Investigation of the stress-strain state of domical masonry vaults

Abstract

The results of analytical study of stress-strain state of one of the varieties of vaults erected in various function buildings, i.e. domical masonry vaults covering Orthodox churches, are presented in this article. Due to the ongoing restoration of architectural monuments and religious buildings, as well as in connection with the construction of such facilities as Orthodox churches, the study of stress-strain state of masonry arches and vaults has become especially important in recent decades. Despite the rapid development of new building technologies in the construction of temples, use of these new technologies is shown to be limited and focused on the use of traditional materials. The current level of engineering of building structures with the use of software enables to significantly improve the calculation models and to obtain more reliable results, in particular for the structures under consideration. The domical vault considered herein is formed by wall extensions inclined along a given curve, converging in a horizontal crown under rectangular plan or in one point under square plan. The authors of the article have performed calculations of vaults in both linear and nonlinear formulations, with the results thereunder the forces and deformations of vaults have been analyzed. As a result profiles of vertical pressures and lateral pressures of the vault mounting groups, isopoles of principal stresses, vertical displacements, bending moments and normal forces were calculated.