Influence of Wall Thickness and Water Content on the Out-of-Plane Stability of Adobe Walls

This paper presents the results of a numerical study using the finite element method to assess the effect of wall thickness and a moist region along the wall base on the out-of-plane lateral stability of adobe walls. The models consisted of cantilever unreinforced adobe walls with a thickness of 25 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm. Numerical analyses were performed for four lengths (L) of the moist region and for dry walls. The moist region was modelled with material characteristics corresponding to partially saturated and nearly saturated adobe. The results showed the detrimental effect of moisture along the lower portion of the wall on the out-of-plane lateral strength. The out-of-plane lateral strength reduction ratio dropped significantly as L increased. A high slenderness ratio was found to be critical for cantilever adobe walls when L extended beyond half of the wall length. The results provided insights concerning the role of wall thickness in the stability against overturning.