Validation of the repair effectiveness of clay-based grout injections by lateral load testing of an adobe model building

This study investigates the use of clay-based grout injections for the repair of adobe masonry constructions. Relevant data from the literature is reviewed, whilst the effectiveness of a laboratory-prepared clay-based grout is assessed through an experimental program. A 1:2 scaled adobe model building, previously subjected to a series of lateral loading cycles resulting in significant cracking damage, was injected with the clay-based grout and re-tested. The mix design of the aforementioned grout was based on the use of the same soil composing the earth masonry materials, hence ensuring compatibility between repairing and original materials. Although the grouting repair did not significantly alter the observed damage pattern after re-testing, it generally succeeded in preventing failure propagation through the injected crack paths. Furthermore, the injection of clay-based grout proved to be a repair technique capable of partly restoring the initial stiffness and load-bearing capacity of adobe masonry. The high strength recovery ratios recorded under the tests using static monotonic horizontal loading are particularly encouraging. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This study was partly financed by FEDER funds through the Competitivity Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE, and by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, within the scope of the projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007633 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016737 (PTDC/ECM-EST/2777/2014). The support from grant SFRH/BPD/97082/2013 is also acknowledged.