Abstract
Aim of this chapter is the study of Statics of Gothic cathedrals, splendid achievements of engineering and architecture of the Middle Age. Some brief notes give information about times and places of their construction and about the structural elements constituting their stone skeleton. Two main static problems are then discussed: valuation of the wind strength of the whole cathedral structure and analysis of the slender piers instability. The critical wind velocity for a model similar to the cathedral Amiens is determined by direct application of the Limit Analysis, via the kinematical approach. The collapse occurred at the cathedral of Beauvais in the past 1284 is studied in the second part of the chapter. This failure is generally attributed to the effects of foundations settlements. The chapter, conversely, inquires on the possibility that the collapse could be due to piers instability, on account of their exceptional height and slenderness. The question is examined considering the effects of the mortar creep. It is shown that the instability of the slender masonry piers, taking into account the eccentricities of the axial loads and the mortars creep, could be really considered responsible of the 1284 failure.
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Como, M. (2017). Gothic Cathedrals. In: Statics of Historic Masonry Constructions. Springer Series in Solid and Structural Mechanics, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54738-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54738-1_10
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