Author
ALMEIDA, C. and GUEDES, J. and ARÊDE, A.
Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, Civil Engineering Dept.
COSTA, A.
University of Aveiro, Civil Engineering Dept.

Abstract
The study of old stone masonry buildings is of great concern and relevance to research. In this context, this paper characterizes the geometrical, material and mechanical properties of single-leaf stone masonry walls from a building built at the beginning of the 20th century in Porto, Portugal. Because the building was going to be intervened, it was possible to survey the elevation and cross section of the walls and to collect samples of material for laboratory analyses. A photographic record was used to gather relevant data to evaluate the percentage of stone, mortar and voids in the wall. In parallel, it was possible to cut one of the walls (that was meant to be demolished) into approximately, 1.2m large single walls that were transported to the laboratory to be tested. A series of uniaxial compression tests were performed to assess the walls’ response, namely their strength and stiffness, and to correlate the results with the survey. Finally, the internal voids of one of the panels previously tested, with minor damage, were repaired with lime mortar. After that, the wall was tested until failure to compare to the response of the original wall.

Key words
Stone Masonry, In-situ Evaluation, Experimental Testing, Consolidation