Structurally informed design of interlocking block assemblages using limit analysis

Abstract

This paper presents a computational framework to design assemblages of interlocking blocks and to analyze their structural feasibility. The core of this framework is an extension of limit analysis to corrugated interfaces with orthotropic sliding behavior. Such block interfaces are made of a number of locks (i.e. projections on the corrugated faces, locking the blocks together) with rectangular cross section. The sliding resistance at the block interfaces is governed by the shear resistance of the locks and Coulomb’s friction law, normal to and along the locks, respectively. This resistance is assumed as a function of different interface geometric parameters and the stress state on an interface is represented by using a number of contact points distributed over the lock centerlines. The abstraction model has been validated through the comparison of the torsion–shear behavior of an interface obtained by the proposed model and experimental tests reported in the literature. The extended limit analysis has been implemented to model single-layer shells. When the model is infeasible, the geometry of the overall shell, blocks, and interlocking interfaces can be adjusted by the designer to make the model structurally feasible. The performance of the framework is presented through several examples, which demonstrate the relationships between the geometry of the interlocking interfaces and the stability of the assemblages.

Quantifiable feasibility check of masonry assemblages composed of interlocking blocks

“…In addition to the three classical models analysed in Sections 2 and 3, the validation of the proposed methods is herein completed with three more examples. These were already analysed in a previous work [28], where the extended limit analysis was validated and the influence of several parameters (orientation of the locks, friction coefficient, concave model option) on the sliding resistance was investigated. In this section, these examples are used to validate the novel infeasibility measurement method and to demonstrate the capability of the plug-in to model complex shapes under different loading conditions.…”

“…The analysis applied by SiDMACIB is an extension of the limit analysis method to interlocking corrugated interfaces with orthotropic sliding behaviour [25][26][27][28]. Since the pioneering works of Heyman [7,8], limit analysis has been recognized as an effective tool to model a masonry structure as an assemblage of rigid blocks, in which the internal forces are only distributed at the block boundaries.…”

“…This work presents further and novel steps in the validation of the limit analysis method proposed in [26,28] for orthotropic interfaces. The concave contact model is adopted to abstract the stress state on the assemblage, considering that the concave and convex models are two modelling methods suitable to analyse assemblages with diverse topologies.…”

Molding Liquid Stone: A Computational and Experimental Mixed‐Method Study of 3D Print Formwork for Interlocking Concrete Modules

“…Recently, researchers developed a plugin for Grasshopper, "Structurally Informed Design of Masonry Assemblages Composed of Interlocking Blocks (SiDMACIB)" to analyze a single layer shell composed of interlocking blocks. 27 Tools such as this will facilitate getting constant performance feedback while designing the TIA.…”

Torsion-shear behaviour at the interfaces of rigid interlocking blocks in masonry assemblages: experimental investigation and analytical approaches

“…Similarly, experimental and numerical investigations were carried out on the different behaviour of wooden joinery connections with different geometric properties [23][24][25][26]. A digital tool to design structurally feasible masonry structures composed of interlocking blocks has been developed by some of the presenting authors [27][28][29].…”