Seismic capacity and multi-mechanism analysis for dry-stack masonry arches subjected to hinge control

Abstract

Masonry arches are vulnerable to seismic actions. Over the last few years, extensive research has been carried out to develop strategies and methods for their seismic assessment and strengthening. The application of constant horizontal accelerations to masonry arches is a well-known quasi-static method, which approximates dynamic loading effects and quantifies their stability, while tilting plane testing is a cheap and effective strategy for experimentation of arches made of dry-stack masonry. Also, the common strengthening techniques for masonry arches are mainly focusing on achieving full strength of the system rather than stability. Through experimentation of a dry-stack masonry arch it has been shown that the capacity of an arch can be increased, and the failure controlled by defining hinge positions through reinforcement. This paper utilizes experimentally obtained results to introduce:(1) static friction and resulting mechanisms; and (2) the post-minimum mechanism reinforcement requirements into the two-dimensional limit analysis-based kinematic collapse load calculator (KCLC) software designed for the static seismic analysis of dry-stack masonry arches. Computational results are validated against a series of experimental observations based on tilt plane tests and good agreement is obtained. Discrete Element models to represent the masonry arch with different hinge configurations are also developed to establish a validation trifecta. The limiting mechanism to activate collapse of arches subjected to hinge control is investigated and insights into the optimal reinforcement to be installed in the arch are derived. It is envisaged that the current modelling approach can be used by engineers to understand stability under horizontal loads and develop strengthening criteria for masonry arches of their care.

Guest editorial for the special issue of selected and extended papers presented at the 10th International Masonry Conference

“…Senaldi et al (2019) discuss the final experimental results obtained to evaluate the seismic performance of a half-scale stone masonry building aggregate, whereas Simões et al (2019) provide a seismic assessment of 19th-20th century URM buildings in Lisbon, evaluating uncertainties and defining fragility curves. Stockdale et al (2019) study the seismic capacity of dry-stack masonry arches subjected to hinge control through a multi-mechanism analysis. The base is the recursive utilization of the kinematic theorem of limit analysis.…”

Numerical Analysis of an FRP-Strengthened Masonry Arch Bridge

“…With this need in mind, in recent years, different calculation methods and guidelines (e.g., UIC guideline) 1 for the evaluation of the ultimate (ULS) and serviceability limit states (SLS) of masonry bridges have been developed. Among the available methods for the structural analysis of masonry bridges, it is possible to find: simplified methods (Zhang et al, 2018), numerical method for assess the seismic capacity (Pelà et al, 2013;Zampieri et al, 2014Zampieri et al, , 2015aSarhosis et al, 2016;Mahmoudi Moazam et al, 2018;Marefat et al, 2019), methods based on the limit analysis (Basilio et al, 2014;Chiozzi et al, 2017;Bertolesi et al, 2018), analysis strategies able to take into account the settlement of the supports (Galassi et al, 2018a,b;Zampieri et al, 2018aZampieri et al, ,b, 2019 or geometry uncertainties (Cavalagli et al, 2017), macro-element models (Cannizzaro et al, 2018;D'Altri et al, 2019), and methods based on finite element modeling (FEM) (Brencich and Sabia, 2008;Costa et al, 2016;Scozzese et al, 2019), discrete element modeling (DEM) (Sarhosis et al, 2016(Sarhosis et al, , 2019Forgács et al, 2017Forgács et al, , 2018Stockdale et al, 2019) or a combination of both (Milani and Lourenço, 2012).…”

Non-Linear Dynamic Behaviour of a Masonry Arch Subjected to Hinge Control

“…Considering the intermittent stages between the minimum mechanism and full strengthening under static assessments has revealed the potential to both increase seismic capacity and control failure for arches subjected to hinge control [9][10][11]. It is now necessary to begin expanding the evaluation beyond the static conditions.…”