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This study delves into the structural behavior of 19th-century sail masonry vaults, typical of the #Cagliari area, during different construction phases—without the use of formwork. Our work is pioneering as this aspect of construction, despite its significance, has never been deeply investigated before.

Key contributions include:

- Utilization of a 3D laser scanner point cloud to reconstruct the vault geometry via NURBS.

- Development of a Finite Element (FE) model to simulate the construction process and compare results with standard static analysis.

- Identification of major differences in stress evolution and vertical displacement, shedding light on the importance of the construction method.

A sensitivity analysis was conducted, revealing the critical tensile strength needed for construction without formwork. Our findings indicate that below 0.10 MPa, the vault could not be built safely, marking a new understanding of historical masonry techniques.

If you're working in structural analysis, historical masonry, or construction engineering, this paper is a must-read! ??Access the full paper here:

https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/10.1504/IJMRI.2024.141646

Coauthors: Marco Zucca, Emanuela Reccia, Antonio Cazzani

#StructuralEngineering #MasonryVaults #ConstructionAnalysis #FiniteElementAnalysis #HistoricalStructures #CivilEngineering