parameters is a crucial step to eliminate their interference in a safety evaluation. Under current state-of-the-art considerations, this step is still an open challenge because environmental variables are time-dependent non-uniform quantities that have different influences on structural systems depending on the predominant material. In this paper, the effects of ambient temperature and humidity on the dynamic properties of earthen constructions are investigated using laboratory tests. A dynamic monitoring system was successfully implemented on adobe walls of different thicknesses to examine the influence of seasonal and daily variations of temperature and humidity. Three 1:1 scale adobe masonry walls were built and exposed to ambient conditions for 240 days. Temperature and humidity variations on the exterior, as well as in the inner walls, were continuously recorded together with the dynamic behavior using ambient vibration. The results provide useful insights on the influence of thermohygrometric parameters on the dynamic properties of adobe systems. The seasonal results indicate unclear correlations of ambient parameters and environmental variables. On the other hand, at a daily scale, the results indicate the existence of a clear relationship between inner measurements and dynamic properties. Moreover, the results indicate the existence of a delayed effect of external ambient parameters in the dynamic behavior of earthen systems. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Start page
158
End page
174
Volume
208
Number
14
Language
English
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85062414216
Source
Construction and Building Materials
ISSN of the container
0950-0618
Sponsor(s)
This research was performed by the Engineering & Heritage research group at PUCP with collaboration from the Department of Structural Engineering of the University of Minho in Portugal, and the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Chile. The authors would like to acknowledge the Directorate of Research Management at PUCP (project N° 349-2016) for funding this research. Complementary funding was also received from the program Cienciactiva from CONCYTEC in the framework of the Contract N ° 222-2015. The first author gratefully acknowledges ELARCH program for the scholarship in support of his PhD studies (Project Reference number: 552129-EM-1-2014-1-IT-ERA MUNDUS-EMA21). The authors acknowledge the contribution of the MEng Rick Delgadillo to the indispensable laboratory work presented in this paper.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica