Direct Numerical Analysis of Historical Structures Represented by Point Clouds

Abstract

An important field in cultural heritage preservation is the study of the mechanical behavior of historical structures. As there are no computer models available for these objects, the corresponding simulation models are usually derived from point clouds that are recorded by means of digital shape measurement techniques. This contribution demonstrates a method that allows for the direct numerical analysis of structures represented by point clouds. In contrast to standard measurement-to-analysis techniques, the method does not require the recovery of a geometric model or the generation of a boundary conforming finite element mesh. This allows for significant simplifications in the complete analysis procedure. We demonstrate by a numerical example how the method can be used to compute mechanical stresses in a historical building.