Dynamic response of FRCM reinforced masonry arches

The problem of the dynamic behavior of masonry arches and vaults has gained increasing interest in recent years, since the key role of these structural elements in the masonry constructions, especially of historic interest. Despite this, the literature still lacks a sufficiently large number of contributions on this important subject, and this deficiency is even more marked for the case of reinforced masonry. In this context, the present paper shows and discusses some preliminary experimental results on full-scale dynamic tests on unreinforced and GFRCM-reinforced Apulian tuff masonry arches. The experiments have been performed by using a test bench appositely designed and built; the dynamic excitation consisted of a harmonic base motion with fixed amplitude and increasing frequency. The acceleration in suitable points of the arches, the base shear and the base motion have been continuously monitored during the tests.