Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Mechanical behaviour of old masonry may differ from the theoretical one to a great extent, hence it needs to be properly evaluated for quantifying the safety and serviceability of real structures, in view of their rehabilitation... more
ABSTRACT Mechanical behaviour of old masonry may differ from the theoretical one to a great extent, hence it needs to be properly evaluated for quantifying the safety and serviceability of real structures, in view of their rehabilitation and/or seismic reliability assessment. Among the factors affecting such behaviour, the presence of moisture, mainly from rising damp, plays a key role in the deterioration state of old masonry structures, owing to salt crystallisation, frost damage, etc. Besides, water presence in the material pores may also directly influence their mechanical properties (compressive and tensile strength, elastic modulus), due to the interactions with the pore surface, enhancement of crack propagation velocity and other mechanisms. Although the effect of water saturation has been investigated for clay-bearing rocks, ceramics and concrete, its consequences on the mechanical behaviour of brick masonry still requires in-depth elucidation. For this reason, in the present paper the compressive strength and Young’s modulus of fired-clay bricks, cement-based and lime-based mortars as well as masonry triplets are investigated, in dry and wet conditions. The results are interpreted in the light of the microstructural features of the materials, i.e., total voids amount and pores size distribution.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Given the high energy consumption connected to old buildings and their large environmental impact, there is a strong need for effective solutions for the building envelope retrofitting. Among these solutions, external thermal... more
ABSTRACT Given the high energy consumption connected to old buildings and their large environmental impact, there is a strong need for effective solutions for the building envelope retrofitting. Among these solutions, external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) have found large application in recent decades. In this paper a new kind of large-size thermal insulation composite boards, prefabricated using porcelain stoneware slab finishing, was developed. Different thermal insulating materials and adhesives, with and without glass fibre mesh, were tested by both current methodologies and purposely designed tests, in order to assess their physical-mechanical properties and durability performance, finally selecting the most suitable materials for the composite board. The strong points of this composite board are mainly: (i) its short placing time and improved execution quality, due to prefabrication; (ii) its high aesthetical value; (iii) its high durability, as the finishing layer is mostly insensible to weathering. The results highlight the good performances of the prefabricated composite board developed in this study (generally higher than current ETICS). The testing procedure followed in this study is also meant to give a contribution to the establishment of methodologies for the selection and durability assessment of materials for the building envelope retrofitting.