LAUSR

The study of the mechanical behavior of building stones is traditionally supported by destructive compression tests carried out on representative specimens. However, in order to respect the monuments’ integrity, the study of the mechanical behavior of stones can be based mostly on physical properties obtained from non-destructive tests (NDT). For this study, a simple and cheap NDT—water absorption under low pressure—was used to carry out fast surveys and to predict the most important design parameters of loadbearing masonry, among which are the compressive strength, strain at failure, and even elastic modulus on monument blocks. The paper presents the results of the experimental work conducted to obtain the physical properties and stress–strain curves of the sandstones tested. Supported by these results, it was possible to correlate the various parameters and develop an analytical model that predicts the stress–strain curve of the sandstones based on water absorption under low pressure tests. A good agreement is observed between the analytical model and the experimental tests.