Numerical Constitutive Models of Low Tensile Strength Materials for the Description of Mechanical Behavior of Rammed Earth Masonry

The preservation and enhancement of traditional earthen masonry structures as well as the practice of new construction with raw earth material is nowadays matter of investigation. At this stage of research, experimental analysis needs to be supported by numerical analysis to corroborate and interpret results and, successively, to extend the analysis to more complex load conditions, tune design methods and define quick verification formulas for simple structures. For this reason, constitutive models provided by engineering simulation software for mechanical analysis, to describe low tensile strength materials, have been used to reproduce mechanical tests and have been compared. The arch was selected as the best case study to test the response of constitutive models suitable for a low tensile strength material and, in a successive stage of research, the efficiency and the modelling of reinforcement techniques.