Principal Investigator John Ochsendorf
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/masonry/interactiveThrust/
Thrust lines are used to clearly visualize the forces within the masonry and to predict possible collapse modes. The models are interactive and parametric to explore the relation between the different geometrical parameters and the possible equilibrium conditions. Collapse mechanism analyses are determined by combining kinematics and statics. Complex three-dimensional problems are analyzed using the same methods. We present a series of analysis tools that are fast and easy to use, but at the same time rigorous and highly accurate.
InteractiveTHRUST is a project started in Block's SMArchS thesis at MIT under supervision of Prof. John Ochsendorf, and presents a new methodology to create structural analysis tools based on limit state analysis for vaulted masonry buildings. Thrust lines are used to visualize the forces within the masonry and to predict possible collapse modes.
The project presents a series of analytical tools that are fast and easy to use in real time, but at the same time rigorous and highly accurate. The models are interactive and parametric to explore relationships between building geometry and possible equilibrium conditions in real time. Collapse analysis due to applied displacements is determined by combining kinematics and statics.