Earthquakes and other natural disasters create immediate need for building replacement structures to the displaced. In developing or underdeveloped countries, these structures will be permanent and easy to build without skilled labor from readily available materials. In that context, rubble houses which are made with steel wire baskets filled with loose rubble stand as a safe and sustainable alternative.
Development
Evaluate current construction techniques and propose cost-effective improvements.
Perform static load testing on a full-scale rubble-house.
Create computer models for static and dynamic analysis.
Make recommendations for future seismic shake table experiments.
Draft construction and design guidelines based on experimental and numerical findings.
Perform shake table tests on full-scale models.
Finalize design and construction guidelines.
Rubble Home Plans, Sections, Details and More
Rubble Home Plans, Sections and Details
Static Tests
Static load tests were conducted on centilever basket-beams to evaluate the stiffness
of the wire basket alone. Test results showed that minor improvements to wire basket
construction can lead to promising performance.
Cantilever load testing of a triangular wall section.
A beam made from welded wire with triangular cross section (Load ~ 85 kg (187 lbs),
clear span=7.5 ft, max deflection ~ 4.5in).
Using a total station to measure deflections.
Using a total station to measure deflections.
Dynamic Tests
Shake table tests were conducted on several scaled models and one full scale 1ft wide wall section at ATS facility in Marietta.
A full scale wall section was tested for consolidation on a 3ft by 3ft shake table
at ATS.
6.7 times scaled wall model tested on a 3ft by 3ft shake table under a ground motion
in all three directions
Field Tests
Full-Scale Field Test Project Location
成人直播, Marietta Campus Green area between Howell Hall and Atrium Building (J)
Field Test Project Timeline
August 18, 2011
Construction of demonstration wall begins.
Progress:
Wire frame baskets completed
Donated concrete broken into rubble of varying aggregate size, then dumped into baskets
to create wall structure
No Value
August 19, 2011
Progress:
Demonstration Wall almost completed; still needs some more rubble and cement cover
Temporary fencing set in place at project site for house construction
No Value
August 23, 2011
Progress:
Foundation has been dug out. Rubble and cement to be filled in tomorrow
No Value
August 24, 2011 and August 25, 2011
Progress:
Rubble samples collected for performing strength tests
Foundation formed using rubble and concrete
No Value
No Value
August 26, 2011 - August 27, 2011 and August 29, 2011
Progress:
Concrete placed to continue forming foundation
Rubble Baskets constructed from welded wire mesh and chicken wire netting
No Value
August 30, 2011 and August 31, 2011
Progress:
Cement mixer used to help make concrete, speeding the process to complete foundation
Baskets for three walls were anchored along foundation with wood framing. Rubble is
ready for placement
No Value
September 1, 2011 and September 2, 2011
Progress:
Rubble filled into wire baskets for 3 of 4 walls
No Value
September 7, 2011
Progress:
More rubble brought to site (to fill final wall) along with large I-beams (for testing
equipment)
Basket for final wall secured in place
No Value
September 8, 2011
Progress:
Rubble filled in all four walls
Placement of concrete finish (stucco) has begun
ATS has begun assembling the loading frame
No Value
No Value
September 12, 2011 - September 17, 2011
Progress:
Concrete added to cover rubble and mesh on building structure
ATS completes construction of loading frame with hydraulic jack equipment
Parts for displacement frame and gages assembled
No Value
No Value
September 19, 2011
Progress:
Wall demolitions were conducted for the public, as demonstrated in the following videos.
Unreinforced concrete masonry showed extensive brittle failure when hit with the battering
ram. The ram was only able to puncture holes in the "rubble wall", causing localized
failure on the outer surface
Initial tests on static loading were conducted. Two hydraulic jacks were fixed to
each wall corner. Each was loaded in increments from 100 psi to 790 psi. Displacement/deflection
were recorded using: Displacement gage frame (homegrown), Video camera footage, Manual
surveying techniques, and 3D point cloud scanner (laser scanning)
No Value
September 23, 2011
Progress:
Further static load testing was conducted
Hydraulic jack placed to apply loads to center of the wall
No Value
September 28, 2011
Progress:
Triangular rubble column subjected to sag test to measure potential deflection from
rubble weight
No Value
October 7, 2011
Progress:
Rubble house demolition (service provided by ATS)
No Value
October 27, 2011
Progress:
Rubble removed from premises (courtesy ATS)
No Value
No Value
Haiti Field Trip 2015
The trip to Haiti was considered to be a part of the research and development activities
of the Rubble-House Research Project since 2011. The purpose of the trip is three-fold:
to make performance assessment of rubble-houses completed since 2010 (there are more
than 200 as of now)
to conduct a survey to identify the housing needs of the local people and the availability
of construction materials in the local market.
to identify possible additional sustainable engineering solutions for Haitians who
live in economically disadvantaged regions.
The findings will be used to set future research directions to improve the structural
performance of rubble-houses, and identify new construction techniques.
The trip was a joint effort of 成人直播, and
The members of the visiting team were:
Dr. Fatih Oncul, Associate Professor, Civil and Construction Engineering
Gregory Payne, Civil Engineering student
Jeremy Holloman, Program Dir.- Latin America/Caribbean, Conscience Int鈥檒
Jacob T. David, Alumnus and Engineering Consultant
