Mechanics of masonry vaults: The equilibrium approach

The theory of masonry structures should take into account the essentials of the material "masonry": heterogeneity, good compressive strength, almost no resistance to tension, and a high friction coefficient. Besides, it should be appropriated to the usual structural type of old masonry buildings, i.e., vaulted structures with massive buttresses. Finally, it should consider that cracks are present in most masonry buildings and that these cracks may vary with time. From the end of the seventeenth century a "scientific" theory of vaulted masonry structures has been developed. Professor Heyman has incorporated this "old" theory of masonry structures within the broader frame of modern Limit Analysis. This scientific theory was preceded by another: the traditional "geometrical" theory of the old master builders. Both theories tried to solve the fundamental problem of structural design: to design safe structures, i.e., to understand what makes an structure safe (or unsafe). Both theories arrive to same conclusion: the safety of a masonry structure 0is a matter of geometry. A safe state of equilibrium is achieved through a correct geometry. Both historically and theoretically the "equilibrium approach" is the best approach to the analysis and design of masonry structures.

[1]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  Coulomb's Memoir on Statics: An Essay in the History of Civil Engineering , 1972 .

[2]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  The masonry arch , 1982 .

[3]  Santiago Huerta Fernández La teoría del arco de fábrica: desarrollo histórico , 1996 .

[4]  Santiago Huerta Fernández,et al.  The medieval ‘scientia' of structures: the rules of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón , 2002 .

[5]  S. C. Redshaw,et al.  Plastic Design of Frames. 1. Fundamentals. Sir John Baker and Jacques Heyman. Cambridge University Press. 228 pp. Illustrated. 55s. , 1969, The Aeronautical Journal (1968).

[6]  Jaques Heyman Plastic Design of Frames: Contents , 1971 .

[7]  A. A. Gvozdev The determination of the value of the collapse load for statically indeterminate systems undergoing plastic deformation , 1960 .

[8]  Jacques Heyman Equilibrium of shell structures , 1977 .

[9]  J. Baker,et al.  Plastic Design of Frames: EXAMPLES OF COMPLEX FRAMES , 1969 .

[10]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  Plastic Design of Frames 1 Fundamentals , 1969 .

[11]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  On shell solutions for masonry domes , 1967 .

[12]  Santiago Huerta Fernández,et al.  Stability and consolidation of an ashlar barrel vault with great deformations: the church of Guimarei , 1997 .

[13]  Jacques Heyman Chronic defects in masonry vaults: Sabouret's cracks , 1983 .

[14]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  Structural Analysis: A Historical Approach , 1998 .

[15]  Rev. H. Moseley B.A. L. On a new principle in statics, called the Principle of least Pressure , 1833 .

[16]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  Arches, Vaults and Buttresses: Masonry Structures and Their Engineering , 1997 .

[17]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  The stone skeleton , 1995 .

[18]  William John Macquorn Rankine,et al.  A manual of applied mechanics , 2022 .

[19]  Irving J. Oppenheim,et al.  Limit State Analysis of Masonry Domes , 1989 .

[20]  Jacques Heyman,et al.  POLENI'S PROBLEM. , 1988 .