Modelling masonry arches under fire

Masonry structures, often found in several historical and artistic buildings, need to be assessed not only at the serviceability and ultimate limit states, but also under accidental and extreme actions. However, masonry arches under fire are not taken into consideration by Part 1-2 of Eurocode 6, where only rules on vertical walls are reported. In addition, neither theoretical nor experimental research activities on these structures are reported in the current literature. For this reason, an advanced calculation method, capable of predicting the nonlinear behaviour of masonry arches subjected to elevated temperatures, is herein presented. As a result, a range of admissible loads can be defined for a pre-established fire scenario. The maximum load of the range decreases as the time of fire exposure increases, whereas the minimum load, which guarantees the structural stability of the arch, increases with time