Minimum Uplift Horizontal Acceleration of the Single-Nave Barrel Vault and the Rocking Frame

Abstract

This paper examines and compares the minimum horizontal acceleration that is needed to initiate uplift of the single-nave barrel vault and of the rocking frame which are the two most common masonry structural systems used to bridge a span. The paper concludes that regardless of the direction of the rupture of the buttresses, the single-nave barrel vault uplifts with a seismic coefficient, ε, that is always smaller than the slenderness of the buttresses, s=b/h. In contrast, the rocking frame always uplifts with a seismic coefficient, ε=b/h, regardless of the mass of its prismatic epistyle; therefore, the rocking frame has a superior seismic performance than the single-nave barrel vault.