Abstract:
Stupas of Sri Lanka stand as proud examples for the engineering excellence of ancient
Sri Lanka. Dematamal Viharaya at Butthala is one of the oldest stupas in Sri Lanka built in the 2nd
Century BC which is a, 19m tall non-plastered brick structure.
This stupa has developed cracks since 1998. Cracks have initiated from the pesawalalu and propagate
to the top of the dome. The research covered in this report is aimed at the identification of the
A comprehensive study was carried out to identify the possible causes for the cracks which may be
due to self weight and shape of the stupa, expansive nature of soil, arch action induced due to
separation of old and modern masonry. Experiments were done to assess the expansive nature of the
soil and a Finite element analysis was carried out using the Finite element software SAP2000.
The results revealed that the possible cause may be the arch action induced due to separation of old
and modern masonry.
Citation:
Jayasinghe, M.T.R., Paskaran, S., Perera, T.M., & Kumara, D. (2011). Assessing the cracks developed in Dematamal Viharaya, Butthala. In N. Ratnayake (Ed.), Proceedings of the Civil Engineering Research for Industry Symposium 2011 (pp. 49-53). Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa.
