Experimental and modeling study on earthen sediment-based bricks with and without flax fibers: a finite element analysis
Authors : Alioune Nacro (Nicolas Oresme Mathematics Laboratory), Philippe Karamian-Surville (Nicolas Oresme Mathematics Laboratory), Daniel Levacher (UMR 6143 CNRS-M2C), Mazhar Hussain (LINEACT)
Article : Articles dans des revues internationales ou nationales avec comité de lecture - 28/02/2025 - Results in Engineering
This paper investigates the improvement of earthen sediment-based bricks through the use of
natural flax fibers to enhance their mechanical properties. The experimental tests were designed
to develop numerical modeling based on material guidelines that have been partially followed. To
facilitate the precise placement of flax fibers within the earthen sediment, periodically distributed
holes have been deliberately made on both sides of the molds, ensuring the proper positioning of
the flax fibers. The three-point bending test was conducted to assess the mechanical strength
of the earthen bricks, providing insights into their stiffness and resistance to fracture. Nonlinear numerical modeling was employed to gain a deeper understanding of fatigue behavior
and crack propagation in earthen bricks under stress. The comparison of raw experimental data
with numerical simulations validated the consistency of the results without adjustments, while
the application of the homogenization principle improved data approximation. These findings
confirm that the numerical homogenization method is the most effective approach for ensuring
the validity of the numerical model and should be systematically applied to this type of problem.