Experimental and analytical analysis on a masonry arch strengthened with basalt FRCM

Abstract

Italian cultural heritage is often characterized by innumerable structures built using few-known construction techniques. In the present work, an arch built with a technique typical of Southern Italy and dated back to the II Century after Christ was investigated. The construction technique used is the "fictile tubules" one. With the term "fictile tubules" it is possible to identify a cylindrical element of hollow conformation recognized as the first hollow brick of history. It was realized for the first time in the Roman provinces of North Africa and subsequently introduced in Italy where it is still used today in the rural zones.In the present work, the results obtained during an experimental campaign conducted on an arch realized with this constructive technique will be exposed. In a first step, the arch was subjected to a static test characterized by a concentrated linear load applied in keystone, then, to the formation of the first cracks, the test was interrupted, and the arch was strengthened with Basalt-FRCM and tested until collapse. All the results obtained have been validated using an analytical approach.