On the Dynamics of Masonry Church: Discontinuous and Continuous Approaches

In a period characterized by the urgent need of ensuring an adequate safety level for the existing buildings according to the present standard codes, the stability evaluation of masonry structures against hazard events has become even more a current challenge. Although the high versatility and durability of masonry, evident difficulties in the structural assessment have been induced by factors such as lack of information in the materials’ properties, irregular geometries, time ageing. To tackle this problem, many modelling techniques in structural analysis have developed, thanks to many scientific studies available in literature. Nevertheless, computational time, discretization procedure, masonry behaviour, contact surface characteristics, loading application, the suitability of geometry complexity, could represent the negative principal aspects. Therefore, the most innovative modelling approaches are critically discussed in this paper. In particular, the aim of this research is to compare the efficiency of a Finite Element (continuous) Method and a Distinct Element (discontinuous) one, both applied for the numerical simulation under lateral loading conditions of a case study, severally damaged by the 2016 Central Italy earthquake. The continuous method is analysed with the Midas FEA NX©. In parallel, the discontinuous methods are studied with 3DEC© and LMGC90© software, where, in turn, different contact conditions are employed. Finally, from this investigation, the main Pros and Cons are highlighted for each method. In detail, the reliability of the discontinuous method could be observed in the accuracy of the failures pattern replicating. On the other hand, the continuous method should allow a fast procedure in the model setting, then remaining as a solution for a preliminary study on the dynamics of the structure.