Journal
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
Volume 157, Issue -, Pages 509-520Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.09.120
Keywords
Historical construction; Masonry; Brickwork; Mortar; In-situ testing; Minor Destructive Testing (MDT); Compressive strength; Penetrometric test; Fracture mechanics; Fracture energy
Categories
Funding
- ReLUIS research program (Theme 2 - Line 3 - Task 1: Analysis and Development of New Materials for Seismic Retrofit) - DPC - Civil Protection Agency
- MINECO (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Spanish Government)
- ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the MULTIMAS project (Multiscale techniques for the experimental and numerical analysis of the reliability of masonry structures) [BIA2015-63882-P]
- University of Bologna
- SPINNER Consortium
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The assessment of historical structures requires appropriate knowledge of the behaviour of the investigated materials. Concerning masonry, its mechanical characterisation is a challenging task, since its composite nature requires the careful evaluation of the behaviour of its material components. In particular, the experimental assessment of the strength of existing mortar in historical structures still encounters several difficulties. This study investigates a novel Minor Destructive Testing (MDT) technique virtually equivalent to the vane test used for soils. The instrumentation, called herein Torque Penetrometric Test (TPT), is composed of a steel nail with four protruding teeth and a torque wrench. The test consists in inserting the toothed nail into a mortar joint and then applying a torque by means of a dynamometric key, until reaching the failure of the material. This work presents a novel interpretation theory based on basic concepts of fracture mechanics and applied to the micro-mechanical analysis of the stress state induced by the instrument on the investigated mortar. The proposed interpretative theory is validated through the execution of experimental tests in the laboratory and in a historical masonry building. The test proves to be effective for a quick in-situ MDT evaluation of the strength of existing mortars. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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