Bòvedas tabicadas: experimental and numerical analysis

A class of thin vaults, the so-called bvedas tabicadas, which represent one of the most common Spanish traditional building techniques at the end of XIX century are studied here, treating the relevant analysis problem through a numerical, as well as an experimental, approach. At first the problem is studied by searching for the behaviour of the material effecting suitable experiments. Once the constitutive behaviour of the materials and the structural elements are experimentally characterized, a semi inverse method for the identification of the optimum mechanical parameters to assign to an equivalent homogeneous ideal material through analysis reproducing the executed experimental tests is adopted on the grounds of finite element analysis. Moreover, other tests are processed on a real structure in order to determine the mechanical and geometric response to assigned loads. These results, compared to the related numerical analyses, can be utilized in order to propose some useful simple criteria in the reinforcing design of the referenced structures