New Trends in Stone Masonry Mechanics, Simulation and Mechanical Characterization

Dear Colleagues,

Stone masonry has been used across civilizations and time to build a wide range of structures, from impressive castles, theatres and bridges to modest residential buildings in city centres and rural areas. The restoration and conservation of these structures are key for preserving their heritage value for the future generations, while their reuse contributes to the current efforts to reduce the material and energy consumption of the construction industry.

Understanding of the mechanical behaviour of stone masonry is key for the structural safety analysis of existing structures, as well as the design of repair and strengthening interventions. Nevertheless, the large variability of component materials and stone masonry typologies, as well as the presence of damage and degradation mechanisms, are still important challenges for the mechanical characterization and structural analysis of stone masonry structures.

This Special Issue aims to collect recent research efforts related to the mechanical characterization, structural analysis and simulation of stone masonry from material to building scale. Topics of particular interest include, but are not restricted to:

• Destructive and non-destructive techniques for mechanical/structural characterization
• Experimental tests on stone masonry elements and structures
• Empirical and mechanical models
• Numerical simulation approaches (micromechanical, homogenization, macromechanical)
• Existing damage identification/characterization techniques
• Digitalization of geometry and damage

Dr. Savvas Saloustros
Dr. Javier Ortega
Guest Editors

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