Influence of geometry on the collapse of masonry arches under horizontal loading - Meccanica

The study examines how geometry influences the collapse of masonry arches under horizontal loading, using span, rise, and thickness ranges meant to reflect realistic structures while avoiding extreme configurations. It models arch behavior using classical limit analysis assumptions attributed to Heyman: masonry has no tensile strength, unlimited compressive strength, and sliding between blocks is prevented by friction. Deformations are treated as concentrated at discrete hinge-like interfaces between rigid blocks. Collapse is defined through the formation of a kinematically admissible failure mechanism, identified via the kinematic theorem where external work equals internal work, yielding an upper bound to the collapse load multiplier. The paper sets up a post-failure stage where the mechanism evolves purely geometrically until reaching terminal configurations.