Anjali Mehrotra

Anjali Mehrotra
Arup

PhD

About

29
Publications
9,201
Reads
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335
Citations
Additional affiliations
April 2021 - January 2023
Delft University of Technology
Position
  • Assistant Professor
February 2020 - January 2021
University of Minho
Position
  • PostDoc Position
April 2019 - September 2019
University of California, Berkeley
Position
  • PostDoc Position
Education
October 2014 - November 2018
University of Cambridge
Field of study
  • Engineering
September 2009 - June 2013
Princeton University
Field of study
  • Civil Engineering

Publications

Publications (29)
Article
Full-text available
The assessment of the seismic performance of unreinforced masonry cross-vaults is still a challenge in numerical analysis, due to complex curved geometries and bond patterns, and uncertainties related to the selection of adequate modeling strategies, including but not limited to that of material properties, damping scheme, and unit/joint idealizati...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Vaults assembled from regolith-based components offer a compelling solution to the need for protective infrastructure in future off-Earth settlements. We have studied the stability and seismic performance of a novel pitched-brick vault geometry, which could shield various assets from radiation or other Space hazards. The dry stone scaffoldless vaul...
Chapter
Full-text available
One of the characteristic features of the city of Utrecht is its extensive system of canals and wharf cellars, whose constructions date back as early as the 1200s, and which are now considered as one of the historical properties of the city. A typical wharf cellar in Utrecht comprises a masonry barrel vault with multi-layered rings for the cellar i...
Article
A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Two-leaf stone masonry walls FE micro-modelling FE macro-modelling, discrete element method Out-of-plane Material properties A B S T R A C T This work compares the ability of different numerical modelling approaches to simulate the out-of-plane behaviour of two-leaf stone masonry walls with different masonry bond con...
Preprint
Full-text available
Vaults assembled from regolith-based components offer a compelling solution to the need for protective infrastructure in future off-Earth settlements. We have studied the stability and seismic performance of a novel pitched-brick vault geometry, which could shield various assets from radiation or other Space hazards. The dry stone scaffoldless vaul...
Article
Full-text available
Failure of tall slender masonry structures during earthquakes often involves partial collapse of the structure well-above ground level. Consequently, the elastic response of the structure needs to be considered, which often requires modal analysis using finite element models-the generation of which can be labour-intensive and time-consuming. This p...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
With the advent of Computer-Aided Design, the design and fabrication of complex free-form shells have become easier to achieve. However, this results in extensive usage of custom-made formworks for the production of shell components and falseworks which provide support for the shell during the construction process. Therefore, a modular design metho...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Unreinforced masonry façades are specifically vulnerable to seismic actions. Their weak connectivity with adjacent structural members results in their detachment during an earthquake, thus, forming local collapse mechanisms which exhibit one-sided rocking motion. Such mechanisms can accommodate considerable displacements before collapsing/overturni...
Article
Full-text available
The present work aims to expand the knowledge of the behaviour of masonry corners, which are capital to obtain an integral seismic response in masonry buildings. In particular, the influence of the seismic load orientation (from π/4 to π/2) is investigated experimentally, numerically and analytically. Both units and interfaces have been subjected t...
Article
Full-text available
Unreinforced masonry structures, particularly façade walls, are seismically vulnerable due to their weak connections with adjacent walls, floors, and/or roofs. During an earthquake, such walls formulate local mechanisms prone to out-of-plane collapse. This behavior has been largely investigated using classical rocking theory, which assumes the stru...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Masonry structures have been observed to display a high vulnerability to failure under seismic action. This stems from the fact that their structural configurations usually lack adequate connections among the distinct elements, resulting in the formation of local mechanisms experiencing Out-Of-Plane (OOP) collapse. In this context, rocking dynamics...
Article
Full-text available
This paper presents a user-friendly, CAD-interfaced methodology for the rapid seismic assessment of historic masonry structures. The proposed multi-level procedure consists of a two-step analysis that combines upper bound limit analysis with non-linear dynamic (rocking) analysis to solve for seismic collapse in a computationally-efficient manner. I...
Article
Full-text available
A blind prediction contest was organized to evaluate the ability of different modeling approaches to simulate the seismic rocking response of a full-scale four-column podium structure. The structure was tested on a shake table, and was subjected to two bidirectional ground motion ensembles comprising 100 synthetic records each. This short communica...
Article
Full-text available
Collapse of masonry structures under the influence of seismic action typically takes place via specific failure mechanisms, which have been well-documented. Assuming these mechanisms can be modelled as a kinematic chain, equations of motion can be derived and solved to predict dynamic rocking response. Previous derivations typically assume that the...
Article
The authors characterized earthen wall materials and plasters in a mid-fourteenth-century Hohokam great house at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Arizona) and assessed the seismic susceptibility of its puddled earth walls. Characterization included determining the microstructure, microcomposition, porosity, aggregate mineralogy, and identificat...
Article
This paper presents a new CAD-interfaced analytical tool for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of masonry collapse mechanisms. Utilizing rocking dynamics, the tool derives and solves equations of motion for a broad range of collapse mechanisms, for any user-defined structural geometry. Using as a starting point a digital drawing of the structure in Rh...
Conference Paper
Out-of-plane collapse of walls is perhaps one of the most common modes of failure of masonry structures during earthquakes. Depending on the restraint conditions, walls can fail by developing a hinge along their height, thereby resulting in the formation of a two-block out-of-plane collapse mechanism. Equations of motion derived for this mechanism...
Article
Failure of masonry structures generally occurs via specific collapse mechanisms which have been well documented. Using rocking dynamics, equations of motion have been derived for a number of different failure mechanisms ranging from the simple overturning of a single block to more complicated mechanisms. However, most of the equations of motion der...
Thesis
Earthquakes represent a serious threat to the safety of masonry structures, with failure of these constructions under the influence of seismic action generally occurring via specific, well-documented collapse mechanisms. Analysis and assessment of these collapse mechanisms remains a challenge - while most analysis tools are time-consuming and compu...
Article
This paper studies damage to a few specific monuments in the Kathmandu Valley that were either partially or completely destroyed during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Three of these structures—namely, the Basantapur Column, the Dharahara Tower, and the Narayan Temple—were modeled both analytically using rocking dynamics and computationally using discr...
Conference Paper
Typical out-of-plane collapse mechanisms for unreinforced masonry structures have been well documented. During assessment, these collapse mechanisms are usually evaluated from a static perspective, in order to determine the ground acceleration which would activate the mechanism. As the structure can resist larger ground motions due to dynamic resis...
Conference Paper
The 2015 Nepal Earthquake caused significant localized damage to several historic centers in the Kathmandu Valley. In particular, many cultural heritage structures were either partially or completely destroyed. This pa-per studies the destruction sustained by a few specific monuments in order to clarify the poor performance of certain structures in...
Article
The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, is considered to be a marvel of Mughal construction. While the structure has been studied in great detail from an architectural perspective, limited studies have been conducted with respect to its structural stability. Furthermore, very little i...
Conference Paper
Large displacement response of stone masonry structures often involves the opening and closing of dry joints, or hinging behaviour. Discrete element modelling (DEM) is often used to model large displacement response as it inherently captures the interaction of discrete bodies, and allows for joint contact recognition in a more efficient manner than...
Article
Trajan's Bridge, built by Romans over the Danube River in the first years of the II century, was the first kilometer-long bridge ever built. It was a marvel of Roman engineering, especially taking into account challenging site conditions, available resources and record time for construction. The bridge's still-standing columns are witnesses to its...

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