Abstract

Defining existing geometry of historic masonry structures required for discrete element modelling (DEM) presents a significant challenge. Laser scanning has emerged as a useful method for obtaining point clouds of complex masonry structures. However, processing these point clouds to produce structural models remains largely manual and typically ignores geometry of individual masonry units.

In this presentation, methods of creating 3D gemetric models from laser scanning data suitable for DEM will be highlighted. One method involved manually processing point cloud data in a CAD environment where masonry units were delimited through user input. Another method involved directly processing the point cloud of a masonry surface to automatically generate the corresponding coordinates of blocks comprising the surface. Results from DEM of masonry cross-vaults will also be presented. Cross-vaults were subjected to vertical and lateral support displacments to determine their capacities against collapse.