THE ROLE OF MORTAR JOINTS IN THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF MASONRY STRUCTURES

The mechanical properties of a masonry depend not only on the characteristics of its compoments but on the construction technique of the masonry itself. Therefore its mechanical behaviour is not only influenced by the mechanical properties of the components but also by their geometry, by the ratio between the thickness of the alternate courses brick/stone, mortars. In the following some experimental result will be presented and discussed showing the role played on the mechanical behaviour of masonry by the joints as in the Byzantine wall to very thin joints based on a natural resin as in the case of the Cham architectures developed in Vietnam.