- Author
- Clifton, J. R. | Davis, F. L.
- Title
- Mechanical Properties of Adobe.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Sponsor
- National Park Service, Washington, DC
- Report
- NBS TN 996, May 1979,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- construction materials; structural clay products; compressive strength; flexural strength; moisture content; nondestructive tests; mechanical properties | nondestructive tests
- Identifiers
- adobe bricks; historical buildings
- Abstract
- Relationships between the compressive strength and creep, and the moisture contents of adobe were investigated. Moisture was found to have a deleterious effect on these mechanical properties of adobe, its severity increasing with increasingly higher relative humidities and higher moisture contents. It was concluded that rain and ground water would have a greater deleterious effect on the mechanical properties of adobe than high relative humidities. The physicochemical properties of adobe, mix proportions, drying conditions, and shrinkage of specimens were also found to influence the compressive strength of adobe. Procedures for preparing, curing and testing of adobe specimens are given. A nondestructive test method, based on measuring the penetration resistance of adobe, was found to give reliable predictions of the compressive strength and moisture content of adobe specimens.