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Numerical Modeling of Crack Propagation in Masonry Structures

  • Conference paper
Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions

Part of the book series: RILEM Bookseries ((RILEM,volume 18))

Abstract

Before implementing permanent monitoring systems or reinforcements on a historic structure with identified cracks, it is imperative to understand how cracking patterns may have originated and how they affect the current state of the structure. This work outlines a mixed numerical approach for understanding the causes of masonry cracking and the resulting effects on structural performance. By combining Finite Element Modeling and Distinct Element Modeling, the structural response of an undamaged version of a building can be calculated for a combination of loading scenarios (including dead load, lateral loads, and differential settlement). The results of the loading scenarios can be compared to the current state of the building for a probabilistic understanding of potential causes. This combined approach was used to examine the large cracks running longitudinally on the subterranean walls of the Florence Baptistery. Various combinations of loading scenarios were run for an undamaged model of the wall. Additionally, various geometries of the joints were simulated to understand how the accuracy of input geometries can affect simulation results.

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Acknowledgements

This work was completed as part of the Itasca Educational Partnership under the mentorship of Dr. Jim Hazzard without whose guidance, this paper would not have been possible. This works was supported by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Council on Science and Technology, the Dean’s Fund for Innovation, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Princeton. Additional support was provided by the Kinsella Fund, the Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego, the Friends of CISA3, and the World Cultural Heritage Society. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grants No. DGE-1656466 and #DGE-0966375, ‘Training, Research and Education in Engineering for Cultural Heritage Diagnostics,’ and award #CNS-1338192, ‘MRI: Development of Advanced Visualization Instrumentation for the Collaborative Exploration of Big Data.’. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The authors would like to thank Maurizio Seracini, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore and President Franco Lucchesi for the opportunity to study the Baptistery di San Giovanni. Opinions, findings, and conclusions from this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the research sponsors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Rebecca Napolitano, Rachel Coe-Scharff & Branko Glisic

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Michael Hess

Authors
  1. Rebecca Napolitano
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  2. Michael Hess
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  3. Rachel Coe-Scharff
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  4. Branko Glisic
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca Napolitano .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

    Rafael Aguilar

  2. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

    Daniel Torrealva

  3. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru

    Susana Moreira

  4. University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Miguel A. Pando

  5. University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Luis F. Ramos

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Napolitano, R., Hess, M., Coe-Scharff, R., Glisic, B. (2019). Numerical Modeling of Crack Propagation in Masonry Structures. In: Aguilar, R., Torrealva, D., Moreira, S., Pando, M.A., Ramos, L.F. (eds) Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions. RILEM Bookseries, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99441-3_89

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99441-3_89

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99440-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99441-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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