The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses

Thesis: S.M. in Building Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2016.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.)
Other Authors: John A. Ochsendorf.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107867
_version_ 1826201942589702144
author Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.)
author2 John A. Ochsendorf.
author_facet John A. Ochsendorf.
Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.)
author_sort Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.)
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.M. in Building Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2016.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T11:59:25Z
format Thesis
id mit-1721.1/107867
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language eng
last_indexed 2024-09-23T11:59:25Z
publishDate 2017
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/1078672019-04-10T22:52:08Z The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.) John A. Ochsendorf. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture. Architecture. Thesis: S.M. in Building Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2016. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-31). The Roman Pantheon is among the largest unreinforced masonry dome ever built and is an unparalleled example of the construction capabilities of the ancient Romans. As one of the most well-known buildings in the world, its preservation remains important because of its cultural and societal significance, and the methods used to assess the safety of historic masonry structures continue to be developed, particularly for three-dimensional vaulted forms. Through a study of the Roman Pantheon, this thesis compares analytical and experimental results on a 1:100 scale model of the variable thickness, hemispherical dome. The model is created using additive manufacturing for accuracy. This thesis, using a physical scale model, quantifies the safety of the Roman Pantheon against the two most probable causes of collapse (i) deformation of the building geometry and (2) seismic activity. The structural behavior of the model is compared to analytical predictions of (1) spreading supports, simulating leaning walls that result from the dome thrust or settling of the foundations, and (2) tilting, a first-order approximation of horizontal ground acceleration. The experimental tests lead to the formation of a mechanism and collapse due to instability. High-speed imagery captures the observed collapse mechanisms and failure limits. Experimental results are compared to analytical predictions for hemispherical masonry domes. The results of the physical experiment demonstrate the potential for digitally fabricated scale models in approximating the behavior of three-dimensional structures with complex geometries. The low cost and rapid approach provides a useful method for validating analytical predictions of the limit states and collapse mechanisms of unreinforced masonry structures. by J. William Plunkett. S.M. in Building Technology 2017-04-05T16:00:48Z 2017-04-05T16:00:48Z 2016 2016 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107867 976389981 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 31 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Architecture.
Plunkett, J. William (James William, Jr.)
The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title_full The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title_fullStr The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title_full_unstemmed The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title_short The Roman Pantheon : scale-model collapse analyses
title_sort roman pantheon scale model collapse analyses
topic Architecture.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107867
work_keys_str_mv AT plunkettjwilliamjameswilliamjr theromanpantheonscalemodelcollapseanalyses
AT plunkettjwilliamjameswilliamjr romanpantheonscalemodelcollapseanalyses