The digital survey and structural behaviour of church of St. Astvazazin in Areni, Armenia

Abstract

The assessment of the seismic behavior of historic constructions should start from a thorough historical study of the building, including a precise and accurate e geometric survey and the mechanical characterization of the materials. In these years the geometric survey has improved more and more, thanks to the development of new technologies such as the digital photogrammetry, which can provide the exact geometry of the product. The correct geometry, together with the information concerning the sequence of transformations suffered by the building, provides a reliable representation of the construction. Finally, the mechanical characterization of the materials allows to model the behavior of the structure both in its elastic and inelastic range. This paper presents a study made on the church of Areni (Church of Sant'Astvazazin in Areni, Armenia), which was built in 1321 by the architect Momik. After having carried out an accurate historical research, a geometrical survey has been made by combining the techniques of photogrammetry and laser scanner; the reconstruction of the 3D geometrical model allowed to obtain the Finite Element model to use for the structural analysis. Two types of analyses were carried out: a static (pushover) and a dynamic (time history) one. The obtained results have been analyzed and compared with the historical documentation about of the damages suffered by the church due to the last earthquake.