| This thesis examines the use of cement and synthetic plastic fiber additives to improve the strength of rammed earth walls. These additives can be an economical solution to increasing the strength of rammed earth, which by itself is typically a low-strength material when additives are not used. Cement can be easily incorporated into the soil mixture and it adds strength and durability to the wall. Modern fibers, such as polypropylene plastic, have high tensile strength, they are durable, and they can be incorporated into rammed earth material. The fibers can add shear strength and flexural strength to rammed earth material. Three mix designs were created: soil only, soil-cement, and soil-cement with fiber. Based upon the results of this thesis, the use of cement additive in rammed earth significantly increased the compressive, shear, and flexural strength. The addition of fiber did not increase the ultimate strengths, but it did provide a secondary benefit of keeping material bound together after failure and increased residual strength after failure. |
