A New Methodology for the Structural Analysis of 3D Digitized Cultural Heritage through FEA

Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) is widely used for modelling stress behaviour in anymechanical system. The processing workflow starts from CAD 3D models representing the idealshape of the object to be simulated. Such models are typically made of mathematical elementsdefining its geometrical components. Those are pre-processed before the simulation for creatinga volumetric mesh out of the CAD model. Recently the use of FEA has also been extended tothe simulation of ancient structures and artefacts, revealing significant potentialities for theconservation of Cultural Heritage. Unlike modern mechanical systems, heritage objects areusually altered by the time passed since their original creation, and the representation with aschematic CAD model may introduce an excessive level of approximation leading to wrongsimulation results. In the last two decades, 3D documentation of CH has been developed throughreality-based approaches. However, the related mesh models of the exterior surfaces are notproper for direct use in FEA. Such high-resolution surface meshes has to be converted tovolumetric meshes made of tetrahedral or hexahedral elementary volumes and a limited numberof external and internal nodes. The focus of this paper is on a new method aiming at generatingthe best possible 3D solid representation of a real artefact from its accurate reality-based surfacemodel by reducing its number of nodes of several orders of magnitude while maintaining ageometrical coherence in the order of the measurement uncertainty of the 3D capturing techniqueused. The approach proposed is based on wise use of retopology procedures and a transformationof this retopologized model to a mathematical one made by NURBS surfaces, suitable for beingprocessed by a volumetric mesh generator typically embedded in any standard FEM package.The resulting volumetric mesh allows obtaining FEA of ancient structures, providing a far betteraccurate simulation than those attainable by a rough CAD redrawing of the heritage asset ofinterest. (17) (PDF) A New Methodology for the Structural Analysis of 3D Digitized Cultural Heritage through FEA. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325833167_A_New_Methodology_for_the_Structural_Analysis_of_3D_Digitized_Cultural_Heritage_through_FEA [accessed Oct 25 2022].