Mechanical and Typological Characterization of Traditional Stone Masonry Walls in Old Urban Centres: A Case Study in Viseu, Portugal

Abstract

Essential for any intervention in existing buildings, a thorough knowledge of both structural and material characteristics is even more important in the case of traditional stone masonry buildings, due both to the variability of this technology's properties and the degradation buildings might have sustained. In Portugal, a number of in situ and laboratory experimental campaigns has allowed us in recent years to expand the knowledge on the mechanical properties of stone masonry walls. Nevertheless, the existence of different wall typologies built with the same material necessitates that this characterization takes into account the various regional constructive cultures. This paper presents the results obtained through an in-situ characterization campaign carried out in the old urban center of Viseu, for which there is no information available in the literature. Granite stone masonry walls of two different buildings were analyzed and characterized considering their geometrical and material features, contributing to the identification of stone masonry typologies present in the city's old urban center. Flat-jack testing yielded resistance and deformability parameters to be used both in safety evaluation and intervention design. The properties obtained can be said to be consistent with those deriving from other experimental campaigns, conducted in granite walls of different typologies, throughout the country. Simultaneously, relevant conclusions about the use of flat-jacks to characterize this type of stone masonry were drawn. both in situ [2,3] and in laboratory [4][5][6][7]. Nevertheless, the existence of various regional constructive cultures, resulting in different wall typologies built with the same material, leads to the need for such characterization to take into account the specific locations where these walls are representative. Regarding the specific case of the city of Viseu, it is worth mentioning that information concerning the mechanical properties of granite stone masonry walls in its old urban center is absent. Therefore, and aiming at providing data that can help to retain the original structural system of these buildings, while ensuring structural safety, this work intends to offer a first contribution to the characterization of these elements. It is intended, namely, and apart from geometrical and material characterization which can contribute to the identification of stone masonry typologies frequent in the old urban center of Viseu, to quantify resistance and deformability parameters to be used both in safety evaluation and intervention design. Thus, this paper presents and discusses the results obtained from an in situ test campaign conducted in the old urban center of Viseu. Granite stone masonry walls of two different buildings were analyzed and characterized considering their geometrical and material characteristics. Flat-jack testing technique was used to obtain resistance and deformability parameters to be used both in safety evaluation and intervention design. Relevant conclusions about the...

Determination of Mortar Strength in Historical Brick Masonry Using the Penetrometer Test and Double Punch Test

“…The best results are provided by in situ tests or by tests carried out on masonry specimens cut from the structure [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The masonry specimens' dimensions and quantities should be sufficiently large in order to be representative of the structure [1][2][3][4].…”

“…Materials 2020, 13, 2873 2 of 13 A popular method of in situ masonry testing is a structural investigation with the use of flat-jacks. They are used to estimate the level of compressive stress in the structure and Young's modulus of the masonry [5][6][7][8]. Nevertheless, the possibility of determining the masonry compressive strength is limited due to the damage to the fragment of the wall between the flat-jacks that usually appears during the test.…”

In-plane behavior of various brick bonds in masonry walls

“…Homogenization of properties of materials is challenging due to the lack of uniformity within the masonry in a particular structure and difficulties in the replication of original characteristics of specimen. To this end, researchers have considered experimental characterization of brick/block masonry (e.g., [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]). Notably, Augenti et al [21] have congregated online experimental data to facilitate numerical modeling of masonry structures.…”

Masonry Buildings: Research and Practice

“…Two of the papers have focused on seismic assessment and strengthening. Domingues et al present a complete case of the typological and mechanical characterization of granite stone masonry walls frequently found in old Portuguese urban centers, describing the different in situ and laboratory experimental campaigns, the results of which provide an understanding of the local buildings, and also show how the results can be used for further analysis [7]. Ademović et al present a seismic assessment of the vulnerability of a typical multi-story residential unreinforced load-bearing masonry building in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, built without seismic concerns.…”