Geometry of the crack-free spherical masonry dome

István Sajtos, Orsolya Gáspár, András Sipos

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Spherical masonry domes are attractive elements of architectural heritage. The often recognizable development of cracks in the meridional direction challenged master builders and later architects and engineers to understand the structural behavior of domes. Membrane theory of shells suggests, that due to the low tensile capacity of masonry, cracks at the lower portion of a hemispherical dome, with constant thickness subjected to its self-weight, are inevitable, as the hoop stresses change sign (from compression to tension). Disregarding the limited tensile capacity of masonry, based on a no-tension material model, the extensive literature of the topic offers various theoretical solutions to this problem. These can be classified in the following way: a) the geometry of the middle surface can be altered (resulting non-spherical dome), b) a thrust surface, different from the mid-surface, can be obtained still within the dome section, c) retaining the spherical middle surface as membrane surface, varying thickness functions can be defined, resulting crack-free domes. Present paper offers an extension to the last approach. A thickness function is defined, which guarantees compression everywhere or at least zero hoop stresses from top to bottom.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE
EditorsCarlos Lazaro, Kai-Uwe Bletzinger, Eugenio Onate
PublisherInternational Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering
Pages1489-1496
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9788412110104
StatePublished - 2019
EventIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE - Barcelona, Spain
Duration: Oct 7 2019Oct 10 2019

Publication series

NameIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE

Conference

ConferenceIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE
Country/TerritorySpain
CityBarcelona
Period10/7/1910/10/19

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Building and Construction

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