A structural quantitative safety evaluation method for ancient masonry brick-vault halls

The conservation of ancient buildings is an urgent and significant task; however, the structural conservation for brick-vault halls, a unique type of ancient masonry building, remains inadequate. This study systematically developed a structural quantitative safety evaluation method tailored to these structures, integrating finite element analysis with an improved analytic hierarchy process (iAHP). First, the structural features and construction techniques of brick-vault halls were analyzed to establish a foundational understanding of their structural behavior. Next, we compared two common methods in finite element simulation analysis and demonstrated that the changing elastic modulus method is preferable. Based on this method, the importance coefficients of the structural components of a typical brick-vault hall were determined. Finally, a comprehensive structural quantitative safety evaluation method was established and applied. The evaluation results indicated that the structural safety level of the brick-vault hall of Kaiyuan Temple is Level 2, signifying moderately safe. This method enhances the objectivity of structural assessments by replacing traditional expert scoring with a computationally derived importance coefficient system. The proposed evaluation framework has been successfully applied to multiple brick-vault halls, demonstrating its adaptability and accuracy, with potential applications for the preventive conservation of other types of masonry heritage.