Metrological definition and evaluation of some mechanical properties of post-medieval Neapolitan yellow tuff masonry

Abstract

The knowledge of the morphological and mechanical properties of masonry walls is very important for the refurbishment of ancient buildings, particularly when the requirements of both structural safety and historical preservation must be fulfilled. The masonry is not of homogenous material: its mechanical properties depend on stones, mortar, and texture which are very variable due to their dependence on the historical periods and the geographical area of the erection. For this reason, a deep knowledge of masonries built in different sites and historical periods is essential in order to evaluate both the capacities of bearing vertical load and the seismic vulnerability of the masonry structure. Three fundamental typologies of tuff masonry have been defined: they are the characteristics of different historical periods from the XVI to the XX century. The models are in full-scale in order to reproduce the three defined chronotypes. Original tuff stones quarried in the corresponding historical period, mortars similar to the original ones, reproduced according to ancient documents and original constructive techniques have been used for the construction of the specimens. Compression tests performed in displacement control have been carried out on the masonry models in order to determine the maximum resistance of the material and the corresponding strain, the ultimate strain and corresponding residual strength. In this paper, the procedure used for making the specimens and for experimentally evaluating the mechanical properties of post-medieval Neapolitan yellow tuff masonry are illustrated and the obtained results, even in terms of plastic capacity of these kinds of masonry, are reported.