Seismic Modelling of a Masonry Monument Including the Interaction of the Vaults, Longitudinal Walls and Soil

The efficient preservation of masonry monuments presents several challenges given that they are characterized by much larger uncertainties than ordinary buildings and conventional analysis tools may fail in providing a reliable characterization of their structural behavior. A complete understanding of the structural behavior of masonry monuments requires integration of historical, topographical, structural, and geotechnical information. From 2010, an interdisciplinary committee has been established to study the Cathedral of Modena, a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture in Italy. Great effort has been devoted to the assessment of the structural health of the Cathedral, revealing that the vaults are the most vulnerable components, and that the dynamic response may be significantly affected by differential soil properties at the supports. The Discrete Element Method provides a useful numerical tool to assess the dynamic behavior of masonry buildings, though previous work has been primarily focused on the structural response with less attention devoted to soil-structure interaction. In this study, a simplified modeling technique is employed to account for soil structure interaction within the DEM framework. More specifically, a specific cross section of the Cathedral, characterized by different soil properties at the supports and the absence of tie-rods, is studied. The results indicate the importance of the soil effects on the structural response.