Uso de geomallas y elementos de madera en la restauración de muros de adobe

Abstract

Soil, is a type of building material that has been used throughout history when constructing homes and monuments around the world. We can see this more so in Latin Ame-rica, where it has been established as the most predominant and prevalent material when observing architecture. Within the construction systems that uses this material, is the load-bearing wall-based adobe brick, one of the most com-mon structures used the Ecuadorian soil based constructions. However, the lack of maintenance and innovation in the adobe walls, has caused the deterioration and spalling of said material, leaving as a result a number of rural and heritage buildings in very poor condition. In response to this problem, countries like Peru have begun to make use of a geotextile called “geogrid” (which is permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain), in the restoration of adobe based walls, which in addition to helping the containment of the released material, also helps the wall to withstand the traction when encountering tremors or earthquakes. Furthermore, the present undergraduate collaboration seeks trials in adobes and geogrid in the nearby region to obtain the closest results to the Ecuadorian reality and subsequently formulate a construction primer with feasible so-lutions to mentioned problems, where the use of geogrids in conjunction with elements of wood can be adequately applied.