Force Analysis of Masonry Cave-Dwelling Structure Based on Elastic Center Method

Abstract

The cave dwelling is one of the most typical traditional dwellings and green building forms in the Loess Plateau of Northern Shaanxi. The construction of the cave dwelling was built only based on the experience passed down by predecessors, without the guidance of formal design theories and calculation methods, and the overall safety of the cave-dwelling structure needs to be solved urgently. To make the mechanical analysis model closer to the actual force of the masonry cave dwelling, it is proposed to simplify the arch ring in the masonry cave-dwelling structure into an unhinged arch mechanical calculation model. Applying the theory of elastic center to the force method calculation in structural mechanics, the force of the cave-dwelling structure is analyzed and compared with the force results of the three-hinged arch calculation model, so as to determine the correctness and reliability of the calculation diagram of the unhinged arch. The conclusions indicate it is correct and reliable to use the unhinged arch calculation model, which is closer to the actual force situation, to calculate the forces of the arch rings in masonry cave dwellings, and both the three-hinged arch and unhinged arch models are feasible to be applied to the mechanical analysis of the arch rings. The unhinged arch calculation model is more reliable and safer in the design and calculation of the cave-dwelling leg components compared with the three-hinged arch calculation model because it considers the bending moment at the arch foot support. The research results can be used to improve the structural design data of the cave dwelling and provide theoretical guidance for the construction, repair, and protection of the cave dwelling.