Increase in seismic resistance for a dry joint masonry arch subjected to hinge control

Damages to vaulted masonry and their vulnerability to seismic activities are continuously ob-served with each new earthquake. The behaviour of these systems is becoming well understood, and reinforcement strategies and techniques are continually advancing. It is often the case however that the application of reinforcement is done in such a manner that the failure of the system is transformed directly from one of stability to strength. This direct transformation over-looks the intermittent stages that exist between stability and strength, and thus provides an in-complete picture to the potential behaviours of the system. With the objective of maintaining the four-hinged mechanization failure, this work experimentally examines the increase in resistance that occurs through controlling the available positions for hinge development of a dry-stack masonry arch subjected to constant horizontal accelerations. From this experimentation, it is observed that controlling the hinge locations can increase the resistance of the arch while also providing a defined failure mechanism.