Mechanical behaviour of a stone masonry bridge assessed using an implicit discrete element method

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different types of static loadings on the mechanical behaviour of a standard arch bridge and a masonry stone bridge in real scale. The mechanical analyses are performed using the Non-Smooth Contact Dynamic method (NSCD) known as an implicit discrete element method. After a brief description of the NSCD method, the stability state analysis is carried out over a classic stone arch in order to demonstrate the efficiency of this numerical method to reveal the diverse collapse mechanisms happening in the masonry structures under several static loading conditions. For the analysis of a real masonry structure, the roman stone bridge of the Pont Julien in Vaucluse (South of France) is studied, based on site measurements, under an academic loading, to show the capacity of the method to take into account heterogeneous loading patterns. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.