Mechanical characterization of lime-stabilized rammed earth: Lime content and strength development Ávila Cruces, Fernando José Puertas García, María Esther Gallego Sevilla, Rafael Universidad de Granada. Grupo de investigación TEP167 Rammed earth Lime stabilization Strength development Mechanical characterization Carbonation Ultrasonic pulse velocity This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Universities via a doctoral grant to Fernando Ávila (FPU18/03607). The study is part of the project ‘‘Revalorización Estructural del Patrimonio Arquitectónico de Tapial en Andalucía’’ (Structural Revaluation of the Rammed Earth Architectural Heritage in Andalusia), ref. A-TEP-182-UGR18, within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund Program of Andalusia 2014–2020, and has been carried out by members of the Research Group ‘‘Solid Mechanics and Structures’’ (TEP167) at the Sustainable Engineering Structures Laboratory (SES-Lab) of the University of Granada. Earth construction techniques, such as rammed earth, are present worldwide due to the availability of the material and its mechanical performance. Today they are also attracting attention as an environmentally friendly way of building, although additivation is usually needed. Lime stabilization is an interesting option with long tradition, well-known capacity to improve soil properties and limited environmental impact. This study evaluates the effect of increasing lime contents in the compressive strength and stiffness of rammed earth, and analyzes the strength development process of the material. Carbonation depth and ultrasonic pulse velocity are also evaluated due to their relationship with the mechanical behavior. The results show that 12% lime maximized the compressive strength and stiffness of the rammed earth material; the strength was mostly developed during the first month but needs over a hundred days to be fully developed. A good linear correlation between the ultrasonic pulse velocity and the compressive strength is observed. 2024-01-23T13:23:09Z 2024-01-23T13:23:09Z 2022-07-21 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Published version: Fernando Ávila, Esther Puertas, Rafael Gallego, Mechanical characterization of lime-stabilized rammed earth: Lime content and strength development, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 350, 2022, 128871, ISSN 0950-0618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128871 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/87168 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128871 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier