Foundation settlements of English cathedrals

In this thesis, the structural and geotechnical components that contribute to the settlement of English cathedrals are analyzed. The stress at the base of tower and nave piers was found and compared to the allowable bearing capacity. The expected settlement range of each cathedral's tower and nave piers was calculated by analyzing the site's soil conditions. The average settlement expected for a central tower pier not founded on bedrock is between 14 and 21 cm, which is greater than the average expected settlement of a nave pier, 7cm. An average differential settlement between the nave and tower piers expected is between 7 and 14 cm, which can contribute to cracking in the masonry or even structural failures. Less differential settlement will occur in areas with firmer soil than with deep clay.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Temco, Zoe (Zoe Robin)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• John Ochsendorf and Herbert Einstein.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111529

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/111529