An overview on seismic analysis of masonry building aggregates

Abstract

Conservation of historical centres is a pressing need for Mediterranean countries, that are characterized by masonry aggregates representing the most typical construction type within cities. Masonry clustered buildings were usually designed without seismic design criteria. Moreover, the current seismic standard codes do not foresee a clear calculation method to predict their non-linear behaviour. For this reason, in this paper, a wide overview on the seismic response of masonry aggregates has been done considering analysis at different levels, from simplified large-scale evaluations to sophisticated non-linear analyses. In the former investigation kind, a vulnerability form appropriately conceived for clustered buildings has been applied to different historical centres with the aim to perform risk analysis considering both empirical approaches and real data deriving from occurred past earthquakes. In the second evaluation type, the macro-elements analysis method has been examined with reference to typical clustered buildings of the Italian territory. In particular, global assessments, performed using the 3Muri non-linear analysis program, have been performed with the final goal to derive fragility curves of structural units of masonry aggregates considering their plan position in the clustered building (end of row, internal, and corner).

Preliminary Geospatial and In Situ Reconnaissance of the 8 September 2023 Moroccan Atlas Earthquake Damage

“…Previous seismic events and research into these events have shown the importance of the position in the block [40,[46][47][48][49][50] and the pounding effects [38,51] between adjacent buildings on the seismic vulnerability. The seismic performance of masonry building aggregates is often affected by the presence of fragile and deformable floor membranes, along with asymmetrical geometries.…”

The Influence of the Aggregate Configuration on the Seismic Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Historic Urban Areas

“…In many European countries, historic urban areas are generally characterized by unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings commonly clustered in aggregated configurations [1][2][3][4][5]. These buildings, due to their construction and evolution history, were not built in a unique phase but they were gradually 'assembled' over time through a process of merging, expanding, and modifying the original structures.…”

Comparison of different numerical modelling approaches for the assessment of the out-of-plane behaviour of two-leaf stone masonry walls

“…Macro-modelling has typically been the preferred approach for modelling complex historical masonry buildings (e.g. churches, towers, fortresses) [11,[14][15][16] or complex structural systems such as building aggregates [17][18][19] because it represents a good compromise between results' reliability and computational effort, especially when the buildings to be analysed are considerably large. Indeed, the computational effort of FE macro-model analyses is considerably lower than comparable analyses conducted using detailed and simplified FE micromodelling [20,21].…”