Stability and load-bearing capacity assessment of a deformed multi-span masonry bridge using the PRD method

Iannuzzo A., Van Mele T. and Block P.
International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation - JMRI
2021
doi: 10.1504/IJMRI.2021.10038415

In 1966, Jacques Heyman provided a rigorous base for applying Limit Analysis to masonry structures. Most of the computational approaches based on his theory rely on Safe Theorem and can tackle kinematical problems only for simple geometries. So far, no computational tools have been developed to directly address the Kinematical Problem for generic structures taking into account different mechanical scenarios. With this aim, compas_prd, a new computational, open-source, Python-based tool has been developed. It is based on the Piecewise Rigid Displacement (PRD) method, which couples the Kinematical Problem (KP) with the Equilibrium Problem (EP), allowing the search for a mechanism and its corresponding internal stress states even in large displacements. Both KP and EP are framed as linear programming problems, thus, allowing fast computational solving. In this paper, looking at an approximate cross-section of a masonry bridge, different mechanical scenarios are addressed to outline the abilities of compas_prd.