The results of an experimental study on the effect of the joints between the blocks on the ultimate bearing capacity of a multi-drum column loaded to centric vertical force and horizontal force in the middle of its height are shown. The column is approximately 2.5 m high, with one hinge at the top and another hinge at the bottom. Four types of joints between the blocks were considered: a dry joint (column C-DJ) and joints with stone powder (column C-SPJ), lead (column C-PBJ), and epoxy (column C-EPJ). The applied vertical and horizontal forces, horizontal displacement, vertical strains, and horizontal circumferential strains in the middle of the column height, as well as shortening of the column, were measured. Under axial compression, ratios between the ultimate load bearing capacities of tested columns were C-EPJ: C-DJ: C-SPJ: C-PBJ = 1: 0.68: 0.59: 0.51. The bearing capacity of the tested columns with regard to the horizontal force depended on the level of the applied centric compression force. Columns with soft joints (C-PBJ, C-SPJ) had the largest shortening and the largest horizontal displacements for the equal forces.

In this study, modal and structural identification of a historic masonry bell tower in Čuntići, Croatia, damaged during the recent Petrinja earthquake, was performed. The results of the ambient vibration tests (AVT) and operational modal analysis (OMA) were used to update the finite element numerical model of the bell tower. Three modes were experimentally determined: the first two were bending modes (f₁ = 4.395 Hz and f₂ = 4.639 Hz), and the third was a torsional mode (f₃ = 10.303 Hz). The experimentally determined and the originally calculated (preliminary NM) modal shapes agreed well, but in terms of modal frequencies, the correlation was poor. After model updating, some structural parameters were identified, and a reliable finite element numerical model was established. The proposed method can provide a reliable evaluation of the structural parameters of historic masonry buildings.

The results of a shake‐table study on the effect of the drum height on the seismic behaviour and bearing capacity of small‐scale free‐standing multidrum columns are presented. Columns of equal height with one, three, and six drums through their height were considered for the case of their self‐weight only and for the case with an additional weight on the top of the column. The columns were exposed to a horizontal base acceleration of three accelerograms by successively increasing the maximum acceleration to their failure. The characteristic displacements and accelerations of the column were measured. It was concluded that an increase in the number of blocks in the column can significantly increase or decrease its ultimate bearing capacity, depending on the type of the applied accelerogram. It is expected that the experimental database can be useful in the validation of nonlinear numerical models for the dynamic analysis of multidrum columns.