Existing masonry buildings, representing a large portion of the building stock in the
Mediterranean area, are usually characterized by the presence of different constituent
materials. The modifications experienced over time could have modified the static
configuration of the structures and could trigger local damages and crises. Therefore,
it is of fundamental importance to assess the safety of these constructions and to
determine if retrofitting interventions are needed. In this framework, one of the crucial
aspects is the mechanical characterization of masonry. Concerning brick masonries, several
testing methodologies exist for the determination of the compressive strength, the elastic
modulus and the Poisson’s ratio. In particular, slightly-destructive tests, such as double
flatjack tests and compressive tests on masonry cores, can be performed in place of
destructive tests due to their limited invasiveness. However, they could be less
representative of the overall behavior of masonry structural elements. The objective of the
research is to evaluate the reliability of slightly-destructive tests in evaluating the compressive
properties of masonry. An experimental campaign is presented, in which masonry specimens
were built to reproduce a poor-quality brick masonry typology. Standard compression tests
on wallets and double flatjack tests, both monotonic and cyclic, were performed.
Moreover, masonry cores were extracted from the masonry specimens and tested in
compression. Compressive strength, elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio were evaluated
from each testing methodology. The results obtained from the double flatjack tests and the
tests on cores, in terms of strength and deformability properties, were compared with the
results of the standard compression tests, taken as reference. Correlations between the
results of the slightly-destructive tests and the standard compression tests were established,
obtaining a good agreement and confirming that the experimental techniques can be
reliably adopted for the evaluation of the compressive properties of brick masonry.
Abstract
Existing masonry buildings, representing a large portion of the building stock in the
Mediterranean area, are usually characterized by the presence of different constituent
materials. The modifications experienced over time could have modified the static
configuration [...]