Numerical CRACK simulation and Identification Techniques

ended

Europe’s built cultural heritage is very diverse, ranging from large and impressive Roman amphitheaters to small and modest dwellings of European cities’ historic quarters. Despite the immense differences in dimensions, architecture and use, these structures share the construction technique: brick or stone masonry. Built cultural heritage is a key factor for Europe’s social cohesion, economic growth and sustainable development. However, heritage structures in a large part of Europe are under the threat of earthquakes. While we can do nothing to prevent earthquakes, we can prepare predictive tools for assessing the seismic safety of masonry structures. This proposal aims to develop numerical CRACK simulation and Identification Techniques (CRACK-IT) for stone masonry structures that can be used in professional practice. To achieve this, we will first develop a crack detection tool that will allow the automatic and objective crack documentation of damaged masonry structures, by combining information from experiments with image processing and machine learning aproaches. This tool aims to be applicable in post-earthquake surveys for automated crack detection in masonry structures. Second, we will develop and validate a structural analysis tool that permits the efficient and accurate simulation of stone masonry structures and the robust estimation of their seismic response. For this, we will focus on the simulation of irregular stone masonry, because despite being a common used typology in historic structures, there is still no structural analysis approach tailored to it. The core for the development of these two numerical tools will be the execution of an experimental campaign including the shear-compression tests of irregular stone masonry walls. This campaign, apart from allowing the validation of the numerical tools, will give the first experimental dataset on the effect of the size of masonry walls to their in-plane structural response.