Abstract The formation of the freshwater lakes and travertine limestone was caused by the tectonic depression, which occurred in the Dinarides during the Miocene. This stone has been exploited and used since far back on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a building stone and for different architectural purposes. Most of the investigations were concentrated on the “tenelija” stone due to its massive use and construction of the famous Stari Most (Old Bridge) in Mostar. Not much investigation was devoted to “miljevina” (mudstone) which belongs to the same petrographic type. This is a soft carbonate rock that is highly porous, has small density, relatively low strengths, poor wear resistance, and low resistance to frost. In this paper, the influence of layers (planes of anisotropy - foliation) of the mudstone was investigated. Within an experimental campaign, numerous sets of tests were performed on different samples. Tests include uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) on cube and cylinder specimens, flexural strength under concentrated load and constant moment, tensile strength based on Brazilian tests, determination of Young’s modulus, modulus of deformations, and Poisson ratio. Prediction of UCS and Young’s modulus, as elastic mechanical characteristics, represent the main goal in engineering projects. Additionally, the influence of sample conditions and planes of anisotropy was investigated. Results have been compared and correlations are established. As a result, a new relation between uniaxial compressive strength obtained on cube and cylinder samples for a stone of low compressive strength is proposed.

U radu su prikazani glavni parametri gradnje kamenih mostova te bitni čimbenici pri odabiru novog (zamjenskog) kamena i morta za gradnju. Opisani su rezultati laboratorijskog ispitivanja kamena i morta koji se uobičajeno koriste kod sanacije i rekonstrukcije građevina kulturno-povijesne baštine u Bosni i Hercegovini iz perioda osmanske vladavine. Posebna pažnja je posvećena ispitivanju fizikalnih i mehaničkih karakteristika sedre, travertina i vapnenaca kao osnovnih kamenih materijala koji su korišteni prilikom izgradnje takvih konstrukcija.

Main parameters for the construction of stone bridges, and major factors for selection of new (replacement) stone and mortar, are presented in the paper. Laboratory test results are given for the stone and mortar normally used in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of cultural and historical heritage structures from the Ottoman period in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A special attention is paid to physical and mechanical characteristics of tufa, travertine and limestone, as basic materials used in the construction of such structures.

Prediction of failure mechanisms in concrete is a fairly complex task due to heterogeneous concrete microstructure, localization process triggered by cracks, multiple crack interactions during their growth and coalescence, and different dissipative mechanisms in a fracture process zone prior to localized failure and in a localization zone during the failure. None of the currently used phenomenological models can represent the full set of 3D failure modes. This work presents an attempt to solve this with the 3D meso-scale model based on discrete lattice approach. In particular we show that we can capture such complexities at the meso-scale, which is able to represent microcracks in fracture process zone along with the localized failure represented in terms of embedded strong discontinuity and accompanied with softening constitutive law. The model can also successfully simulate salient features of concrete response, such as order of magnitude of reduction in strength in uniaxial tension versus compression, strength increase in biaxial loading or hydrostatic tension. Moreover, macro-scale representation of failure surfaces obtained with presented model for different loading programs confirms the need for failure concrete criterion of multi-surface kind. Part I of this work presents the proposed meso-scale based on extensive number of numerical simulations with multiple realizations of different concrete specimens, along as the optimal deterministic fit for several common concrete failure models. The ultimate interest of the work is to provide detailed data set for different failure modes which can be used for identification of probability distribution of material parameters for different criteria. Such task is carried in Part II of this work.

Structural condition and repair of the Careva Ćuprija Bridge in Sarajevo is presented in the paper. This historic structure has been exposed to various atmospheric influences during its use, and also to significant traffic load for which it was not initially designed, which has ultimately resulted in degradation of its structure. To enable continued functioning of this bridge its structure must be repaired taking into account the fact that the bridge was proclaimed a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 11 March 2009.

Sacral buildings, mosques with wooden minarets and chapel churches, Orthodox and Catholic churches, represent cultural heritage, and are representatives of wood structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are not only interconnected but also connected with residential architecture, making them even more interesting. These structures were for a long time neglected and placed on the margins to be forgotten. Sacral objects with wooden features retained common housing elements on one hand and the diversity is reflected in their specific characteristics. It is undoubtedly that natural influences and the human factor on wooden structures require constant monitoring and maintenance, which in the absence of finance and personnel makes it difficult to conserve and restore the traditional sacral wooden structures. This paper presents the basic data on this type of construction with the most significant details of characteristic examples.