InteractiveTHRUST is a project started in Block's SMArchS thesis at MIT under supervision of Prof. John Ochsendorf, and presents a new methodology to create structural analysis tools based on limit state analysis for vaulted masonry buildings. Thrust lines are used to visualize the forces within the masonry and to predict possible collapse modes.

The project presents a series of analytical tools that are fast and easy to use in real time, but at the same time rigorous and highly accurate. The models are interactive and parametric to explore relationships between building geometry and possible equilibrium conditions in real time. Collapse analysis due to applied displacements is determined by combining kinematics and statics. Find a paper about this work in Computers & Structures !

The website features:
- some examples of interactive applets created using the proposed methodology,
- step-by-step tutorials that shows how to make these models (we recommend to try it out!), and
- reference to the thesis and other material for more examples of the possibilities of this approach.

Keywords: Thrust line analysis; Limit state analysis; Masonry structures; Collapse mechanisms; Graphic statics; Kinematic analysis