ABSTRACT
Stone masonry is one of the oldest and most worldwide building techniques. The important need to preserve the valuable heritage and its history leads to identify and know the construction method and more than that, the behaviour according to seismic actions and requirements of European code standards. Mechanical properties and performance assessment of stone masonry walls can be one of the most complex tasks, despite the simple type of structural system concerning its assemblage. The chapter presents lab experimental tests aiming at comparing the results of the out-of-plane behaviour of traditional unreinforced and reinforced stone masonry walls. For multi-storey buildings, although the evidence of post-earthquake observations shows out-of-plane collapse occurring mainly at the upper levels, it is also important to study the behaviour of a complete masonry wall. The masonry walls were made of non-regular roughly squared granite blocks and a non-cohesive infill material.
