Nonlinear Static Analysis of Global Vipassana Pagoda by Means of a Novel FE-Based Method: Modelling Strategy

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is a meditation space covered by the largest masonry dome in the world. The whole building counts other two domes superimposed to the lower one. It is well known that, because of their double curvature, domical structures suffer from the presence of tensile stresses along their parallels, which may cause crack openings. Therefore, given the large number of people that such a space can host, the assessment of the dome's stability is an important issue. The recently developed FE-based and heterogeneous approach applied in this paper for the assessment of Vipassana Pagoda stability, models homogeneous elastic masonry blocks interacting using nonlinear joint systems made by assemblies of unidimensional elements. The paper will give an insight into the modeling strategy to introduce the object of the coupled paper about results.