Behaviour of adobe construction in recent earthquakes

The adobe masonry is classified as a quasi-brittle material. This is because the material fails under very low tensile stresses. Then, under the action of any type of loading (especially dynamic one), adobe masonry behaviour rapidly changes into nonlinear behaviour. However, adobe masonry resists moderate compressional loading. During earthquake actions, the adobe material starts to fail at the zones of stress concentration, such as corners of openings. Also, vertical cracks at the intersection of two orthogonal walls may appear. This is due to the absence of confinement elements that could guarantee a box behaviour on each floor. If walls continue breaking, then the most probable failure is due to the overturning of walls and the roof collapse. In this chapter, the most common types of failure of adobe buildings are shown and discussed based on field surveys carried out after some earthquakes.