Experimental investigation of a full-scale timbrel masonry cross vault subjected to vertical settlement

Abstract

Masonry cross vaults are among the most attractive structures ever created by the human race. Although cross vaults have been the subject of various numerical and experimental studies, they are still in need of further investigation. In the research described here, carried out at the ICITECH laboratories of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), a full-scale timbrel cross vault was constructed and tested under the vertical settlement of one of its supports. The geometry and construction technique of the vault resembled those in a church on the outskirts of Valencia, one of which had collapsed due to a soil settlement. The timbrel vault’s behaviour was monitored by 23 sensors placed on its inner and outer surfaces and subsequently analysed from the results obtained in the tests. As expected, the vault experienced a fairly ductile response during the test, while peculiar crack patterns were observed in the form of bending cracks in the lateral arches, which were mostly found to follow the mortar joints in the upper surface of one of the diagonal elliptic arches.