Limit state approach for structurally informed design of shells composed of interlocking blocks

Elham Mousavian*, Claudia Casapulla

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

This work demonstrates an extension of limit analysis with concave model to design 3D assemblages of dry jointed interlocking rigid blocks with orthotropic sliding resistance. A digital framework is developed to design and analyse the structural feasibility of assemblages of interlocking blocks. The sliding resistance is defined as a function of the geometric properties of the interlocking interface. Adjusting the geometric parameters, designers can modify the infeasible models to be stable. The limit states are governed by two types of failure planes including dry joints and fracture strips between the locks and the main body of the block. These planes are merged and simplified to an orthotropic interface between two blocks. Then, the interface is abstracted to a number of point contact points distributed on lock centrelines, at which the stress resultants are computed by solving the equilibrium problem under proper sliding constraints. Applying this method, the limit conditions for several single layer shells with hexahedral units assembled with stack bond are illustrated.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE
EditorsCarlos Lazaro, Kai-Uwe Bletzinger, Eugenio Onate
PublisherInternational Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering
Pages1610-1617
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9788412110104
Publication statusPublished - 7 Oct 2019
EventIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE - Barcelona, Spain
Duration: 7 Oct 201910 Oct 2019

Publication series

Name Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia
ISSN (Electronic)2518-6582

Conference

ConferenceIASS Symposium 2019 - 60th Anniversary Symposium of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures; Structural Membranes 2019 - 9th International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures, FORM and FORCE
Country/TerritorySpain
CityBarcelona
Period7/10/1910/10/19

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Concave limit analysis
  • Interlocking blocks
  • Non-isotropic sliding resistance
  • Structurally informed computer aided design

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