AE structural assessment of a XVIIth Century masonry vault

In the present paper, we describe the experimental and numerical assessment of a XVIIth century masonry vault, which was required because of the change in use of the upper floor. During the in situ load test, we recorded the Acoustic Emissions (AE) from the vault, as well as displacements of the vault and strains in the steel rods. We compare the experimental data with the numerical results obtained from finite element modeling of cracking and crushing. After validation, the model allows us to assess the ultimate load bearing capacity of the vault.