This thesis addresses the issue of cataloguing traditional earthen architecture. It proposes a methodology that will permit the systematic collection and analysis of objective and quantifiable data relating to historic earthen, or cob, buildings in a parish in mid Devon. The brief given for this project requhes a multi-disciplinary approach to be taken, one that considers the topographical surroundings and the historic context of the buildings as well as the architectural characteristics. A triangular concept is expounded, with the three elements providing a sound basis for the development of an holistic methodology for creating an earthen building inventory. To comply with the requirements of the brief, a comprehensive review of a wide range of relevant literature is described. Historic and current literature on the use of earth as a constructional material is considered, as well as literature on landscape history and historic documentation. The rationale is that a broad based understanding of the key elements will guide the selection of data for inclusion in the proposed inventory database. Data included in existing methodologies, devised for inventorying historic buildings, is assessed, and the necessity to develop a methodology to manage cob buildings is evaluated. The selection of the study area, the parish of Sandford, in which to demonstrate the proposed methodology, and the collection of the descriptive and the spatial data relating to the cob buildings is explained in detail. The use of a relational database, linked to a Geographical Information System, to collate the collected data and the results achieved fi"om analysis is fiilly described and discussed. The potential use of the methodology as a powerfiil conservation tool, indicated by the results of case studies undertaken, is also considered. The conclusions drawn are that the developed methodology represents the first systematic study on cob buildings inDevon, and that the important results achieved, and discoveries made, present a distinct and significant contribution to the current knowledge of cob buildings in mid Devon.

Earthen architecture is a widespread phenomenon, both in the present day and the past. It is one of the most impressive expressions of the human ability to create a unique built environment from modest natural resources. Archaeological research has shown that mud brick manufacturing techniques can inform on community practices in relation to architecture. New geoarchaeological and microarchaeological approaches provide information on the source of raw materials in conjunction with the mode of manufacture and construction. The aim of this study is to investigate Minoan earthen architecture using mud bricks as an integral part of material culture in order to reconstruct the technological process of mud brick manufacture and to provide fresh insights about architectural craft specialisation in Bronze Age Crete. In order to fulfil this goal, more than 10,000 mud bricks are studied both macroscopically, by investigating broad trends in manufacture and construction form, and microscopically, by considering the finer details of raw material procurement and building performance through XRF, XRD and thin section petrography. This research places the geoarchaeological analysis of mud brick architecture within a specific multidisciplinary theoretical framework that combines archaeological data, architectural analysis and ethnoarchaeology. The analyses clarify how raw materials were selected and used within and between buildings. They also shed light on broader temporal changes, such as increasing technological sophistication, the type of labour force, if centrally organised or household based, and its impact on architecture. Earthen building forms and materials are the result of assimilation between the natural and built environment. Therefore the exploitation of specific raw materials sheds light on community strategies of adaptation to natural resources and their transformation into material culture. Research results indicate that mud brick manufacture was a standardised activity during the Minoan period with evidence of craft specialisation in raw source material selection, production and construction.

The pandemic has taught us several valuable lessons. It led to a new interest in redesigning-built environments that promote healthy indoor atmospheres and provide a space for reflection along with social distancing. The architecture of a space affects how people move within a space and live their lives. By using organic design principles and sustainable systems, we can transform and renew our built environment. A holistic approach that combines natural and built elements can create a sense of harmony and health, which is in line with the essence of organic architecture. Organic architecture can provide a sustainable solution to the persistent conflict between humans and nature due to urbanization, resource scarcity, and deforestation. By incorporating organic design principles, we can reconcile expanding urban environments and mass constructions with the natural world and biosphere. This approach can establish a harmonious relationship between human-made environments and nature, creating a more sustainable future. Despite their benefits, earthen materials are not widely used in new construction in North America. (Jenkins Swan, Rteil, and Lovegrove 2011) Some people even might believe that earthen materials are indicators of poverty, creating a social stigma that limits their use. Labor standards and knowledge sharing in the building industries may preference other ways of building. For others, the technical data available may be insufficient to quantify an understanding of building performance in various climates. Importantly, earthen materials are not fully represented in building codes and standards, particularly in North America.(Jenkins Swan, Rteil, and Lovegrove 2011) According to recent research, earthen building materials are capable of regulating indoor temperatures and humidity to attain optimal levels for occupant health (Alassaad et al. 2021). Low toxicity along with recyclability at the end of its life cycle which in turn allows for a cradle-to-cradle supply chain are also some of the other advantages of earthen materials. By being sustainable from the start of its life cycle, this thesis explores the use of earthen materials in construction by not just promoting the environmental benefits but also demonstrating how it could possibly add life to new organic forms.

The purpose of this essay, is to investigate a grave phenomenon with earthen graves, located at the graveyard north of the preindustrial mining village in Sala, Sweden. It was during an excavation by Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis of the graveyard, which has been dated to been in use during the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, that the earthen graves were discovered. The earthen graves stood out in the report since most of the graves excavated turned out to be coffin graves. Coffin graves is also seen to be the norm during this period of time. I have delimited my research to analyse the four theories that are mentioned in the excavation report from SAU, regarding the earthen graves. I will also present a theory of my own. The main source material of this essay will be the earthen graves, and I will work on the basis that a grave can reflect the individual's position in society. As a result, I found that the“prisoner of war” theory gives the best answers to the questions that arise with the earthengraves.

The objectives of this research are to support the development of state-of-the-art methods using remotely sensed data to detect slides or anomalies in an efficient and cost-effective manner based on the use of SAR technology. Slough or slump slides are slope failures along a levee, which leave areas of the levee vulnerable to seepage and failure during high water events. This work investigates the facility of detecting the slough slides on an earthen levee with different types of polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (polSAR) imagery. The source SAR imagery is fully quad-polarimetric L-band data from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR). The study area encompasses a portion of the levees of the lower Mississippi river, located in Mississippi, United States. The obtained classification results reveal that the polSAR data unsupervised classification with features extraction produces more appropriate results than the unsupervised classification with no features extraction. Obviously, supervised classification methods provide better classification results compared to the unsupervised methods. The anomaly identification is good with these results and was improved with the use of a majority filter. The classification accuracy is further improved with a morphology filter. The classification accuracy is significantly improved with the use of GLCM features. The classification results obtained for all three cases (magnitude, phase, and complex data), with classification accuracies for the complex data being higher, indicate that the use of synthetic aperture radar in combination with remote sensing imagery can effectively detect anomalies or slides on an earthen levee. For all the three samples it consistently shows that the accuracies for the complex data are higher when compared to those from the magnitude and phase data alone. The tests comparing complex data features to magnitude and phase data alone, and full complex data, and use of post-processing filter, all had very high accuracy. Hence we included more test samples to validate and distinguish results.

Adaptation to climate change requires a careful evaluation of the infrastructure performance under extreme events in a changing climate. Earthen levees are critical infrastructure systems, which play a vital role to the country’s safety, environment, and economic security. The main objective of this study is to quantitatively assess the integrity of earthen levees subject to extreme precipitation and flooding under a changing climate. A multi-disciplinary modeling framework is developed and applied to two earthen levees, Elkhorn and Sherman Island levees, in California. Patterns of extreme precipitation and flooding are obtained for the study areas under current and future climate. A nonstationary framework is employed, which accounts for climate change-induced changes in statistics of future extreme precipitation. The precipitation and flooding data are then applied as hydraulic loads in a set of fully coupled stresslow finite element simulations to determine the factory of safety (FOS) and probability of failure (Pf) of the levees for different scenarios. The Pf values are used to develop fragility curves, which can provide valuable tools for risk assessments. The modeling framework is used to study three distinct yet interrelated problems. The first problem assesses the performance of the Elkhorn levee using historical and projected future precipitation patterns. The results show that Pf increases 3%-12% under the projected extreme precipitation compared to the baseline scenario. The second problem involves quantifying the effects of changes in future streamflow on the fragility behavior of the Elkhorn levee considering multiple modes of failure. For the cases examined, incorporating future floods leads to up to 23% reduction in FOS and 95% increase in Pf. The third problem assesses the fragility behavior of the Sherman Island levee under compound flooding (induced by coastal, fluvial and pluvial processes), an overlooked aspect in the majority of the existing flood hazard analyses. Results show that considering compound flooding leads to 22% and 30% reductions in FOS for 2- and 50-year recurrence intervals, respectively. Using the projected future pluvial flooding increases Pf by 13%. Findings of this research suggest that risk assessments based on historical records can significantly underestimate the levee’s Pf in a changing climate.

This thesis presents the results from in-plane cyclic testing of a reinforced cob wall. Cob is an earthen building material composed of sand, clay, straw and water. Cob is typically constructed with no steel reinforcement; however, the California Building Code requires reinforcement in all buildings for resisting seismic forces. The purpose of this thesis is to provide additional technical data to integrate cob into the building code. Test results are reported for a 7’ x 8’ x 14” wall with two layers of welded wire steel reinforcement constructed on a reinforced concrete foundation. In-plane cyclic loading was performed on the wall up to a maximum displacement of 3.5 in. Compression tests of sixteen 3.5” x 3.5” cubes were conducted to determine the compressive strength and the modulus of elasticity of cob. Results provide observed performance, displacement components, yielding points and seismic response modification factors. A numerical model was developed to conduct a parametric study considering the variation of several material and structural properties. In addition, discussion of material properties and recommendations for future work are included.

Durant ce travail de thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés au comportement hydromécanique d’un éco-géo-matériau à base de terre crue. Différents aspects ont été traités visant l’optimisation de sa formulation et aussi ses interactions avec les renforts. Nous avons tenté de lever trois verrous scientifiques : l’optimisation des interactions physico-chimiques argiles-liants, l’identification des mécanismes de fissuration en relation avec la succion, et les interactions électrochimiques sol-armatures en acier. L’ajout de la chaux impose le comportement du sol à court terme et favorise le gain en résistance en rendant le milieu plus alcalin. Nous avons montré qu’à l’aide d’une mesure macroscopique, la conductivité électrique, nous pouvons suivre les interactions sol-liants. Lors de la dessiccation d’un sol argileux, le retrait global est homogène. Une déformation locale hétérogène induit des contraintes de traction responsables de l’apparition des fissures. L’ajout des renforts réduit le pourcentage de fissuration d’un facteur 10. La succion générée lors du séchage est interprétée en termes de contraintes de traction. Le contact entre la terre et l’acier entraine des réactions d’oxydoréduction dont le produit est la corrosion. Trois familles d’argiles ont été testées. La vitesse de corrosion obtenue est de l’ordre de 3μm/an. / Throughout this thesis, we are interested in hydro-mechanical behavior of an eco-geo-material based on raw earth. Different aspects have been treated viewing the optimization of his formulation as well as its interactions with the reinforcements. We have tried to resolve the following three scientific locks: the optimization of the physical-chemical clay-binders’ interactions, the identification of the mechanisms of cracking in relation with the suction and the electrochemical soil-iron interactions. Adding lime imposes the behavior of the soil and improves its resistance by making the environment more alkaline. We showed that we can follow soil-binders’ interactions by using the electrical conductivity technique. During desiccation of a clayey soil, global shrinkage is homogenous. A heterogonous local deformation induces tensile stress responsible of cracking. Adding reinforcement reduces crack ratio by a factor 10. Suction generated during drying is interpreted in terms of tensile stresses. Interaction between earth and metal allows oxydo-reduction reactions producing corrosion. Three type of clay were tested. Corrosion speed is about 3μm/year.

Submitted by Kenia Bernini (kenia.bernini@ufpel.edu.br) on 2018-03-05T14:49:08Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Marcelo_Silva_Sanhudo_Dissertação.pdf: 4978651 bytes, checksum: 17d68d86917a66c6ab8bd582220dfdd7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-03-05T21:47:09Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Marcelo_Silva_Sanhudo_Dissertação.pdf: 4978651 bytes, checksum: 17d68d86917a66c6ab8bd582220dfdd7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Aline Batista (alinehb.ufpel@gmail.com) on 2018-03-05T21:47:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Marcelo_Silva_Sanhudo_Dissertação.pdf: 4978651 bytes, checksum: 17d68d86917a66c6ab8bd582220dfdd7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-05T21:47:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Marcelo_Silva_Sanhudo_Dissertação.pdf: 4978651 bytes, checksum: 17d68d86917a66c6ab8bd582220dfdd7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Este trabalho apresenta um plano de investigação arqueogeofisica para a prospecção do sítio Pavão 01, composto pelos cerritos PSG-20 e PSG-21. Esse sítio é localizado na bacia hidrográfica da laguna dos Patos, na margem esquerda do canal São Gonçalo, entre os municípios de Pelotas e Capão do Leão. Foi utilizada uma metodologia que envolve técnicas de eletrorresistividade, eletromagnetismo, planimetria e escavações arqueológicas, objetivando-se descrever e interpretar aspectos da composição do espaço arquitetônico dos montículos. Como resultado, foram mapeados eventos elétricos indicadores de áreas de atividades internas e externas aos montículos, resultado de diferentes atividades comportamentais relativas à construção e uso quotidiano do espaço. / This work presents an archeo-geophysical research plan for the survey of the site Pavão 01, compounded by the PSG-20 and PSG-21 earthen mounds (cerritos). This site is located in the Patos Lagoon basin, on the left bank of the São Gonçalo Channel, between the municipalities of Pelotas and Capão do Leão. It was utilized a methodology that involves techniques of electro-resistivity, electromagnetism, planimetry and archaeological excavations, aiming to describe and infer about aspects of the composition of the architectural space of the earthen mounds. As a result, electrical events were mapped indicating areas of internal and external activities to the mounds, resulting from different behavioral activities related to the construction and daily use of space.

Human vulnerability can be characterized as people living with uncertain livelihood options, precariously settled in structurally unsafe buildings. A striking aspect of this vulnerability is the large number of people living in earthen structures within seismically active zones. This reality is exemplified by the earthquake which occurred this past summer around Pisco, Peru. The earthquake caused enormous damage to more than 80% of the adobe buildings. Although confined masonry is the preferred construction technique for families who can afford it, adobe is still the only economically viable alternative for most. Presently reconstruction efforts are focused on encouraging residents to build with reinforced masonry, but the reality is that once these volunteers leave, or their funding runs out, people living in these areas will not be able to afford to continue with these enhanced types of construction. The goal then, is to come up with a hybrid of earthen construction found in the area that incorporates what is known of structural reinforcement with found or recycled objects that can contribute to improved tensile strength. This hybrid will allow for the rebuilding of Pisco at an affordable, yet highly stable level. This thesis will begin by visiting Pisco to conduct forensic studies of structural failures with documentation of physical observations and discussions with local institutions that have researched the crisis. Interviews with residents will also give insight into the events and building failures due to earthquakes as well as local construction methods. Readily available resources will be incorporated into the project in a way that should improve seismic resistance. Throughout this process research will be done on current seismic engineering discoveries in conjunction with indigenous approaches to earthen construction in comparable areas around the world. The possible construction approaches will be tested in collaboration with local Universities’ Seismic testing facilities. Once established, this hybrid earthen construction technique will be applied to one of several different building typologies (housing, schools, churches, etc). The end result will be the creation of a building design that establishes an appropriate reconstruction method at an economic level that will reduce the inhabitants’ susceptibility to future seismic disasters.