Failure analysis of a Portuguese cultural heritage masterpiece: Bonet building in Sintra

Benchmarking the software packages to model and assess the seismic response of unreinforced masonry existing buildings through nonlinear static analyses

“…Finally, an interesting experience made on a definitively more complex existing structure, that is the Bonet building (the most ancient body of the National Palace of Sintra in Portugal), is described in Malcata et al (2020). Here, two models, one set through the 3Muri program and the other with the ABAQUS software package (that belongs to the finite element approach), are firstly calibrated by using as target the frequencies estimated from ambient vibration measurements and by involving various uncertainties related to the boundary conditions (actually the building is in aggregate) and the characterization of material.…”

“…• The available comparative studies have been carried out only on very simple structures (usually two-story single-unit or even single walls), while in few cases there is an attempt to analyse more complex building (i.e. in Marques e Lourenco (2014) and Malcata et al 2020). These experiences doesn't exhaustively allow to assess if there is or not an increase/decrease in the scatter passing from simple to complex structures.…”

“…if at material scale-like the continuum models-or at the structural component scale-like the equivalent frame ones), a preliminary calibration of mechanical parameters or other uncertainties involved in the modelling process has been firstly carried out in order to guarantee a consistency across the models. However, such calibration has been often based on different approaches, such as for example: matching the slope of the pushover curve in the initial elastic range by involving in the calibration process only the Young's modulus of masonry (Aşıkoğlu et al 2020); by firstly simulating an experimental campaign on simple mock-up specimens like the diagonal compression tests (Betti et al 2014); by adopting as target the dynamic properties estimated by ambient vibration tests (Malcata et al 2020). Indeed, as discussed in D'Altri et al ( 2021) and Cattari et al (2021), even if only the cross-consistency between mechanical parameters is addressed, such a calibration phase is particularly tricky, especially when the wide variety of material constitutive laws formulated in the literature is considered.…”

“…Salonikios et al 2003, Giamundo et al 2014, considering also commercial software packages (e.g. Lourenço 2011, 2014;Calderoni et al 2015;De Falco et al 2017;Siano et al 2018;Aşıkoğlu et al 2020;Malcata et al 2020); • Blind predictions involving a large number of research teams called to predict the seismic response of the same benchmark prototype, either within the context of correlated experimental campaigns able to provide also the actual "reference solution" (e.g. in Mendes et al 2017;Esposito et al 2019) or in purely research experiences (e.g.…”

Integration of Modelling Approaches for the Seismic Assessment of Complex URM Buildings: The Podestà Palace in Mantua, Italy

“…Degli Abbati et al (2019) [26] proposed a numerical five-step procedure based on the use of nonlinear static analyses with load patterns calibrated from the results of a modal analysis; the procedure was firstly applied to a medieval fortress made by various towers interacting with the main body of the structure. Malcata et al [27] compared and verified the combined use of the CCLM and SEM models on the Bonet building in Sintra.…”