Settlement of masonry barrel vaults: an experimental and numerical study

The paper deals with a experimental and numerical study of a masonry barrel vault subjected to an incremental horizontal settlement of one abutment. The analyzed vault is very slender and with no backfill, as is typical of the vaulted roofs covering many Italian churches and other religious buildings of various dimensions, that often suffer a certain amount of settlement due to the deformation of the sustaining walls. In this paper, the experimental tests conducted at the University of Florence on a full-scale specimen has been assumed as a benchmark for numerical simulations carried out via different models, some implemented in the general purpose FEM software (Abaqus), and others specifically developed for masonry structures (Mady). The capability of the considered models to describe the actual behavior of the vault has been investigated, and their potential highlighted.