Stability and strength of old masonry vaults under compressive longitudinal loads: Engineering analyses of a case study

The assessment of the load-carrying capacity of old masonry vaults loaded in longitudinal compression by pre-tensioned reinforcing bars, accounting for both material and geometrical nonlinearities, appears to be a difficult task, so far unattempted. Here, we consider a real case, both analytically and by means of the Finite Element Method (FEM), studying the effects of several factors on the maximum applicable compression: description of the material nonlinearity, self-weight, structural reinforcements such as extradossal ribs and internal buttresses, boundary conditions, geometrical imperfections.