MARTINS, LURDES1; VASCONCELOS, GRAÇA2; LOURENÇO, PAULO3

1) PhD student, ISISE, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, 4105@civil.uminho

2) Assistant Professor, ISISE, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, graca@civil.uminho.pt

3) Full Professor, ISISE, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, pbl@civil.uminho.pt

The stone masonry is one of the materials present in old structures. Its performance evaluation is relevant to the rehabilitation and enhancement of the architectural heritage. It is important to characterize the mechanical properties of stone walls. The in-situ tests allow performing this characterization in real conditions. But, these tests are not an easy task to perform. The tests performed in the laboratory are widely disseminated but have some limitations. Thus, an in-situ experimental program will be made in some abandoned constructions along the railway of Tua River. Therefore, will be adopted different testing configurations adapted to the local conditions. The experimental program includes diagonal and uniaxial compression, in-plane and out-of-plane testing of masonry walls. The present work aims to carry out a review of the state of the art of in-situ tests, and to increase the knowledge of the behaviour of stone masonry walls to different types of loading, based on different test setups.

Keywords: stone masonry walls, in situ testing, test setup.