A Comparative Approach to Material Characterisation in Historic Masonry Buildings

The structural analysis of a heritage building involves, as in other cases, verifying that the stresses to which it is subjected are within admissible limits. For this reason, it is vital to characterize the constituent materials of any design model as precisely as possible. However, given the dispersion of the mechanical properties of the materials used in this type of construction, it is not easy to characterize them. This paper aims, through a real case, to show an approach to characterize the constituent particularities of the building. For this purpose, a sensitivity study will be carried out on a partial model of the temple, in which the influence of the variation of specific parameters of the ashlar masonry on the structural behavior will be analyzed. This study could serve as a basis for future analyses of a similar nature and, therefore, prevent future irreparable damage to our heritage.