A benchmarking study of the analysis of non-reinforced structures applied to the structural behavior of domes

This paper presents a benchmarking study of two methodologies used in the analysis of nonreinforced structures: numerical and graphical methods applied to the structural behavior of domes.The structural analysis was performed through the Finite ElementAnalysis softwareABAQUS.The graphical methods are based on the theory of limit analysis and they were carried out through CAD software tools Pro-Engineer andAutoCAD. In order to test both methodologies, they were applied to the structural behavior of the Pantheon in Rome. The results obtained through the numerical methods were compared with Mark & Hutchinson’s results. The graphical analysis seeks to obtain and visualize the line of thrust and the Stability Factor. Results obtained were compared with Lancaster’s results. The aim of the paper is to validate and to compare both methods.