Earthen dams are often built into bedrock abutments and on bedrock foundations. Bedrock joints naturally occur in bedrock materials. These bedrock joints create voids for ground water to pass through. Historically earthen dams were sometimes built in direct contact with the bedrock joints, causing a contact point between the soil of the dam and the flowing water. It has been engineering practice to place grout into exposed bedrock joints for some time now. However, soil is not always cleaned out of bedrock joints before they are grouted, which leaves a weakness for water to push through. The purpose of this study is to understand the point at which water flowing through bedrock joints will erode soil from the earthen dam embankment. The information of how much soil is eroded away in an amount of time is also crucial to the scope of this study. The goals of this study were accomplished by building a physical model or apparatus of an earthen dam embankment on top of a simulated bedrock joint. Different soil types were tested in the apparatus to start a database of information about erosion rates of the soil along the bedrock joint and embankment interface. These results will be used to start a database for organizations that assign probabilities of dam failures. The purpose of the study is not to indicate when dams will fail, but to help with assigning probabilities of the likelihood of a serious problem being caused from this type of mechanism presented in this study.

One-way escape gates and earthen escape ramps are structures used to enable deer to exit the highway right-of-way along fenced roads. I compared the use of one-way escape gates and earthen escape ramps by mule deer on two highways in Utah to determine if deer exhibited a preference for either structure. Results showed that earthen escape ramps were used by mule deer 8-11 times more frequently than one-way gates. Highway mortality data suggest that the installation of the escape ramps likely reduced mortality of mule deer in both study locations, because we could not attribute reductions in mortality to decreased population densities of mule deer in either location. Because they provide a topographic solution for exiting the right-of-way, escape ramps may reduce deer mortality along other game-fenced highways throughout the United States. Management recommendations that address the placement and spacing of escape ramps will help wildlife and highway personnel implement the use of these ramps in other locations. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to determine if the cost of ramp installation was offset within a reasonable time period by the monetary savings associated with reduced deer-vehicle collisions. The cost-effectiveness of installing the earthen escape ramps at both locations was determined by using the number of successful ramp crossings and potential deer mortality levels to generate projected monetary losses associated with varying mortality levels. The assumption was made that at least some of these deer that crossed successfully would have been involved in a deer-vehicle collision had the ramps not been in place. Six arbitrary levels of potential mortality (from 2% to 15%) were generated based on those assumptions. These percentages were multiplied by the number of successful deer crossings at each location to generate potential deer mortality numbers. The number of deer mortalities was then multiplied by the average economic loss of a deer-vehicle collision ($3,845) to obtain an estimate of the mitigated benefits of installing the ramps through 1999. These values were compared to the cost of installing ramps at each location to determine the amortization period. Results showed that the cost of installation of earthen escape ramps is very rapidly offset by the benefits gained in deer survival and reduced automobile collisions. At the 2% mortality level, the cost of ramp installation in both locations was offset by the monetary savings associated with reduced deer-vehicle collisions by the second year. Heavy use of the escape ramps as well as reduction in mortality observed at both study sites indicate that the mitigation benefits may be much greater than those projected at the 2% mortality level. Installing earthen escape ramps on big-game fenced highways is a very cost-effective way to further reduce deer mortalities along roadways.

The topic of my thesis is the design of a kindergarten in Rajhrad. The building is one storey with a flat roof. In the middle of the building there are technical facilities, a kitchen, a director's office and facilities for staff. On the sides there are classrooms with bathrooms and cloakrooms. The load-bearing masonry is designed of Heluz ceramic blocks. The perimeter masonry is insulated with the ETICS contact insulation system. The roof structure is made of prefabricated floor slabs SPIROLL. The building is covered by a green flat roof. The building will be heated by a gas condensing boiler. It will have an air handling unit located on the roof along with photovoltaic panels. Intelligent LED lighting will be deployed throughout the building. The third part deals with the comparison between masonry construction and the more environmentally friendly clay construction. Specifically, it compares the CO2 production of masonry and clay construction of the same building using the SBToolCZ methodology. The results obtained showed that the clay building produces approximately 30% less CO2 than the masonry building. I created my thesis using ArchiCAD and DEKsoft software.

This thesis investigates full-scale pipe stem reinforced cob walls under in-plane cyclic shear loads. Cob is the combination of clay subsoils, sand, straw and water that is built in lifts to produce monolithic walls. There is insufficient amount of information on cob as a building material in today’s age. The prior research that exists has examined varying straw content and type, water content, and mixture ratios to determine their effect on strength. There is currently one report that analyzes full-scale cob walls under in-plane loading. This thesis looks to iterate the full-scale tests and specifically studies the effect of reinforcement on cob walls. Concurrent to this research, another thesis was written that investigates a full-scale wire mesh reinforced cob wall under in-plane cyclic shear loads. From the data collected, a shear failure was suggested for the stem pipe wall. There appeared to be a large amount of ductility from the data and the cracks formed. Ductility, a seismic response modification factor (R-Factor) and stiffness were calculated using the yield point and ultimate loads.Iterations of this research and those performed in the past can be helpful in integrating cob in to the California Building Code.

The development of an interactive computer model for managing geologic hazards databases is vital and long overdue. As highway rockslopes continue to age and become more unstable and earthen dams are subjected to ever increasing flood events, a more proactive management system is required in order to provide timely information to planners and emergency personnel on demand. In recent years, deaths have occurred associated with both highway rockslides and earthen dam failures in southwest Virginia. In February 1991, a rockfall event occurred on Route U.S. 11 in the City of Radford, VA, which resulted indirectly in a highway accident and fatality. The incident made all parties aware that rockfalls from aging highway roadcuts within the city limits pose some threat to the motoring public (Watts et al., 1996). Additionally, in June 1995, the Timberlake dam in Lynchburg, VA, failed due to flash flooding from intense summer storms. Two people died on highways downstream of the dam, even though emergency personnel were on the scene. The lack of organized critical information about the dam, its downstream flood inundation zone, and its emergency action plan contributed to the tragedy. The outcome of the ensuing litigation is pending. In the case of the City of Radford, a user-friendly interactive database containing structural stereonet analysis, digital images, hazardous slope conditions, and maintenance records would provide a proactive approach to rockslope maintenance by allowing the slopes to be ranked in terms of geologic and traffic conditions. Appropriate remediation measures can then be taken in the most cost-effective manner. In the case of the Timberlake dam failure, a database containing critical information about the dam, its upstream watershed characteristics, downstream flood inundation zones, and emergency action plan could have been accessed by state geologists and emergency dispatchers. Appropriate measures could have been taken to deal with the event as it was unfolding. / Master of Science

La construction en terre devient un sujet d’actualité pour l’architecture contemporaine occidentale. En revanche, au Mali, le matériau terre est aujourd’hui délaissé. Ce paradoxe invite à porter notre attention sur le territoire malien, afin d’apprendre du terrain les implications du matériau terre, notamment à l’échelle urbaine. Au Mali, la ville en terre est aujourd’hui essentiellement synonyme de patrimoine figé. Il existe pourtant un secteur urbain bien vivant : l’urbanisation informelle, qui, stimulée par les énergies de survie, génère une dynamique spatiale spécifique. C’est à partir de cette réflexion générale que l’étude s’est resserrée sur un petit quartier informel essentiellement construit par des pêcheurs Bozo de la ville de Bamako, capitale du Mali. Le filtre employé pour analyser le terrain utilise la triade d’Henri Lefebvre : Temps, Espace, Energie. La posture du narrateur consiste ici à profiter du regard décalé du voyageur pour dévoiler ce qui renvoie à des questions universelles. Le statut d’étranger permet, en effet, de voir la réalité du terrain informel sous un jour nouveau. L’écriture opère ici comme un révélateur du terrain, elle élabore un « point de vue » qui modifie en profondeur les représentations urbaines. L’essence de cette recherche porte sur la mise en lumière d’une logique urbaine enfouie et dissimulée dans l’espace informel. Ce travail consiste à monter en théorie des processus qui font émerger une culture constructive et urbaine particulière au contexte du quartier. L’enseignement ainsi issu du terrain suggère un potentiel d’exploitation sur le lieu lui-même (valorisation), et sur d’autres contextes (déterritorialisation). / Earth construction is becoming a popular topic in Western architecture, yet in the context of traditional Malian construction techniques earth has largely been abandoned. This paradox asks us to turn our attention to the reality on the ground in West Africa, in order to understand the implications of using earth as a building material, especially on an urban scale. Today the earthen city is essentially synonymous with cultural heritage, but there is one place where it is alive and well— informal urbanization. This sector is stimulated by the necessities of survival, which generate remarkable spatial dynamics. From this general observation, this study was narrowed to a small informal fishing district in the city of Bamako. The ultimate purpose of this research is to highlight an urban logic buried and hidden in informal space. This work consists in writing a theory of informal urbanization that is contextually and culturally specific, according to a "bottom-up" principle. The narrator takes advantage of the peculiar perspective of the traveler in order to shed light on more universal questions. Indeed, the position of the stranger allows us to see the reality of informal spaces in a new light. The act of writing makes explicit certain processes that animate the site; it develops a "point of view" that fundamentally changes urban representations. Lessons learned as well as derived from the field pave the way for certain vernacular principles to be reused on site. At the same time, such a vernacular theory allows us to transfer these principles to other sites by means of deterritorialization.

Très présents sur les sites archéologiques, les vestiges d’architecture de terre suscitent un intérêt grandissant, pour la communauté scientifique, pour les autorités en charge de la protection du patrimoine, pour les populations locales et pour le grand public, amateur de tourisme culturel. De plus en plus de projets d’étude, conservation et mise en valeur des vestiges en terre sur les sites archéologiques voient le jour dans le monde, dans une perspective d’apport du patrimoine au développement local et territorial. Ces projets font appel à des compétences multiples, empruntant notamment aux disciplines de l’archéologie, de l’architecture, de la conservation, et au domaine de la valorisation patrimoniale. Des acteurs aux profils variés sont ainsi amenés à collaborer sur des projets à la fois plus nombreux et plus complexes, intégrant les apports et attentes de parties prenantes très diversifiées, dans une approche holistique et contextualisée de gestion du patrimoine (Agnew et Bridgland 2006).Les modalités de ces nouvelles collaborations sont étudiées en profondeur dans cette thèse, afin d’analyser les enjeux interdisciplinaires et les enjeux de formation qui en résultent. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que les rapprochements entre les différents acteurs concernés par le patrimoine archéologique génèrent des perspectives de formations plus spécifiques, voire l’émergence de nouveaux métiers au carrefour des disciplines, qui seraient en mesure de mieux répondre aux attentes actuelles vis-à-vis de ce patrimoine.La recherche est fondée sur des enquêtes de terrain et des rencontres d’acteurs menées sur le long terme (quinze années d’exercice scientifique et professionnel), sur cinq sites principaux et douze sites de référence, principalement en Asie, mais aussi en Afrique et en Amérique Latine. Une grille d’analyse permet de confronter les pratiques observées sur ces terrains d’étude aux recommandations internationales en termes d’étude, conservation et valorisation du patrimoine archéologique en terre. Ces recommandations sont issues d’un corpus composé de publications de référence, de chartes et déclarations internationales, de conférences sur l’architecture de terre et de programmes internationaux sur cette thématique. Les résultats de l’analyse comparative nous amènent à faire des propositions méthodologiques et à énoncer des lignes directrices de programmes de formations plus spécifiques. Nous souhaitons ainsi contribuer aux dynamiques de recherche et d’enseignement qui se mettent en place autour du patrimoine archéologique en terre et de son apport au développement local. / Very present on archaeological sites, the vestiges of earthen architecture are arousing a growing interest, for the scientific community, for the authorities in charge of heritage protection, for the local populations and for the general public, fan of cultural tourism. More and more projects for study, conservation and enhancement of earthen architecture in archaeological context are emerging in the world, with a view to contributing to local and territorial development. These projects involve multiple skills, borrowing in particular from the disciplines of archeology, of architecture, of heritage conservation, and from the field of heritage valorisation. Specialists in each field are invited to collaborate on projects that are more numerous and more complex, integrating the inputs and expectations of very diverse stakeholders, in a holistic and contextualized approach to heritage management (Agnew, Bridgland 2006).The conditions governing these new collaborations are studied in depth in this thesis, in order to analyze the interdisciplinary challenges and the resulting training issues. We make the hypothesis that the links between the various actors involved in the archaeological heritage generate more specific training prospects, and even the emergence of new trades at the crossroads and interfaces of the disciplines, which would better meet current expectations with regard to this heritage.The research is based on field surveys and stakeholder meetings realized over the long term (fifteen years of scientific and professional practice), at five main sites and twelve reference sites, mainly in Asia, but also in Africa and in Latin America. An analysis grid allows to compare the practices observed on the field with the international recommendations in terms of study, conservation and valorisation of the archaeological heritage built with earth. These recommendations are based on a corpus of reference publications, international charters and declarations, conferences on earthen architecture and international programs on this theme. The results of the comparative analysis lead us to make methodological proposals and to formulate guidelines for more specific training programs. In this way, we wish to contribute to the new research and training dynamics that are set up around the earthen archaeological heritage and its contribution to local development.

Les fuites au travers des ouvrages hydrauliques en remblai sont les signes précurseurs d'un dysfonctionnementdu dispositif d'étanchéité de l'ouvrage pouvant entraîner leur rupture. La détectionprécoce des fuites et leur quanti_cation est donc primordiale.Les méthodes géophysiques et thermométriques à grand rendement apportent des éléments deréponse pour la détection des fuites, le long des ouvrages à long linéaire, mais l'estimation de leurvitesse, nécessaire à l'évaluation de la dangerosité des fuites, n'est pas encore satisfaisante.Cette étude porte sur la détection et quanti_cation des fuites à travers les ouvrages hydrauliquesen remblai soumis à une charge d'eau permanente. Les méthodes proposées exploitent des mesures detempératures naturelles du sol à l'aide de _bres optiques placées sous le talus amont ou aval.Deux modèles de quanti_cation ont été développés et testés sur les données d'un site expérimentalcontrôlé et d'un site réel. Les résultats obtenus concordent avec les mesures de vitesse e_ectuées surles deux sites. / Leakages through embankment dams are early warning signs of a sealing malfunction and couldlead to its breakdown. Early detection of leakages and their quanti_cation is essential.High output geophysical and thermometric methods provide some answers for leakage detectionalong long linear embankment dams, but their velocity estimations necessary to assess the danger ofleakages, is not yet satisfactory.This study focuses on the detection and the quanti_cation of leakages through embankment damsunder hydraulic head. The proposed method use natural temperature measurements from the groundusing optical _ber buried under the upstream or downstream face.Two models of quanti_cation were developed and tested on data from an experimental site and a realsite. Results are consistent with velocity measurements made at both side.

Submitted by EDUARDO DA SILVA PINTO null (falecom_edu@hotmail.com) on 2017-01-11T16:16:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final Revisada.pdf: 15135107 bytes, checksum: 771e35a4fe6f9c0ef2e875ce1487b7c4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-01-12T16:15:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pinto_es_me_bauru.pdf: 15135107 bytes, checksum: 771e35a4fe6f9c0ef2e875ce1487b7c4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-12T16:15:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pinto_es_me_bauru.pdf: 15135107 bytes, checksum: 771e35a4fe6f9c0ef2e875ce1487b7c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-16 / No presente trabalho são propostos métodos de ensaio para caracterização física e mecânica de solo-cimento compactado. Para que esse objetivo seja alcançado, é proposto um novo modelo de molde, para produção de corpos de prova, tornando os ensaios mais práticos e confiáveis, com intuito de incentivar o uso de técnicas de construção civil que gerem menos impactos ambientais negativos. Além disso, através dos resultados obtidos, pretendeu-se produzir subsídios para futuras discussões com outros pesquisadores, com intuito de que seja feita uma revisão das normas brasileiras de solo-cimento, junto a Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT). Os resultados obtidos através dos ensaios realizados com o novo molde são promissores no que diz respeito a facilitar o processo de caracterização física e mecânica do material, mantendo um nível de confiabilidade compatível com o obtido através da metodologia atual. / In this research we propose a new methodology for testing physical and mechanical characterization of rammed earth stabilized with cement. For this objective to be achieved, it proposes a new mold for the production of test specimens, making it more practical and reliable, aiming to encourage the use of construction techniques that generate less negative environmental impacts. In addition, through the results obtained, we intend to generate a basis for future discussions with other researchers, with an objective to a revision of Brazilian soil-cement standards, with the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards - ABNT. Results obtained from the tests performed with the new mold are promising with regard to facilitate the process of physical and mechanical characterization of the material while maintaining a reliability level consistent with that obtained over the current methodology.

For ten thousand years people have used earthen building material in their homes and in just the last hundred years advanced society has gradually turned away from it due to the development of modern technology. Earth is currently of little use as a building material, but it is gradually increasing with the importance of sustainability. Earth has its place in contemporary modern architecture and this is what this work tries to point out. The research is based on the assumption that each building material gravitates with its properties, composition and also the knowledge of the builder to create a certain space. Different building materials define different spaces, different construction uses and different details. This research defined the network of knowledge with the central themes of the essence of earthen architecture by the method of grounded theory and subsequently applied the theory in the design of a model case. The proposed small structure represents an ideal rendering of the space from a single material on the basis of acquired and known information about this material. It has massive earthen walls, which man created himself and it provides him the shelter. The shelter rises smoothly from the ground, its main source, it has soft round features, which were created by the touch of human hands, and when it expires, it naturally merges with the ground again.