Seismic tests of adobe walls

The object of this investigation was to study the stability of adobe walls during earthquakes. Nine earthquake simulation tests were made to investigate the influence of the following variables: (1) type of ground motion, (2) slenderness (thickness/height ratio), (3) wall thickness. Dimensions of specimen ranged from: 0.2 × 1.2 × 1.4 m through 0.4 × 1.2 × 2.80 m. Six specimens were tested with a soft-soil ground motion and other five to stiff-soil ground motion. Behavior of all specimens was characterized by cracking at the base followed by rocking motion. Failure occurred by overturning (short specimens) or by upper-level cracking (tall specimens). An analytical model was successful in calculating the susceptibility of the walls to overturning. Experimental and analytical results indicated that failure depends primarily on ground motion acceleration level and wall slenderness.