Damage Modelling of Compressed Earth Blocks Stabilised with Cement

Abstract

This work aims at studying the mechanical behaviour of compressed Earth blocks (CEBs) and compressed stabilised Earth blocks (CSEBs) with 4% and 8% in weight cement stabilisation. A numerical simulation method based on the nonlinear behaviour law coupling isotropic elasticity damage is proposed to predict the mechanical behaviour of brittle and quasibrittle materials at simple compressive loading conditions. This model relies on the free energy of the material to generate the damage-dependent stress expression in order to bring it closer to the experimental findings. Tests on the geotechnical properties of the three soil samples (MAI, BAM, and GAD) collected in Ngaoundere city, the chief town of the Adamawa region of Cameroon, were carried out. Furthermore, simple compression tests were carried out on samples of dimensions 4 × 4 × 4 cm3 after 28 days of drying. By comparing the experimental and numerical results used, we could notice that the average compressive stresses of CEBs are approximately 4.13 MPa and 4.16 MPa, and the average deformation limits are 0.0068 and 0.0069; concerning the average Young’s moduli, they are about 842.30 MPa and 789.88 MPa, and for 4% cement, we obtained an average compressive strain of about 4.23 MPa and 4.28 MPa, average deformation limit 0.0072 and 0.0075, and Young’s moduli we obtained about 719.16 MPa and 714.06 MPa. At 8% cement dosage, we obtained average compressive stresses of about 5.01 MPa and 5.20 MPa, average deformation limit of 0.0073 and 0.0074, and Young’s moduli give us 866.43 MPa and 872.56 MPa.