Abstract
A methodology aiming to predict the vulnerability of masonry structures under seismic action is presented herein. Masonry structures, among which many are cultural heritage assets, present high vulnerability under earthquake. Reliable simulations of their response to seismic stresses are exceedingly difficult because of the complexity of the structural system and the anisotropic and brittle behavior of the masonry materials. Furthermore, the majority of the parameters involved in the problem such as the masonry material mechanical characteristics and earthquake loading characteristics have a stochastic-probabilistic nature. Within this framework, a detailed analytical methodological approach for assessing the seismic vulnerability of masonry historical and monumental structures is presented, taking into account the probabilistic nature of the input parameters by means of analytically determining fragility curves. The emerged methodology is presented in detail through application on theoretical and built cultural heritage real masonry structures.
Highlights
Masonry corresponds to one of the most ancient building structure types
Historical masonry monumental buildings, for instance ancient masonry churches, are unique and cannot be reduced to any standard structural scheme: this makes the evaluation of their seismic reliability a very challenging task, because—in addition to the many uncertainties that are common to all existing structures—no statistics on their behavior are available [1,2,3,4]
The value of this constants in the UK is 0.52 [92] while in Greece is 0.20–1.00 depending on brick/block unit properties and their arrangement; Kh is a factor in Australian AS 3700 code [83] that accounts for the ratio of unit height to mortar joint thickness (1.3 for blocks of 190 mm high blocks and mortar joints with 10 mm thickness); Km is a factor in Australian AS 3700 [83] code that accounts for bedding type (1.4 for full bedding and 1.6 for face-shell bedding)
Summary
Masonry corresponds to one of the most ancient building structure types. This explains the fact that the majority of monuments are masonry structures, meaning main building elements are joined together through the use of mortars. Any measures taken for their protection, aiming to decrease their vulnerability, must comply with the principles of reversibility and compatibility; reversibility of an intervention means that any conservation action implemented can be “undone” without any damaging alteration to the authentic structure and materials, while compatibility of the intervention means that the intervention and materials applied will not harm the authentic materials and structure in any way, i.e., provoke or intensify damaging chemical reactions, introduce soluble salts, prevent homogenous behavior regarding water transfer phenomena, cause aesthetic alteration, etc It is difficult for an intervention, and especially a reinforcement intervention, to truly and fully abide with these two principles, it is necessary to undertake all possible strain and measures in this direction in order to ensure that cultural heritage assets of the past are passed along to future generations with a promise of longevity for centuries to come. Reinforced concrete is the choice material of today, masonry still comprises a great percentage of existing buildings and incorporates a complexity in its analysis which can be of high educational value
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