Experimental Characterization of Mechanical Behaviour of Existing Tabique Walls Under Compressive and Shear Loading

Abstract

The construction of old buildings made using tabique walls is one of the most relevant examples of vernacular architecture in Portugal. It exists throughout the country and is particularly relevant in the region of Viseu. However, the knowledge about this traditional building technique is still insufficient. On the other hand, survey campaigns carried out, showed an expressive variability of construction techniques associated with the tabique walls. Thus, it’s essential to know the materials applied, their main properties and the way they interconnect. Following an investigation carried out in old buildings (19th century) of Viseu city [1], this paper presents an experimental work for structural characterization of tabique walls, including references to the setup used to perform the lab tests on 4 samples deemed representative such wall types. The main objective was to characterize the mechanical properties of these walls under in-plane compression and shear forces. The obtained results and the main conclusions are presented. This work aims at providing contributions for a better understanding of the structural behavior of tabique walls.