https://doi.org/10.4322/2026360255502
Anushka Mukherjee (a), Andrei Farcasiu (b), Douglas La Prairie (c), Tom Morrison (d), Bora Pulatsu (e)
(a) Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(b) Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(c) Strake Engineering, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
(d) Heritage Standing Inc., Fredericton, New Brun
ABSTRACT
This research presents computational investigations to predict the structural behaviour of a historic
masonry building located in St. John’s, NL, Canada. The study focuses on evaluating the building’s
response to wind loading through a multilevel computational modelling framework. The process begins with
documenting the building, where principal geometrical features, the construction morphology of the
masonry walls, and the sizes and locations of openings (e.g., doors and windows) are obtained using
photogrammetry. Continuum-based simulations (also known as macro-modelling) are performed using
standard nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA), in which the geometric properties are taken from the
adopted documentation approach and automatically transferred to the solid shapes. The nonlinear structural
behaviour of the large-scale 3D macro-model is evaluated using the Mohr-Coulomb material model. The
global structural behaviour, as well as the most vulnerable sections of the building, are identified by
leveraging the computational efficiency of macro-modelling. Subsequently, a detailed structural analysis
based on the discrete element method (DEM) is performed. The DEM-based approach represents brickwork
assemblages as a system of discrete blocks in a fully discontinuous setting and simulates the interaction of
masonry units at the contact points. Further insights are gained regarding the detrimental effects of existing
cracks, which can be explicitly represented in the discontinuum-based analysis. The outcomes of this
research highlight the integrated use of continuum and discontinuum-based modelling strategies in
conservation engineering.
Keywords: Historic masonry, computational modelling, continuum analysis, discontinuum analysis,
structural assessment, structural analysis