Abstract

An experimental and numerical analysis of the structural behaviour of a barrel tuff masonry vault strengthened by a Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) reinforcement system it is proposed. The geometry and the materials of the vault are representative of some historical constructions in Apulia (Italy). The vault, under the action of the self-weight and of a distributed load representative of the infill, has been first damaged by differential settlement of abutments, and then repaired and strengthened by FRCM composites. Finally the structure has been subjected to a increasing concentrated load on the extrados. A 3D heterogeneous FE Abaqus numerical model describing the above mentioned experimental conditions is carried out in order to reproduce the response of the FRCM reinforced vault. The obtained experimental and numerical results allows for discussing the structural behaviour of the reinforced vault, and then the effectiveness of the employed reinforcement.

Abstract

Over the last years, several optimization strategies were conducted to find the optimal shape minimazing internal stress or total weight (volume) of shell structures. In recent times, this structure typology gained a great importance among researchers and the scientific community for the renowed interest in the form-findind optimization of column-free space solution for large span roofing constructions. In the present paper, a form-finding of a shallow grid shells was introduced basing on the multy-body rope approach (MRA) for the definitions of vault shapes and different hole percentage. In order to obtain an experimental validation, a physical model was reproduced at the laboratory scale performing ad hoc measurements to compare the observed respect to the simulated behaviour. A 3D printing procedure based on the Fuse Deposition Modeling (FDM) technique in polylactide (PLA) material was used to realise form-works of the cement based blocks of the scaled prototype. Several static and dynamic load configurations are investigated, collecting into a sensitivity analysis the parameters which mainly affect the structural behaviour. To simulate earthquake ground motion an assigned frequency range as dynamic input to the structure was provided by a shaking table. Finally, some preliminary considerations of the dynamic response of the model were provided testing the robustness of the form-finding approach when horizontal load are taken into account.

Abstract

The palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian in Dalmatia, a Mediterranean region of Croatia, is an important Late Antique complex, whose most important buildings have been excellently preserved, including their vaults: the brick dome of the Diocletian’s Mausoleum, the stone barrel vault of the so-called Jupiter’s temple, and the vaults of the large substructures of the imperial apartments, constructed in Roman concrete. Because in Dalmatia there was no pozzolana (pulvis Puteolanus) – a volcanic material used for making first opus caementicium structures in the Roman world, the concrete for the vaults of the substructures of the Palace was made with crushed terracotta. This type of Roman concrete was called opus signinum. The vaults of the substructures of the imperial apartments within Diocletian’s palace are important for the research of Roman concrete structures because the whole complex of vaults of various types, covering the area of approx. 150 m by 35 m, has been entirely preserved. In this article, of this variety of vault types, several interesting vault solutions are analyzed.