Numerical Modelling of Historic Vaulted Timber Structures

Abstract

Historic timber structures forming vaulted roofs of public and ecclesiastical buildings are present worldwide. The structural response of these constructions is usually governed by the structural performance of the joints, the interaction between the timber structure and the masonry parts, and the current condition of both joints and timber members. At present, numerical approaches, such as finite element method-based approaches are well-established tools for investigating the global response of complex historic structures. Using a FE-based software package, the authors developed a numerical model of a portion of an existing historic vaulted timber structure, which is part of the roof of the Cathedral of Ica in Peru, considering the in-plane semi-rigid response of the planked arches in the elastic range. For this purpose, the rotational and shear stiffness of the joints and the properties of the materials, which are assumed in good conditions, are calibrated by comparing the numerical outputs with experimental results available in literature. The aim of the work presented here is to compare the response of the same vault assuming either continuous (planks continuously connected) or discontinuous arches (modelling of the semi-rigid response of the joints which connect the planks together).

Engineering simulations of a super-complex cultural heritage building: Ica Cathedral in Peru

“…The latter was often composed of several small timber members, assembled together to provide longer spans, which were connected to each other by means of various timber joints and covered by canes, mud layers and lime plasters. Although the construction of these wooden frames was likely to be inspired by the European models, such as those illustrated by Philibert De l' Orme [33], there were significant differences in construction characteristics and the structural roles of the several structural elements: as an example, while European timber vaulted roofing systems were supported by masonry walls, those constructed in Peru were mainly carried by internal hollow pillars, also built by applying the quincha technique [17]. The Church of San Francisco constructed by Constantino de Vasconcelos and Manuel de Escobar (1657-1674) represents the first notable application of the quincha technique to construct ecclesiastical buildings, which eventually became the universally adopted solution to rebuild damaged churches and to construct new ones [20,33].…”

Analytical study of the dimensional stability of tropical brazilian wood species

“…In addition, when it is evaluated the current stresses in historic edification structures, it will certainly occur the introducing of degrees of redundancy, making it necessary to adopt reliable relation between β l and β t values (FERREIRA et al, 2013;HOLZER, 2016). The same happens for design of timber structures submitted to the high possibility of earthquakes (BUCHANAN; CARRADINE; JORDAN, 2011;PARISI;PIAZZA, 2015).…”

Particleboard Produced With Chromated Copper Arsenate- And Borate-Treated Caixeta Wood: A Technical Feasibility Study

“…Tropical Brazilian wood species are important raw materials in the building sector and are used as structural and non-structural wood components (doors, floors, and windows) (Calil Junior et al, 2003;Ferreira et al, 2013;Lukacs et al, 2016;Fueyo et al, 2017). Ter Steege et al (2016) pointed out that Brazil has about 12 thousand tropical wood species, but only a few of them are already physically and mechanically characterized, leading to the misuse of such resources (Almeida et al 2014).…”