Comportamiento sísmico de edificaciones de tapia pisada reforzadas con marcos de madera y viga de coronación en concreto

Earth construction is present all over the world. Many of these constructions are in seismic regions and have a high seismic vulnerability. To reduce this vulnerability and prevent collapse this paper proposes an integrated strategy consisting in an external reinforcement with wooden elements in both directions and on both sides of the walls (rammed earth) and a rigid diaphragm by means of an upper concrete beam. This beam is proposed to be built with a smooth transition between the earth and the concrete to improve compatibility. The results of shake table tests on a 1:6 scaled model and its unreinforced counterpart show a significant improvement in the global behaviour of the construction (The results of the tests showed a reduction in the displacements up to 80% in the reinforced models), achieving the main objective of preventing collapse while the structure remains almost intact.