Experimental and numerical study of Interlocking Stabilized Earth Blocks mechanical behavior

• The compressive strength decreases when the number of superposed ISEB's increases.
• The contact area between blocks affects the ISEB's compressive strength.
• The ISEB's yield elastic load shouldn't decrease as the number of blocks increases.

One of the modern techniques of earth construction is the Interlocking Stabilized Earth Block (ISEB), which realizes the requirement of a certain type of construction in an economic and technical way compared to conventional materials. The use of this technique fits suitably within the framework of high environmental quality since the process uses an abundant material not requiring a lot of transformation energy.The aim of this study is to perform compressive tests on superposed ISEB that are laid dry without grout mortar. Testing results show that the ​​contact area and the clearance between the blocks have an effect on the masonry's compressive strength, causing it to decrease. For that, particular attention is given to analyzing the contact area effect on the mechanical behavior of superposed ISEB. A finite element method (FEM) analysis is also performed in order to highlight the effect of the local stress around the clearance on the macroscopic compressive behavior of the masonry. Finally, a simplified spring model is considered in order to estimate the vertical apparent Young's modulus of ISEB walls.