Assessment of structural damage in historical constructions using numerical models : the case of the church of the Poblet Monastery

Abstract

This paper presents the assessment of the structural damage and stability of the church of the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Spain. The structure presents damage affecting mostly the main nave and lateral aisles, including cracking in the vaults and significant deformation in the clerestory walls and the barrel vault of the main nave. Following the historical survey, a sophisticated finite element model was used for the structural analysis of a damaged bay of the church. The 3D model was developed on the basis of the results of a terrestrial laser-scanning survey. In this way, the current deformed state of the structure was taken into consideration in the performed analyses. A continuum damage model allowed a realistic representation of the masonry behavior under tension and compression, which is a key factor for the assessment of masonry structures. The simulation of past reported or possible actions i.e. earthquakes, structural alterations and settlements provided valuable information on the causes of the present deformation and damage of the church. The influence of the material parameters in the structural response was evaluated with a detailed parametrical analysis. The paper ends with the graphic statics solution for the structure and a comparison with the equivalent finite element analysis outcomes