Assessment of the Structural Response of Masonry Cross Vaults

Cross vaults have been used extensively in the roofing of medieval buildings. Knowledge of the behaviour of cross vaults under load is fundamental for the planning of structurally compatible and economic conservation programmes. A method is presented here to assess their safety under various loading...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Strain 2002-08, Vol.38 (3), p.119-127
Main Authors: Theodossopoulos, D., Sinha, B. P., Usmani, A. S., Macdonald, A. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abutments
Applied sciences
Buildings. Public works
Computation methods. Tables. Charts
conservation
cross vaults
Exact sciences and technology
historic structures
Holyrood Abbey
masonry
Structural analysis. Stresses
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Cross vaults have been used extensively in the roofing of medieval buildings. Knowledge of the behaviour of cross vaults under load is fundamental for the planning of structurally compatible and economic conservation programmes. A method is presented here to assess their safety under various loading conditions. A 1/4‐scale model was built in wood, representing an aisle vault of the partially collapsed Abbey Church of Holyrood in Edinburgh. The structure was loaded with dead weight and deformations and strains were recorded. Subsequently, the abutments were allowed to move progressively to cause the collapse of the vault. Finite element modelling was employed to interpret the experimental pattern, confirming the collapse of the vault was due to the development of hinges along the transverse vertex and the front abutments and membrane cracks at the back groins.
ISSN:0039-2103
1475-1305
DOI:10.1046/j.0039-2103.2002.00021.x