Influence of Stereotomy on Discrete Approaches Applied to an Ancient Church in Muccia, Italy
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 147, Issue 11
Abstract
This work evaluated the remarkable influence of stereotomy on discrete methods adopted for the dynamic response of an ancient masonry structure. The historic building used as a case study is the Church of Santa Maria of Varano in Muccia, in the province of Macerata, Italy, which was exposed to the severe seismic sequence that hit Central Italy in 2016, namely the major events of Accumoli, Visso, and Norcia. The structure was modeled using the actual stereotomy of blocks and three hypothetical arrangements of blocks of the masonry walls to investigate the existing crack pattern and vulnerabilities of the church. Sensitivity analyses were performed using the nonsmooth contact dynamics and discrete-element methods. These novel approaches suitably reproduced complex behaviors, considering large displacements and complete block separations, which is useful for upcoming retrofitting works.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to Itasca and Harpaceas for providing access to and support for 3DEC under the IEP program. The authors greatly thank the Archdiocese of Camerino and the Superintendence for Architectural and Landscape Heritage of the Marche Region for kindly providing support during the preparation of this work. The support of the Italian Ministry of University (Italy), under the program “Dipartimento di Eccellenza” of DICEA-UNIVPM, is also acknowledged.
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Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 147 • Issue 11 • November 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 1, 2020
Accepted: Jun 21, 2021
Published online: Sep 14, 2021
Published in print: Nov 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Feb 14, 2022
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