Research for Environmentally Safe Housing
The Rubble-House Research Project is a joint research effort by ÁñÁ«»ÆÊÓÆµ and .
Rubble-Houses are environmentally friendly structures with walls comprised of recycled loose rubble placed in welded wire baskets. Rubble-Houses are assumed to be earthquake resistant structures due to their improved damping and ductility characteristics arising from the rubble and welded wire basket, respectively. However, the response of such structures under static and dynamic loads has not been studied in detail. In order to have a better understanding of its behavior, the research team came up with a three-phase research plan. During the first phase a full-scale rubble-house was built in the middle of ÁñÁ«»ÆÊÓÆµ, Marietta campus and subjected to a series of load tests. Phase two is mainly about three dimensional computer modeling of rubble houses, and currently in progress. The construction methods and tools used in making the rubble-house are designed with local conditions in mind to minimize the cost while maintaining the safety of occupants. In phase three, the team performs shake table tests on full-scale models and finalize the design.
                                    
Conscience International, Inc has built more than 200 Rubble-Houses in Haiti with plans to increase the number to 1000. Kennesaw Sate faculty and students, with their engineering expertise, volunteered to evaluate the performance of Rubble-Houses built with current construction techniques and make recommendations to improve the seismic resistance without much increase in cost of construction.
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                           Research Team Dr. Fatih Oncul 
 Civil and Construction Engineering Department
 foncul@kennesaw.eduDr. Wasim Barham 
 Civil and Construction Engineering Department
 wbarham@kennesaw.eduDr. Metin Oguzmert 
 Civil and Construction Engineering Department
 moguzmer@kennesaw.eduDr. Valmiki Sooklal 
 Mechanical Engineering Department
 vsooklal@kennesaw.eduJeremy Holoman 
 Conscience International, Inc.
 jholloman@conscienceinternational.orgJacob T. David, E.I.T. (Alumnus) 
 Staff Geotechnical/Materials Engineer, S&ME, Inc.
 jdavid@smeinc.com
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                           Sponsors Perpetual Sponsors  Phase 1 Sponsors Applied Technical Services generously provided technical and engineering services at no charge. Their support was instrumental in all field testing efforts.  Donated steel beams to build the reaction frame.  Donated the rubble used in prototype home construction.  Provided technical services to measure displacements using optical instruments. 
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                           Rubble Homes in Haiti 
Contact Rubble House
If you have any questions about the Rubble-House Research Project, please contact:
Dr. Adam Kaplan
Civil and Construction Engineering Department






