Refined element discontinuous numerical analysis of dry-contact masonry arches

Abstract

The behavior of buried masonry arches is studied in this article using the Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA), a numerical method that allows for the physical simulation of the intrinsic structure discontinuities since it is based on contact and friction among pseudo-rigid blocks. Two types of arches (or vaults) are studied with a specially developed computer program, one of semicircular and another of ovoidal shape. The loads are selfweight, lateral filling, embankment thrusts and concentrated (through a short distribution) forces close to the peak. These loads are transformed into point forces applied to the center of gravity of each block with simple formulae from classical mechanics. Equilibrium is reached in the whole structure through contact forces calculated with a standard contact algorithm: penalty plus Coulomb friction.DDA-macroblocks composed of linked (through penalty contact springs) * Corresponding author. Tel. +34963877000 (Ext. 71815) Email addresses: jopeap@mes.upv.es (J.L. Pérez-Aparicio), rbravo@ugr.es (R. Bravo), portiz@ugr.es (P. Ortiz) 1 Tel. +34958249960 November 15, 2016 pseudo-rigid blocks are formulated. This linkage allows for the simulation of collapse by instability or by stress compressive failure more accurately than traditional DDA analyses, for instance funicular polygons. Preprint submitted to Engineering StructuresThe numerical results are compared with those of the experiments taken from the literature with, for most cases, very good agreement given the uncertainties on geometry and material properties and given the intrinsic quality dispersion of masonry structures. Collapse loads as function of number of joints, safety factors and limit point forces from the numerical and experimental results are compared. The hinges that appear prior to collapse are also compared, obtaining again for most cases very good agreement.

Shaking table tests and numerical analyses on a scaled dry-joint arch undergoing windowed sine pulses

“…Variations of the method are usually designated by UDEC, NSCD and DDA, Universal Distinct Element Code, Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics, and Discrete Deformation Analysis, respectively. The principal contributions for the analysis of arched structures are: UDEC (Lemos 1998;Tóth et al 2009;Dimitri et al 2011; Dimitri and Tornabene 2015); NSCD (Rafiee et al 2008;Albuerne et al 2013;Rafiee and Vinches 2013;Lancioni et al 2016); DDA (Pérez-Aparicio et al 2013). Thavalingam et al (2001), instead, performed a comparison between DDA, DEM based Particle Flow Code and a non-linear finite element (FEM).…”

Numerical sedimentation particle-size analysis using the Discrete Element Method

“…(7) and Eq. (10). Prior to the beginning of the simulation, a homogeneous distribution of particles has to be defined as initial conditions for the numerical modelling.…”

“…The formulation of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) [9] probably is the most suitable to simulate the behavior of granular materials in these situations, since it is based on the study of the individual particles and their contact interactions. Additionally, DEM can capture other information such as arrangements of particles or global constitutive laws (contact algorithms in this context, see [10]), aspects very difficult to account for with numerical methods based on continuum media.…”

Optimal numerical design of bucket elevators using discontinuous deformation analysis

“…The DDA method is particularly attractive for modeling granular material problems with internal discontinuous geometry. Its applicability ranges from large scale problems (i.e., the mechanical response of rock assemblies and masonry, [28], [24], [26]) to small scale ones (i.e., a previous work for granular discharge of bucket elevators in [25]). The newer reference [22] completes [25].…”