DECONSTRUCTING THE DOME: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE TAJ MAHAL

摘要

The Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, is considered to be a marvel of Mughal construction. While the structure has been studied in great detail from an architectural perspective, limited studies have been conducted with respect to its structural stability. Furthermore, very little information exists with regard to how the building, especially its distinctive dome, was constructed. The aim of this paper was to conduct a detailed structural analysis of the dome of the Taj Mahal in order to better understand how it was constructed. This is successfully performed by conducting a finite element analysis of the structure using Abaqus CAE, and by analyzing the materials, stresses, and dome construction techniques.