Numerical modelling of in-plane behaviour of adobe walls

Some tests for material characterization of adobe blocks and adobe masonry have been carried out in universities and laboratories around the world. However, the number of tests is quite limited in comparison with those carried out with other structural materials, such as masonry or reinforced concrete, and even those tests just refers to elastic properties. The results of adobe tests (i.e. compression strength, elasticity modulus, shear strength, etc.), as well as the results of cyclic and dynamic tests on adobe masonry components and small buildings show that the mechanical properties of adobe masonry and the seismic performance of adobe constructions highly depend on the type of soil used for the production of units and mortar. Basic properties, such as elasticity modulus, can have significant variation from one soil type to another. The state-of-the-art for the numerical modelling of unreinforced masonry point to three main approaches: macro-modelling, simplified micro-modelling and detailed micro-modelling. In all three approaches, the use of elastic and inelastic parameters is required. For adobe masonry, the lack of knowledge concerning some of the material properties makes numerical modelling more difficult. In the proposed work, the mechanical properties of the typical adobe masonry in Peru have been calibrated based on a cyclic in-plane test carried out on an adobe wall at the Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). The mechanical parameters calibration and the modelling results of the in-plane behaviour of the adobe wall are presented. Macro-modelling and simplified micro-modelling strategies are used in finite element software with an implicit solution strategy. The results of this work represent the first step for the numerical modelling of the seismic behaviour of adobe constructions

The use of continuum models for analyzing adobe structures

As it is known, the adobe structures have a high seismic vulnerability principally due to the low material strength and sometimes due to the inadequate structural configuration. One way for understanding the seismic behaviour of these structures is by experimental tests. However, those are costly and sometimes not easy to make. An alternative for this is the analysis of adobe structures by numerical tools with the possibility to make parametric studies for understanding the behaviour of different geometrical configurations. In a previous work, some adobe material parameters have been calibrated based on a cyclic in-plane test. In this paper, that work was extended to a numerical modelling of the non-linear dynamic behaviour of an adobe module experimentally tested at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. For this, a continuum model in the finite element program Abaqus/Explicit, was used to represent the adobe masonry as a homogeneous and isotropic material

A Segmentation Transfer Approach for Rigid Models

International audienceIn this paper, we propose using a segmented example model to perform a semantic oriented segmentation of rigid 3D models of the same class (tables, chairs, etc.). For this, we introduce an alignment method that maps the meaningful parts of the models and we develop a novel approach based on random walks to transfer a consistent segmentation from the example to the target model. The example-driven segmentation is fast and entirely automatic. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through multiple results of inter-shape segmentation transfer presented for different classes of rigid models

National Park of American Samoa, Polynesia: A case study of virtualizing environmentalism and development

My Ph.D. research examined the establishment of a National Park in American Samoa by the United States, which administrates this Polynesian territory. The research focused on the possible impacts the protected areas may have on the local communities. At the end of my fieldwork in 2006 and 2007, I concluded that the Park is affecting two pillars of this society: the communal land which is intrinsically associated with the Samoan extended family and its internal organization and the chieftainship organization. In this paper, I argue that the original project for this protected area was based on a virtual construction of both nature and indigenous peoples. Virtual constructions, or attempts to make the practical world align with the world of the conceptual, may lead to strong disjunctions between the initial conservation project and its on-site execution, and thus to a project that does not meet all of its intended objectives. Environmentalism itself, as a vision of the world and a discourse, has been used to construct a virtual reality of what biodiversity conservation and sustainable development should be. These are the issues my paper will address in light of the ethnographic research I conducted in American Samoa. Many contemporary social scientists have recently challenged this environmentalist discourse and the imposition of its view on others. I hope this paper will contribute to this debate

Les Idées du Théâtre

Le projet Les Idées du Théâtre, conçu et dirigé par Marc Vuillermoz, regroupe plus d’une centaine de chercheurs, français et étrangers. Financé par l’ANR (2011-2016), il repose sur le partenariat conclu entre le LLSETI de l’Université de Savoie-Mont Blanc (Chambéry, laboratoire leader), l’ILCEA de Grenoble, le CELEC de Saint-Etienne, le CELLF de Paris IV, et les deux grandes institutions que sont la Bibliothèque Nationale de France et la Biblioteca Nacional de España. Il a pour objectif de me..

Construire un savoir et entrer dans la pratique historienne en débattant en classe

L’objectif de ce travail de recherche produit en Master 2 est de s’interroger sur la pratique du débat scientifique en classe d’histoire pour construire des savoirs historiques. Cette pratique présente-t-elle un intérêt particulier dans la construction du savoir historique par les élèves ? Permet-elle de sortir de la boucle didactique à 5 temps mise en évidence par Nicole Tutiaux-Guillon ? Permet-elle de faire entrer les élèves dans une pratique d’historiens ?Ce travail prend appui sur la pratique du débat par les historiens eux-mêmes pour ensuite rechercher de quelle manière cette pratique peut être transposée en classe d’histoire au collège ou au lycée. On retiendra l’importance du débat pour les historiens qui y confrontent leurs interprétations d’une même situation historique mais aussi leurs méthodes et leurs sources. La pratique de l’écrit tient une place importante voire centrale dans les débats entre historiens. Il y a là une opposition avec nos représentations habituelles du débat qui semble être avant tout un exercice oral. Le débat est un exercice déjà utilisé à l’école sous de multiples formes. Cependant, le débat scientifique est absent des cours d’histoire même si des réflexions sont en cours pour l’y introduire. Le débat constitue un moyen pour explorer des situations historiques, et un outil pour amener les élèves à problématiser des savoirs historiques. On insistera particulièrement sur l’importance de la médiation par l’écrit qui constitue un passage essentiel lors de la mise en place de séance de débat en classe d’histoire