Abstract

The survey of damages after recent earthquakes have shown the fragility of masonry churches against the out-of-plane overturning of the façade. This failure mechanism is currently analyzed having recourse to a rigid body model, using either limit analysis with kinematic approach, or dynamic analysis under rocking motion. However, both the aforementioned methods neglect the interaction with the lateral walls, leading to an underestimation of the effective structural capacity under seismic action. The main goal of this work is therefore to investigate the effect of the interlocking between the façade and the transversal wall and the influence of the quality of masonry in out-of-plane overturning. For this purpose, a refined model of masonry through a Discrete Element Method is developed, based on a detailed recognition of masonry units. The acceleration and displacement capacity are estimated through quasi-static pushover and pulse-based dynamic analyses and compared to those calculated for the rigid body model. The proposed methodology is then applied to a sample of three single-nave masonry churches that suffered damages during the 2009 L’Aquila, Italy earthquake.

Abstract

Several high-intensity earthquakes have occurred in Italy in the last decades, causing considerable damage to architectural heritage and pointing out the particularly high seismic vulnerability of masonry churches. A significant research effort has been devoted to develop specific methods for the damage analysis and the seismic vulnerability assessment of these assets. An abacus of damage mechanisms recurring in the church structural components has been developed and has become an important reference in rapid assessment procedures as well as in more detailed analyses. In this perspective, the damage occurred to a church during the Pianura Padana Emiliana (Emilia) Earthquake of 2012 is analyzed here. The damage pattern reproduced, indeed, situations listed in the abacus of mechanisms. The seismic response of the church has been analyzed with different numerical approaches, with complete and with partial models that have allowed an appreciable understanding of the global behavior and of the modality of damage progressing into the mechanisms. The use of vector graphics software tools for 3D modelling that have become available in recent times has allowed to thoroughly understand the constructional complexity of the asset and, consequently, to develop simpler but structurally significant models for numerical analysis.