As a valuable part of the cultural heritage, masonry structures are of interest to engineers, architects,

archaeologists, legal entities responsible for their maintenance, and another long array of subjects
directly and indirectly involved in their conservation. Arches and vaults are among the most diffuse
systems to cover rooms of diverse area and geometry in historical buildings. Therefore, their study is
important to understand if any reparation is necessary to extend their “life/ serviceability” and
guarantee their safety/stability and the fulfillment of their destination of use/ function.

The dimensioning of vaulted systems and the study of their structural behavior date back to the past,
when the Romans built the first monumental structures covered with vaults, such as the colossal Basilica
of Maxentius in Rome. In that times and long afterward, proportional rules represented the only way to
establish the proper shape and dimension of arches and vaults [DeMatteis]. The fact that such structures
are still standing proves that they are resistant-by-shape structures [Gaet/Lour], being able to withstand
the current external loads “by virtue of their shape and it is possible to state that form and structure are
coincident” [D’Altri]. Practical construction rules represented the only tool to guarantee the stability of
vaulted systems from the Middle Ages with Villard de Honnecourt, whose notebooks contain studies on
arches and the Fractional Method [paper brutto], to geometrical dimensional concepts of some Masters
of the Late Gothic Age [Gaetani/Louren], passing through the Renaissance with the mathematical works
of Alberti and the first considerations on the arches’ statics of Da Vinci. It is only since the late 17 th and
18th century that new graphical methods aiming at evaluating the arch stability started to flank the long-
established practical rules. That is the case of the studies of Hooke and Gregory that introduced the
concept of the inverted catenary and its mathematical formulation of Bernoulli, Huygens and Leibniz,
and its application at the hands of Poleni for the dome of St. Peter in Rome or the later reinterpretation
of Gaudì in the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Besides, another valuable graphical theory was De la Hire’s
wedge theory and graphical method, by which the arch is reconducted to a line (1D problem). In the
same years Couplet, Coulomb and Mascheroni moved a step forward in the graphical studies of the
equilibrium of vaults, but still tackling the problem from a 1D standpoint. In the 19 th century, Navier-
Mèry introduced the theory of elasticity, which represented an alternative to the theories developed
until then [Benvenuti91]. Furthermore, the concept of the thrust line emerged, and the graphic statics
was widely employed to analyze vaults and domes, as reviewed in Huerta [59]. At any rate, it was only
in the 20th century with the limit analysis of Heymann [ ] and Livesly [ ], firstly developed for masonry
constructions and then conveniently applied to masonry vaults, that all the previous scientific research
aimed to study the stability of arches and vaults, found robust theoretical foundations. The limit analysis
is a rough but engineering efficient tool to assess respectively the safety of masonry structures
composed of macroblocks through the static approach based on the lower-bound (or safe) theorem,
and the collapse through the kinematic approach based on the upper-bound theorem (kinematic limit
analysis). D’Altri et al. [ ] mention a wide range of approaches based on the limit analysis to study
vaulted systems, with a predominance of solutions based on the lower-bound theorem.

It is in the framework of the safe theorem (along with the graphic statics) that emerge the more recent
solutions such as the O’Dwyer’s tridimensional approach to the thrust line [99 Roca], the funicular
model of Roca 269, the extension of Block et. Al [54-56 Tralli], the real-time limit analysis or the TNA
(thrust network analysis) of Block and Ochesendorf 271, the 3D equilibrium analysis based on funicular
networks of Andreu at al. [57,58 Tralli],. [77 Roca], and many others that represent precious
developments on the base of the pioneering solutions of the monodimensional thrust line, graphics
methods, and limit analyses.
In contrast to the limit analysis that assumes masonry composing vaults and arches as rigid blocks with
infinite strength compression and zero tension, there are several material laws in the framework of
continuum mechanics. Among others, it is worth mentioning the no-tension stress criteria
[DiPasquale1982], the masonry-like material [Zani2018], and other constitutive laws based on the
plasticity theory [Dragon1979, Loure1996, Loure 1998] or damage mechanics [[Løland 1980, Papa1996,
Berto2002], for which the reader is referred to [RocaReview] for a more detailed examination. Finally,
the introduction of the maximum modulus eccentricities surface, which constitutes the extension of the
arches’ line of trust to vaults, is another notable advancement within the continuum mechanics
[Lucchesi].

To date, in spite of the vast range of methods available from the scientific literature for the study of the
vaults, they can be traced back to two main methods. The first is based on the iterative process of step-
by-step analyses; the second leverages on the limit analysis and its further developments and can be
eventually aided by graphic statics methods such as the TNA. Apart from the specificity of each method,
the underpinning difference is that the limit analysis is only suitable for the evaluation of limit states, but
it does not provide any information on the other tensional states and related cracks patterns and
deformations. On the contrary, approaches based on stresses and strains are capable of adequately
representing the current situation. For both approaches, the geometry of the structure and its accurate
reproduction into a structural model is of paramount importance.

Not only this finding is demonstrated by the fact that ancient vaulted structures built through
geometrical considerations have stood the test of time precisely by virtue of their shape, but it is also
corroborated by modern structural analyses . Being the geometry crucial to obtain reliable models, in
the case of shape-resistant structures, it becomes mandatory to build a model as if it were/ was a
faithful replica of the real geometry, also including local deviations from a possible ideal shape. In this
context, the phase of the geometry acquisition should be paid attention to. To this end, an accurate
geometric survey should be performed by employing the TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) or close-range
stereo photogrammetry, which are extensively proven to be effective to obtain 3d point clouds [art Fra].
L. Schueremans et al. emphasize the influence of a rigorous survey to draw the thrust lines to assess the
stability of the vault of the main nave of Saint-Jacobs church in Belgium according to the current
loadings, and to evaluate the necessity to deploy consolidation interventions.

Carini & Genna [42] underline the key role played by the geometrical imperfections within the overall
geometry of the vault’s model with relation to its stability and show that their inclusion leads to a
change in the failure mechanism and a reduction of the collapse load with respect to the model with an
ideally perfect shape. Thus, the comparative analysis between diverse models evidences the importance
of the correct definition of the shape for resistant-by-shape structures. Finally, from this paper it also
emerges that schematizing the vaulted systems through a 3D geometry instead of a single 2D
representative section is fundamental to correctly evaluate the structural response. In fact, in the case
under study the major imperfections which proved to be relevant in the calculation of the collapse load
stood in the non-linearity of the generator of the vault. Thus, exclusively a 3D model could
appreciate/include them.

The present paper falls within the framework of the stress and strain approaches with the 3D FE
modeling of a pavilion vault (with lunettes). This work aims at highlighting the importance of considering
the real shape of the depressed vault to diagnose the origin of the current crack pattern, which is a
cause of concern mostly due to the foreseen rehabilitation/ refunctionalization of the rooms above. The
linear analysis carried out in the present context is to be meant as a preliminary study of the vault to be
further investigated in the future by means of nonlinear analyses. At any rate, the stresses distribution
resulting from the linear analysis performed with the real-shape model is by itself promising since the
tension peaks show a good correspondence with the areas of the vault furrowed by cracks. In the
following sections, a low-rise vault is analyzed with the aid of a structural model with a geometry
consistent with reality.

The diagnosis also benefits from information gathered from the historical and comparative analysis, as
well as data collected through in-situ tests…

Non si dice niente di altre persone che hanno adottato una metodologia che integrasse varie fonti di
conoscenza ai fini diagnostici?