Stability of the Abbey of San Lorenzo ad Septimum cloister in Aversa

Masonry constructions represent an important part of the Italian Architectural Heritage, to be preserved. As well known, the analysis of masonry buildings presents some peculiarities mainly related to the nature of the material, being a heterogeneous type of material, characterized by different textures and sizes, which means that it behaves anisotropically. Moreover, the fragile behavior of its constituents makes the response of the material highly non-linear. In this context, the development of an accurate and efficient computational model becomes significant not only for the evaluation of the stability of these kind of constructions, but also for the design of appropriate maintenance interventions. The present research takes care the mechanics of historical masonries through the case study of the Main Cloister of the Abbey of San Lorenzo ad Septimum in Aversa. There are many historical and survey studies on the cloister, but so far there has not been a structural study with this methodology, so by analyzing, of the entire complex, only the most damaged part to date. In order to understand the mechanical behavior of the whole complex of the cloister, the structural analysis is carried out with reference to the modern theory of Limit Analysis applied by Heyman to masonry structures. In addition, the study features an interdisciplinary character, taking into account three different aspects which, in the case of masonry constructions, are closely interconnected: geometry, construction and stability.