Advances in Modelling and Testing the Performance of Masonry Structures

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 12546

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Aversa CE, Italy
Interests: masonry structures; numerical modelling; inverse problems; structural optimisation; seismic engineering; nonlinear analysis; material testing

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Interests: masonry buildings; monumental structures; masonry arch bridges; infilled frames; nonlinear analyses; seismic analyses; discrete models; finite element models
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Masonry structures constitute a large part of the built environment, including historical monuments of cultural and artistic significance, and infrastructures still in use as bridges and tunnels. Even though sensibly less than in the past, in some areas, masonry can also be competitive with other materials for new structures. The structural assessment of historical or modern masonry structures requires (i) knowledge of the current state by surveying and testing, including mechanical properties of materials, external restraints, construction details, possible stratification, presence of discontinuities and voids, pre-existing damage, past restoration works; (ii) advanced models and analysis techniques that are able to predict the structural response under ordinary and exceptional loadings, such as earthquakes and fire. Complexity is added by the strongly nonlinear mechanical behaviour of masonry, characterised by anisotropy, softening, damage, unilateral behaviour after cracking, and large variability of materials used worldwide.

This Special Issue welcomes contributions that advance the state of the art of the addressed topics, including but not limited to the following fields:

  • Dynamic or static testing of masonry structures;
  • Innovative laboratory or in-situ testing methods;
  • Full-scale tests on structures;
  • Non-destructive testing techniques;
  • Advanced theoretical models and numerical techniques;
  • Analysis and assessment of masonry-built heritage;
  • Advances in assessment procedures for masonry structures;
  • Vulnerability assessment of built environment at the territorial scale.

Original research papers, as well as case studies and reviews, are invited for possible publication in this Special Issue

Dr. Corrado Chisari
Dr. Bartolomeo Pantò
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • non-destructive testing
  • in-situ testing
  • mechanical properties
  • numerical modelling
  • dynamic simulations
  • nonlinear analysis
  • structural assessment
  • architectural and historical heritage

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 12417 KiB  
Article
Seismic Vulnerability and Consolidation by FRP/FRCM Systems of a Masonry School Building in the District of Naples
by Assunta Paola Piccolo, Giovanna Longobardi and Antonio Formisano
Buildings 2022, 12(11), 2040; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12112040 - 21 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1945
Abstract
The paper discusses the seismic vulnerability of structures susceptible to overcrowding due to their intended use. Specifically, it addresses the analysis towards earthquake actions of a masonry school located in the Municipality of San Giorgio a Cremano, within the neighbourhood of Naples, providing [...] Read more.
The paper discusses the seismic vulnerability of structures susceptible to overcrowding due to their intended use. Specifically, it addresses the analysis towards earthquake actions of a masonry school located in the Municipality of San Giorgio a Cremano, within the neighbourhood of Naples, providing different reinforcement interventions to ensure its seismic consolidation. After a brief introduction, the description of the analysis representative of the current condition of the structure is performed considering both static and seismic actions. The analysis results determine the seismic risk class of the building, allowing to identify its deficiencies, so to design structural consolidation interventions following the standard code indications. In particular, two retrofit techniques, namely, FRP and FRCM systems, are proposed with the purpose to evaluate their benefits to the school building from a seismic viewpoint. Finally, a comparison between the proposed intervention techniques is made to establish which one guarantees the best upgrading of the seismic condition of the examined building. Full article
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17 pages, 12263 KiB  
Article
Development of Quality Assessment Criteria for Burnt Clay Bricks of Different Ages Based on Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Test
by Rizwan Azam, Muhammad Rizwan Riaz, Ehtasham Ul Haq, Ayman Shihata and Mohamed Zawam
Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1069; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081069 - 22 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3166
Abstract
Burnt clay bricks are widely used as a construction material in Pakistan, and their testing for quality confirmation is frequently needed for new and old bricks used in existing structures. The destructive testing methods are time-consuming and not always feasible for testing the [...] Read more.
Burnt clay bricks are widely used as a construction material in Pakistan, and their testing for quality confirmation is frequently needed for new and old bricks used in existing structures. The destructive testing methods are time-consuming and not always feasible for testing the bricks used in existing structures. The current study investigated the feasibility of using the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test as a non-destructive technique to assess the quality of both new and old bricks in masonry structures. A relationship was developed after performing the UPV test followed by a compression test on burnt clay brick samples of five different ages acquired from different sources. The acquired brick samples ranged from new to a century old. Consequently, as a novel contribution, brick quality assessment criteria based on UPV were proposed according to which a UPV value greater than 3000 m/s represents an excellent first-class brick whereas a UPV value lower than 2000 m/s shows a second-class brick. Further, the effectiveness of the UPV test to assess the compressive strength of old bricks was demonstrated with a case study of a 100-year-old masonry structure. The research concluded with the remarks that the compressive strength of bricks can be assessed with reasonable accuracy using the UPV test. The developed quality assessment criteria can be used to quickly check the quality of new and old burnt clay bricks. Full article
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25 pages, 8034 KiB  
Article
Parametric Investigation on the Effectiveness of FRM-Retrofitting in Masonry Buttressed Arches
by Corrado Chisari, Daniela Cacace and Gianfranco De Matteis
Buildings 2021, 11(9), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11090406 - 11 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2405
Abstract
Buttressed arches represent some of the most vulnerable elements in historical masonry buildings under seismic actions. Given their structural, architectural and often artistic importance, it is paramount to investigate effective retrofitting measures which satisfy reversibility and compatibility requirements for historical heritage. Among these, [...] Read more.
Buttressed arches represent some of the most vulnerable elements in historical masonry buildings under seismic actions. Given their structural, architectural and often artistic importance, it is paramount to investigate effective retrofitting measures which satisfy reversibility and compatibility requirements for historical heritage. Among these, Fibre-Reinforced Mortar (FRM), characterised by enhanced ductility, has recently emerged in the scientific literature. In this paper, a numerical investigation aimed at exploring the effectiveness of this seismic retrofitting technique, when applied at intrados or extrados of various typologies of buttressed arches, is presented. An automatic tool for limit analysis is described and validated against a nonlinear Discrete Macro-Element modelling approach. This precedes an extensive parametric analysis, which has highlighted the effect of various geometrical features of the system on both collapse mechanism and maximum acceleration in the unreinforced configuration, and the high increase in seismic capacity provided by the retrofitting. This is particularly remarkable in case of local mechanism, i.e., wholly within the arch, in which case the FRM may be responsible of an overall shifting to a semi-global failure type. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 1335 KiB  
Review
Masonry Elements Strengthened with TRM: A Review of Experimental, Design and Numerical Methods
by Ingrid Boem
Buildings 2022, 12(9), 1307; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12091307 - 25 Aug 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3504
Abstract
Textile-Reinforced Mortar (TRM) is a modern and compatible strengthening strategy for existing masonry, which consists in plastering the walls by means of mortar layers with embedded grids or textiles made of long fibers. TRM can be very useful for the reduction of the [...] Read more.
Textile-Reinforced Mortar (TRM) is a modern and compatible strengthening strategy for existing masonry, which consists in plastering the walls by means of mortar layers with embedded grids or textiles made of long fibers. TRM can be very useful for the reduction of the seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings, since the fiber-based reinforcement, carrying high tensile stresses, opposes the widening of cracks and provides “pseudo-ductility” to the masonry. The increasing number of available studies on the subject testifies to its relevance but also the lack of a standardized or well-establish approach to quantify the benefits of these systems on the performance of masonry. The present review is aimed at providing a broad overview of how the study of TRM-strengthened masonry elements has been addressed in the literature. In particular, the main features of the different experimental tests are compared, dealing with both in-plane and out-of-plane behavior. Moreover, the different design methods and numerical modeling strategies are presented and discussed. Full article
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