Assessment of damage induced in masonry structures by soil subsidence using physical modelling

Luyen Nghiem (1) , Fabrice Emeriault (2, 3) , Marwan Al Heib (1)

1 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques
2 3SR - Laboratoire sols, solides, structures - risques [Grenoble]
3 GéoMécanique

Masonry structures can be deformed by deferred settlement and damaged. This paper presents the experimental results obtained on masonry due to subsidence effects taking soil-structure interaction into account. A new approach is proposed here for the assessment of damage levels based on physical modelling combined with digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The physical model has dimensions of 3*2*1 m with a 1/40 scale factor on geometry, functions under the normal gravity and uses sand as the analogue soil and an assemblage of small wooden pieces for the analogue masonry. A ground settlement profile is applied using a mechanical-electrical jack. In particular, a new indicator is developed for a damage-based performance assessment with particular attention to masonry structures. This indicator enables the location of the damage to be identified and quantified, and can be implemented in numerical models. Guidelines are suggested for efficient damage estimation.

Keywords: MASONRY STRUCTURE; CRACK IDENTIFICATION; DAMAGE ASSESSMENT; PHYSICAL MODELLING; SMALL-SCALE MODEL; DIGITAL CORRELATION IMAGE

Domains: Earth Sciences; Civil Engineering; Géotechnique

Luyen Nghiem, Fabrice Emeriault, Marwan Al Heib. Assessment of damage induced in masonry structures by soil subsidence using physical modelling. 9. International Masonry Conference, Jul 2014, Guimaraes, Portugal. ⟨ineris-01862441⟩