ABSTRACT

In the context of the structural safety evaluation of masonry arches under both gravitational and seismic loads, this study analyses the possibility to apply fast-assessment methodologies, aimed at defining intervention priorities through the proposal of typological abacuses. With this aim, two automatic VBA (Visual Basic for Application) procedures have been implemented and adopted to estimate the capacity of six configurations (from semi-circular to pointed) of stand-alone masonry arches to withstand vertical loads, and to calculate the horizontal load multiplier, related to the in-plane seismic capacity. The developed subroutines are based on the Uniqueness Theorem of Limit Analysis, so that a static and a kinematic approach have been adopted, respectively, for the estimation of the maximum vertical load, compatible with the geometric features, and the evaluation of the horizontal capacity. Subsequently, both procedures have been applied to a wide range of arches by means of a parametric study. The results thus obtained allow the definition of typological abacuses for the preliminary safety assessment of the investigated structural types.

摘要

在重力和地震载荷下砌体拱门结构安全评估的背景下，本研究分析了应用快速评估方法的可能性，旨在通过提出类型算盘来确定干预优先级. 为此，已实施并采用两个自动 VBA（Visual Basic for Application）程序来估算六种配置（从半圆形到尖形）的独立砌体拱顶承受垂直载荷的能力，并计算水平荷载乘数，与面内抗震能力有关。开发的子程序基于极限分析的唯一性定理，因此分别采用静态和运动学方法来估计最大垂直载荷，与几何特征兼容，并评估水平承载力。随后，这两种程序都通过参数研究应用于广泛的拱门。