Method of determining mechanical performance of a structure

1. A method for determining a mechanical performance parameter of a structure comprising a wall, the mechanical performance parameter providing information on resistance of the structure to mechanical stress, wherein damage to the structure has caused the wall to change from an initial shape to a damaged shape, the damaged shape being different from the initial shape in a given area, the method comprising the steps of:

a) making measurements for geometrically characterizing an external surface of the damaged shape in the given area;

b) modeling, by a processor, a test body based on the measurements made, wherein the test body has a general shape complementary to the damaged shape with a surface substantially identical to the external surface of the damaged shape in the given area;

c) modeling, by the processor, a test wall having a portion of a shape substantially identical to the initial shape;

d) calculating, by the processor, a deformed test wall and a stress state related to the deformation, by simulating a relative displacement of the test body and the test wall, the relative displacement being configured to give the deformed test wall an external surface substantially identical to the external surface of the damaged shape characterized in step a); and

e) evaluating the mechanical performance parameter of the structure using the deformed test wall obtained in step d) thereby assessing the stress state and extent of the damage caused to the structure.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the evaluation of step e) comprises calculating deformation of the deformed test wall obtained in step d) under the effect of an increasingly intense mechanical stress, wherein the mechanical performance parameter is an intensity at which a rupture or loss of stiffness of the deformed test wall is detected.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the increasingly intense mechanical stress results from applying increasing internal pressure on the deformed test wall, wherein the test wall modeled in step c) is supplemented with missing portions in order to close off said test wall, and wherein the mechanical performance parameter is a pressure at which bursting of the deformed test wall due to the applied internal pressure is detected.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating deformation of the test wall in step d) and evaluating mechanical performance of the deformed test wall in step e) comprise applying a finite element method, and wherein modeling the test body and the test wall in steps b) and c) comprises a discretization into finite elements.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating deformation of the test wall in step d) and evaluating mechanical performance of the deformed test wall in step e) use an elasto-plastic deformation model of the test wall.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, for calculating deformation of the test wall in step d), the surface of the test body substantially identical to the external surface of the damaged shape is non-deformable.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein, for calculating deformation of the test wall in step d), the relative displacement of the test body and the test wall comprises a decrease and then an increase in the distance between the test body and the test wall, to take into account a phenomenon of elastic rebound of the test wall.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein, for calculating deformation of the test wall in step d), the relative displacement of the test body and the test wall occurs in a direction which intercepts the test wall in the given area at an incidence substantially orthogonal to an external surface of the initial shape.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurements made in step a) further comprise measurements of a thickness of the damaged shape at a plurality of locations in the given area, the thickness measurements being used to correct the thickness of the deformed test wall obtained by the calculation of step d), such that the deformed test wall has a thickness substantially identical to the thickness of the damaged shape in said plurality of locations.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurements made in step a) for geometrically characterizing the damaged shape comprise one or more types of measurements from among the group consisting of: laser beam triangulation, manual readings, photogrammetry, and ultrasound probing.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program comprises one or more sequences of instructions accessible to a processor for determining a mechanical performance parameter of a structure comprising a wall, the mechanical performance paremeter providing information on resistance of the structure to mechanical stress, wherein damage to the structure has caused the wall to change from an initial shape to a damaged shape, the damaged shape being different from the initial shape in a given area,

wherein said instructions, when run by the processor fed with data comprising measurement results for geometrically characterizing the damaged shape in the given area, cause the processor to carry out steps of:

modeling a test body based on the measurements made, wherein the test body has a general shape complementary to the damaged shape with a surface substantially identical to the external surface of the damaged shape in the given area;

modeling a test wall having a portion of a shape substantially identical to the initial shape;

calculating a deformed test wall and a stress state related to the deformation, by simulating a relative displacement of the test body and the test wall, the relative displacement being configured to give the deformed test wall an external surface substantially identical to the external surface of the damaged shape; and

evaluating the mechanical performance parameter of the structure using the deformed test wall obtained in the calculation step, thereby assessing the stress state and extent of the damage caused to the structure.