Abstract
The seismic vulnerability of a historical Basilica church located in Italy is studied by means of limit analysis and nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis. Attention is posed to the failure mechanisms involving the façade of the church and its interaction with the lateral walls. In particular, the limit analysis and the nonlinear FE analysis provide an estimate of the load collapse multiplier of the failure mechanisms. Results obtained from both approaches are in agreement and can support the selection of possible retrofitting measures to decrease the vulnerability of the church under seismic loads.
Highlights
Recent Italian seismic events, such as the Emilia (2012) and the L’Aquila earthquakes (2009), have demonstrated how churches are susceptible to damage when subjected to earthquake motions [1,2,3]
The present study presents a nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis coupled with a limit analysis applied to Madre Santa Maria del Borgo, an Italian church located in San Nicandro Garganico
The analysis of the seismic vulnerability of a church structure has been presented throughout the study of three collapse mechanisms of its facade
Summary
Recent Italian seismic events, such as the Emilia (2012) and the L’Aquila earthquakes (2009), have demonstrated how churches are susceptible to damage when subjected to earthquake motions [1,2,3]. The approaches employed to analyze the seismic behaviour of masonry structures can be summarized as follows: micromodeling approaches (see e.g., [6, 7]), macromodeling approaches (see e.g., [8]), multiscale approaches (see e.g., [9]), and full-scale approaches (see e.g., [10,11,12,13,14]) Among these methods, the most suitable to determine the seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings are the latters that correspond to limit analysis and nonlinear FE analysis [15, 16]. The experience suggests to consider a limited number of possible failure mechanisms involving the main elements of the church such as the facade, the apse, the naves, the triumphal arch, and the navy walls.
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