Reconstruction of XVIII Century Ribbed Vault: Experimental Tests and Numerical Analyses

During the structural restoration of a highly damaged XVIII century building complex, the former military quarters "Caserma Principe Amedeo", in the city of Nola, near Naples, Italy, the reconstruction of some vaults was needed, matching the specific geometry of the existing vaults. This implied extensive and in-depth historical investigations on the construction techniques of that period to reconstruct the vaults following the design rules, the manufacturing techniques and the materials of XVIII century in that area. A non linear finite element analysis of the vault was performed with reference to the effective geometrical and mechanical properties. The numerical modelling was validated by means of a real scale prototype vault pilot test, and two onsite tests on existing vaults. This investigation made it possible the re-design of an architectural layout that appears to be neat and functional to the future building utilization. It was possible to restore construction techniques applicable to materials and geometries perfectly correlated to the original design. This allows the reconstructed part of the building to smoothly fade into the architectural equilibrium of the original structure.