Shaking table tests on a full-scale unreinforced and IMG-retrofitted clay brick masonry barrel vault

Abstract

The recent earthquakes in Italy demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of historical and cultural structures. Masonry vaults, which represent artistically valuable elements of these constructions, have been recognised among the most vulnerable elements. Traditional vault retrofit methods, such as buttresses or ties, are still widely adopted. These retrofit methods prevent differential displacements between vault supports (e.g., abutments, masonry piers and loadbearing walls). However, the pier differential displacement is not the only vulnerability source for vaults, and in many cases, further retrofit interventions are needed. Innovative retrofit methods based on inorganic matrixes, such as IMG, are aimed to prevent hinge mechanism failures. Such methods are suitable to be applied on vaults already retrofitted using traditional methods. The knowledge of the seismic behaviour of a vault, once the differential displacement between the supports is prevented, can be crucial to the assessment of potential further vulnerabilities of vaults already retrofitted with traditional methods. However, a deep knowledge of vault seismic behaviour is still lacking from an experimental point of view. Indeed, to date, few dynamic experimental studies have been conducted. Therefore, to investigate the seismic behaviour of masonry barrel vaults, several shaking table tests were performed on a full-scale specimen before and after the retrofit interventions. The tests investigated the main seismic properties of the tested structure and clarified the cracking mechanisms and capacity improvement due to the retrofit interventions. A comprehensive overview of the main results of the experimental tests has been presented.