Experimental investigation on the repair of rammed earth by means of injection of mud grouts

Abstract

This paper assesses the adhesion capacity of unmodified mud grouts used to repair structural cracks on medium and large scale rammed earth specimens. Beam and wallet-specimens were manufactured using a soil from Alentejo (Portugal), whose particle size distribution had to be first corrected due to its high clay content. An “artificial” (composed by kaolin and limestone powder) and a “natural” (composed by sieved soil and limestone powder) mud grout were used to repair the specimens, which were previously tested under three-point bending and diagonal-compression and then retested. The grout injection shown to provide satisfactory results regarding the adhesion capacity, but only if it is performed with the “natural” mud grout.