2D and 3D Modelling and Analysis of Masonry Double Curvature Structures

This paper presents a recent contribution from a study in the field of masonry modelling. By the structural analysis of the largest masonry dome in the world, the importance of three-dimensional models is demonstrated against the excessive simplifications of the bidimensional ones. The response of both the three- and bi-dimensional heterogeneous models, with the appropriate boundary conditions applied, has been examined through quasi-static analyses incrementing the self-weight. For this purpose, a procedure based on the Elastic Body and Spring Method (EBSM) is employed to demonstrate the feasibility of rapidly modelling masonry double curvature structures in 3D within Finite Element commercial codes. In this way, the structural capacity is determined with the accuracy of advanced limit analysis procedures through simple computations and a stable method. The simplicity is given by the discretisation of masonry bulk in hyperelastic blocks connected by fictitious joints made by beams and trusses. The stability is determined using commercial FE software and lumping of the major strain in the elastic-perfectly plastic elements of the joints. The structural behaviour has been investigated through nonlinear static analyses under the application of an amplified self-weight (with the two models weights taken equal) and the results compared using a nondimensional load factor.