Title: Damage assessment of Apennine masonry churches severely damaged during the 2016 Central Italy seismic sequence

Authors: Ersilia Giordano; Georgios Panagiotis Salachoris; Francesca Bianconi; Francesco Clementi; Stefano Lenci

Addresses: Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy ' Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy

Abstract: The masonry churches in the Apennine area of Central Italy were severely affected by the 2016 earthquakes. The damages of some of these are analysed by considering their typical features such as slender walls, bell-gables, vaults, etc. The behaviours exhibited by these churches are compared with the numerical results on 3D Finite Element Models. This study aims to show how the role of geometry and irregularities present in the structures are fundamental in the analysis of local and global behaviours. Another objective is to investigate the applicability of the nonlinear approach recommended by manuals and codes. This work confirms that with the usual nonlinear static analysis, despite the approximations introduced in the models, it is possible to identify (qualitative way) the critical areas of the structure that could trigger collapses. Therefore, this type of analysis shows once again that it is a suitable tool for planning interventions to preserve the heritage.

Keywords: masonry churches; damages; collapses; seismic sequence; eigenvalues analyses; nonlinear static analyses; 3D finite element models; Italy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMRI.2024.139564

International Journal of Masonry Research and Innovation, 2024 Vol.9 No.4, pp.412 - 423

Received: 09 Jun 2022
Accepted: 23 Dec 2022
Published online: 04 Jul 2024 *

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