Sonic tests are a valid and useful non-destructive method for qualitative characterization of masonry elements. If sonic tests are applied with the right configuration, the results can identify discontinuities in masonry sections and provide the morphology of a construction typology, contributing to the assessment of built heritage as demanded by the international recommendations on this domain. The elaboration of data from sonic tests applied to masonry structures has been essentially based on the evaluation of the P waves' propagation through the masonry thickness, that is, by using the direct sonic method, a procedure that has been calibrated for many years by different authors. However, recent studies have shown that indirect configurations through the indirect sonic impact method may be used to estimate the mechanical properties of stones masonry samples. This procedure allows assessing not only P but also R wave propagation, permitting to estimate the deformability characteristics of masonry panels. Under this research, a set of stone masonry specimens was tested using both direct and indirect sonic impact methods and later assessed through laboratory mechanical compression tests, a procedure's sequence that allow validating the sonic tests capabilities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The authors applied sonic tests to study the propagation of sonic waves through stone masonry walls. In particular, tests were made to study the effect of the joints and the influence of the characteristics of the stones surface, rough or smooth, on the measurement of the sonic velocities on granite masonry specimens. A series of direct, indirect, and impact echo sonic tests were performed on single stones and on columns of stones with dry and mortar joints to obtain P- and R-wave velocities. The results allowed a better understanding of the influence of the stones characteristics and the samples geometries, namely the number of joints, to the global response of the masonry to the propagation of sonic waves. This study also allowed verifying the complementarity of the different sonic test configurations and the interest to cross information from more than one technique to obtain more reliable information. Finally, significant results were also achieved concerning the relationship between the param...