Abstract
The assessment of existing masonry towers under exceptional loads, such as earthquake loads, requires reliable, expedite and efficient methods of analysis. These approaches should take into account both the randomness that affects the masonry properties (in some cases also the distribution of the elastic parameters) and, of course, the nonlinear behavior of masonry. Considering the need of simplified but effective methods to assess the seismic response of such structures, the paper proposes an efficient approach for seismic assessment of masonry towers assuming the material properties as a stochastic field. As a prototype of masonry towers a cantilever beam is analyzed assuming that the first modal shape governs the structural motion. With this hypothesis a nonlinear hysteretic Bouc & Wen model is employed to reproduce the system response which is subsequently employed to evaluate the response bounds. The results of the simplified approach are compared with the results of a finite element model to show the effectiveness of the method.
Highlights
The analysis of the structural response of slender masonry towers, especially in case of seismic loading, should take into account both the randomness that affects the masonry material and the specific nonlinear masonry behavior
Considering the need of simplified but effective methods to assess the seismic response of such structures, the paper proposes an efficient approach for seismic assessment of masonry towers assuming the material properties as a stochastic field
To offers an insight on this background, the paper proposes an expeditious and effective method to assess the seismic response of slender masonry towers where the masonry is assumed as a random material by means of an approach based on a nonlinear hysteretic Bouc [4] & Wen [5, 6] model
Summary
The analysis of the structural response of slender masonry towers, especially in case of seismic loading, should take into account both the randomness that affects the masonry material (even the elastic parameters distribution along the height of the beam) and the specific nonlinear masonry behavior (the small tensile strength). Considering the need of simplified but effective methods to assess the seismic response of such structures, the paper proposes an efficient approach for seismic assessment of masonry towers assuming the material properties as a stochastic field.
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