Abstract:

Abstract: Cyclic wetting-drying were conducted on the undisturbed and remolded specimens from Jiaohe cultural heritage, Xinjiang, China to understand the durability of earthen architecture to wind erosion and the strength attenuation. Test result shows, under the circumstance of the low original water content, the specimens weight is increased during the beginning three wetting-drying cycles, and then proceeds to a relatively steady state. With the change of moisture content during the condensation-evaporation process, specimen weight expressed a decreasing tendency. With the increase in wetting-drying cycles, undisturbed specimens shows a decrease in compressive strength and an increase in wind erosion quantity, reflecting a weakening effect of durability. Comparatively, remolded specimen shows an increase in strength and a decrease in wind erosion quantity, or an inhencing effect of durability at the early wetting-drying cycles; but during the later cycles, a decrease in strength and an increase in wind erosion quantity, or weakening durability is found. It is considered the healing of destroyed microstructure during remolding and the aging of chemical cohesive agents are responsible for the strengthening of remolded specimen at the earlier wetting-drying cycles.

Key words: earthen architecture, cyclic wetting and drying, wind erosion, durability