Cylindrical samples of brick masonry with aerial lime mortar under compression: experimental and numerical study

Abstract

This research presents an experimental and numerical study focusing on the compression test of cylindrical samples core drilled from existing masonry walls. This method is suitable for the minor destructive assessment of the mechanical properties of historical masonry, like that composed of aerial lime mortar joints and solid clay bricks. This particular material combination, frequently found in the vast majority of the built cultural heritage, was utilized to build representative specimens that were stored in the laboratory for one year until their testing. Cylindrical samples of 150 mm diameter were extracted from the masonry walls by using a dry core-drilling procedure, and then regularized to be tested under compression in the laboratory. A comparison is presented between the experimental results on cylindrical samples and those obtained from standard compression tests on prismatic samples consisting in stack bond prisms. Numerical simulations by finite element micro-modelling of the compression tests on the core samples were carried out to investigate the experimental behaviour of the specimens and evaluate the compressive strength of the material from this nonstandard technique. The combined experimental and numerical study allows the assessment of important mechanical parameters for the compressive characterisation of masonry composed of aerial lime mortar joints and solid clay bricks.