Seismic Analysis of Slender Monumental Structures: Current Strategies and Challenges

Abstract

The preservation and seismic risk mitigation of built cultural heritage is considered today as a major priority in the international political agenda. Among the great variety of heritage structures spread worldwide, masonry towers belong to one of the most vulnerable categories against earthquake actions due to their morphological and material singularity. The proper understanding of the structural behavior of these artefacts at the micro, meso and macro scales, combined with a thorough knowledge of the best analysis practices deriving from the shared experience of the scientific community working in this field, is a fundamental prerequisite to appropriately address their seismic assessment. In this context, the present work offers an extensive discussion on the major challenges that slender monumental towers pose in terms of characterization of their actual behavior under seismic actions. A critical appraisal of the principal analysis methods applicable to the study of these structures is also presented along with a brief review of the existing modelling strategies for their numerical representation. Relevant examples are discussed in support of each argument. In spite of being a relatively young discipline, earthquake engineering has made remarkable progress in the last years and appropriate modi operandi have been consolidating to tackle the seismic assessment of unconventional systems, such as slender heritage structures. The work is conceived in a format of interest for both practitioners and researchers approaching the seismic assessment of this type of structures, and for those in need of an overall practical review of the topic.

Quantitative Contribution of Timber Ring Beams in the Dynamic Response of Adobe Masonry Structures

“…Subsequent to the modal analysis, two finite element models were developed for the scope of the time history analysis. A review of numerous journal articles [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] suggests that non-linear dynamic analysis, also known as time history analysis, is a suitable method for the seismic evaluation of masonry structures.…”

Modelling the in-Plane Behaviour of Masonry Façades via a Multi-Unit Discretization With Simplified Interface Layout

“…Masonry structures, which represent a considerable part of the historical architectural heritage worldwide, are particularly vulnerable to destructive actions such as seismic events [1]. Thus, one of the main research topics in structural engineering concerns the analysis of masonry buildings under different loading conditions in order to better understand their structural behaviour and the possibility of developing damage [2,3].…”

Seismic Vulnerability Evaluation of a Historical Masonry Tower: Comparison between Different Approaches

“…The experience of past seismic events has proven how these structures are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes [21][22][23]. Indeed, their unique peculiar morphologic and typological features (e.g., high slenderness, presence of irregularities, leaning phenomena) might significantly affect their behavior under horizontal loads [24]. A realistic estimation of their structural behavior is fundamental to evaluate both the safety level and the most appropriate retrofitting interventions, but a compromise should always be found between required computational resources and accuracy of results.…”