COMPAS Masonry: A Computational Framework for Practical Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Structures

Abstract

In recent years, our (academic/theoretical) understanding of the behaviour of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures has improved significantly, and many advanced technological solutions for conservation have been developed. However, there is still a lack of appropriate methods and tools that can be used for the assessment of URM structures in every day practice. Therefore, since 2018, the Block Research Group has been working on "Practical Stability Assessment Strategies for Vaulted Unreinforced Masonry Structures" with support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The goal of this research project is to create tools suitable for everyday engineering practice and to develop appropriate analysis strategies for diverse contexts and circumstances related to the availability of time, budget and available data. The main outcome is COMPAS Masonry: an open-source, Python-based computational framework for the assessment of URM structures. It provides a general purpose toolbox for working with assemblies (compas_dem) and three custom made open-access solvers that can deal with different aspects of the assessment of masonry structures: compas_tna based on Thrust Network Analysis, compas_prd based on the Piecewise Rigid Displacement method, and compas_rbe based on the Rigid Block Equilibrium. INTRODUCTIONUnreinforced masonry (URM) is one of humankind's longest-lasting construction methods and forms the structural basis for most of the residential buildings all over the world. The assessment of URM structures is an atypical mechanical problem: constructions are comprised of individual discrete elements; large displacements and deformations are common, and, particularly for historic buildings, material properties and boundary conditions are unknown or unknowable.Many of the structural analysis tools/software available today were developed for entirely different structural systems with very different materials such as steel, concrete and timber, and

Structural analysis of unreinforced masonry spiral staircases using Discrete Element modelling

“…The structure has been then analysed with the Discrete Element Modelling method, using the commercial software 3DEC by Itasca [14][15][16]. Then, 3DEC's results have been post-processed using customised python-based functions, developed in compas and COMPAS Masonry [17], to compute the position and magnitude of the resultant contact forces and the internal forces in each tread.…”