Pushover analysis of the Triumphal Arch of the Church of Andahuaylillas, Peru: Effect of Side and Transverse walls

Niharika Tambe, Advised by Professor Renato Perucchio

Monday, April 10, 2017
1:00 p.m.
Hopeman 224

Saint Peter Apostle church of Andahuaylillas near Cusco, Peru is a cultural heritage monument built with adobe and bricks, in the early 17^th century. Conceived by Jesuits, its harmonious form and splendid interior combine to make it one of the region’s most beautiful Baroque churches. As such, the church has a high historical and religious value. This building consists of a main nave, presbytery, six chapels and a bell tower with a triumphal arch separating the main nave from the presbytery. The adobe and brick masonry form the load bearing structure of the triumphal arch.

The church is located in earthquake-prone zone and has been subjected to several restorations over the years. The structural behavior of this church has been the focus of a series of recent studies. The present work aims to continue the analysis of the triumphal arch subjected to lateral acceleration, focusing on evaluating how the presence of lateral and transverse walls affects the structural capacity of the triumphal arch with and without the contribution of brick arch. The numerical analysis follows a pushover procedure based on 2D and 3D finite element models implemented in Abaqus CAE/Explicit. Adobe and bricks are modelled as concrete damaged plasticity material and the necessary parameters are derived from the published experimental results and an ad hoc application of the Taguchi method. Results indicate that the lateral walls (i.e., the walls in the plane of the arch) contribute substantially to the lateral capacity and their contribution is enhanced by the presence of brick material in the arch intrados. Contrary to the expectations, the transverse walls, i.e., the walls of the nave and of the adjacent chapels which lie on the planes perpendicular to the triumphal arch, contribute negatively to the lateral capacity.