Experimental behaviour of masonry: static and dynamic behaviour of arches and vaults

Abstract

Masonry is a heterogeneous material that consists of units and joints displaying a complex mechanical behaviour. In the present chapter, the experimental behaviour of masonry is briefly reviewed considering an advanced mechanical characterization of components (namely, units and mortar) and of masonry as a composite. Moving to vaulted structures, although a certain consensus has been reached in the masonry community regarding their static behaviour, ongoing research is still investigating their dynamic one. In this respect, the present chapter describes two paradigmatic case studies for two- and three-dimensional elements. First, the shaking table tests performed on a scaled dry‐joint arch undergoing windowed sine pulses is presented. A feature tracking‐based measuring technique, employed to evaluate the displacement of selected points, was used to analyse the failure mechanisms. Secondly, a scaled dry‐joint cross vault and a full‐scale mortared cross vault tested on the shaking table are presented. Finally, two engineering applications related to the safety assessment of vaulted structures are examined.