Distinct Element Method Applied on Old Masonry Structures7 - Printable Version +- Civil Engineering Association (https://forum.civilea.com) +-- Forum: eBooks (https://forum.civilea.com/forum-63.html) +--- Forum: Journals, Papers and Presentations (https://forum.civilea.com/forum-74.html) +--- Thread: Distinct Element Method Applied on Old Masonry Structures7 (/thread-44681.html) |
Distinct Element Method Applied on Old Masonry Structures7 - TAFATNEB - 09-14-2013 Distinct Element Method Applied on Old Masonry Structures Author: Marwan Al-Heib | Size: 1.5 MB | Format: PDF | Quality: Unspecified | Publisher: Ineris – Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Parc de Saurupt France | pages: 27
Masonry structures have specific aspects and different numerical approaches are available for studying their behavior. The analysis of masonry constructions is a complex task (Lourenco, 2002), especially under special loads and when the soil-structure interaction becomes essential for studying the real behavior. Usually, salient aspects are: Difficult and expensive characterization of the mechanical properties of the materials used; Large variability of mechanical properties, due to workmanship and use of natural materials; Significant changes in the core and constitution of structural elements, associated with long construction periods; Unknown construction sequence; Unknown existing damage in the structure. In addition, under the different loading conditions, many experimental studies have shown that joints or interfaces are the weakest zones of masonry structures. Figure 1 shows some masonry failure modes, according to Sutcliffe et al., 2001. Several methods and computational tools are available (Massart et al, 2005) for the assessment of the mechanical behavior of old constructions. The empirical approaches and the Eurocode (6) recommendations are generally satisfactory for engineers. The methods resort to different theories or approaches, resulting in: different levels of complexity (from simple graphical methods and hand calculations to complex mathematical formulations and large systems of non-linear equations), different availability for the practitioner (from readily available in any consulting engineer office to scarcely available in a few researchoriented institutions and large consulting offices), different time requirements (from a few seconds of computer time to a few days of processing) and, of course, different costs. Three approaches (Figure 2) are generally employed by engineers and researchers to model the masonry element: equivalent medium, discontinuous medium using continuous numerical approach (finite element and boundary element methods) and discontinuous medium using distinct element approach (distinct element method). The distinct element code will be employed herein to model masonry structures. Code: *************************************** |