Seismic reinforcement for adobe houses with straps from used car tires

After outlining introductory research on a proposed reinforcing system for adobe housing using straps cut from used car tires, the paper reports on fullscale tests. One dynamic and two static tests are described and results presented. The most significant outcome was that a single-room adobe house reinforced by tire straps successfully withstood the strong shaking that routinely collapses unreinforced adobe dwellings. The reinforced house strength, as measured during the shaking, exceeded the requirements of the Peruvian seismic code. This type of reinforced adobe can undergo large horizontal deformations without collapse. Design, construction, economic, and cultural issues are discussed prior to concluding that the proposed system can prevent collapse of adobe houses during damaging earthquakes. © 2012, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.