Masonry vaults are able to withstand their dead load and external forces thanks to their curved surface, therefore geometry plays a major role in their structural behaviour. Besides the well-known effects of the macro-geometry (overall shape and dimensions), micro-geometry (details of the masonry apparatus) is also expected to play a key role. The study seeks to determine the advantages (constructional and structural) that a specific masonry apparatus offered for simple forms like barrel vaults and more complex forms like cross vaults. It is carried out, firstly, through a critical review of the European technical literature concerning vault construction with particular focus on brick laying techniques; then, numerical approach is adopted to scientifically investigate the role of micro-geometry on the static behaviour of barrel and cross vaults subjected to self-weight. Comparison of results allows observing different structural behaviour (displacement field, elastic stiffness, reaction forces) for different brick patterns and provides a scientific validation to some speculations found in historical technical literature.

中文翻译：

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微几何对砌体拱顶的结构影响

由于其曲面，砌体拱顶能够承受其恒载和外力，因此几何形状在其结构性能中起着重要作用。除了众所周知的宏观几何（整体形状和尺寸）的影响外，微观几何（砌体设备的细节）也有望发挥关键作用。该研究旨在确定特定砌体设备为桶形拱顶等简单形式和交叉拱顶等更复杂形式提供的优势（结构和结构）。首先，它是通过对欧洲拱顶建造技术文献的批判性审查来进行的，特别关注砌砖技术；然后，采用数值方法，科学地研究了微观几何对受自重作用的桶形拱顶和交叉拱顶静态行为的作用。结果的比较允许观察不同砖块图案的不同结构行为（位移场、弹性刚度、反作用力），并为历史技术文献中的一些推测提供科学验证。