Effectiveness of a TRM solution for rammed earth under in-plane cyclic loads

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of a TRM-strengthening solution for rammed earth walls subjected to in-plane cyclic loads, an experimental program was conducted on a strengthened mock-up previously damaged. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with the previous unstrengthened model in terms of cracking pattern, damage identification, displacements, base shear coefficient, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation; in addition, simplified equivalent linear and bi-linear systems are inferred to assess the performance. The outcomes highlighted the effectiveness of the TRM solution in improving the in-plane shear capacity, the ductility and the dissipated energy of the mock-up.