The Properties of Historical Wrought Iron Tie Rods

Abstract

The preservation of brick masonry buildings and historically significant buildings is a very hot topic today. A problem that often occurs during reconstruction and modernization is an optimal solution between price and efficiency. First of all, it is necessary to view the object as a complex system, when it is necessary to ensure its spatial rigidity. Planning and progress of reconstruction is then derived from the correct assessment of the building. The spatial rigidity of buildings in the past was also ensured by means of reinforcing elements. For masonry buildings, wall and beamed ties have been used for this purpose until the end of the 19th century. Since these wrought ties are made of a completely different material so-called wrought iron, its properties are different from the currently used materials. They differ in both tensile strength and other properties just because of other processing technology and manufacturing. At the time of the construction of the buildings it was not possible to provide a variety of length of the ties, so that ties have been joined by forged connections or adjustable wedge relations. The article deals with determining the tensile strength of wrought ties obtained by destructive methods. The results of the experiment may serve to predict the behaviour of ties from a similar period.