Experimental analysis of typical hollow clay fictile tubules of cultural heritage of Mediterranean area

Most of the historic centers of several cities is part of the cultural heritage; it is of particular interest to guarantee, over time, their conservation. Order to ensure this, strengthening techniques are required, using compatible materials with the existing support. A special construction technique, typical of the Mediterranean, is one that uses fictile clay tubules. It is a building technique that dates back to Roman and early Christian times, used to build vaulted structures of various geometrical forms, thanks to the presence of the modular construction elements. In the present work, experimental tests were carried out in order to investigate on the mechanical and chemical properties of hollow clay fictile tubules. The main aim of these analyses is the valorization of existing structures built using the traditional constructive technique above, replacing the collapsed part. Finally, a numerical model was created to compare the results obtained from the experimental tests.