4.7 Article

High-Resolution 3D FEM Stability Analysis of the Sabereebi Cave Monastery, Georgia

Journal

ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING
Volume 55, Issue 8, Pages 5139-5162

Publisher

SPRINGER WIEN
DOI: 10.1007/s00603-022-02858-z

Keywords

Slope stability; Soft rock; Static analysis; Point cloud processing; 3D FEM; Geoarchaeology

Funding

  1. National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia
  2. Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Italy
  3. University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy

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This study assesses the static stability of the artificial Sabereebi Cave Monastery in Georgia and presents a strategy to process point cloud data, turning it into high-resolution CAD models. The study explores various geomechanical scenarios using static elasto-plastic finite element stability models.
This study assesses the static stability of the artificial Sabereebi Cave Monastery southeast of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. The cliff into which these Georgian-Orthodox caverns, chapels, and churches were carved consists of a five-layered sequence of weak sedimentary rock-all of which bear a considerable failure potential and, consequently, pose the challenge of preservation to geologists, engineers, and archaeologists. In the first part of this study, we present a strategy to process point cloud data from drone photogrammetry as well as from laser scanners acquired in- and outside the caves into high-resolution CAD objects that can be used for numerical modeling ranging from macro- to micro-scale. In the second part, we explore four distinct series of static elasto-plastic finite element stability models featuring different levels of detail, each of which focuses on specific geomechanical scenarios such as classic landsliding due to overburden, deformation of architectural features as a result of stress concentration, material response to weathering, and pillar failure due to vertical load. With this bipartite approach, the study serves as a comprehensive 3D stability assessment of the Sabereebi Cave Monastery on the one hand; on the other hand, the established procedure should serve as a pilot scheme, which could be adapted to different sites in the future combining non-invasive and relatively cost-efficient assessment methods, data processing and hazard estimation.

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