Experimental characterisation and mechanical modelling of connection details in traditional Groningen houses

Post-earthquake structural damage shows that out-of-plane wall collapse is one of the most prevalent failure mechanisms in unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. This issue is particularly critical in Groningen, a province located in the northern part of the Netherlands, where low-intensity ground shaking has occurred since 1991 due to gas...

Empirical fragility and ROC curves for masonry buildings subjected to settlements

In the Netherlands, the potential damage to the building stock due to subsidence phenomena has recently received increased awareness. However, evaluating and predicting damage to buildings in subsiding areas is a complex task that requires associating the vulnerability of exposed structures with the intensity of the subsidence hazard....

Combining Architectural Conservation and Seismic Strengthening in the Wood-Based Retrofitting of a Monumental Timber Roof: The Case Study of St. Andrew’s Church in Ceto, Brescia, Italy

This work presents the application of timber-based retrofitting techniques to a case-study stone masonry church featuring a wooden roof from 18^th century. From the static point of view, the original roof structure presented a number of undersized structural elements, and its members were poorly or not connected among each other and...

A Topology Optimization Process for Discrete Modular Design based on Discrete Element Modelling for generating reconfigurable funicular structures

Seismic behaviour of masonry buildings with timber diaphragms

Existing masonry buildings are very frequently part of the architectural context for several countries all over the world. These constructions often feature masonry walls as vertical structural elements, and timber floors and roofs as horizontal components. The often poor characteristics of masonry, along with the in-plane flexibility of the...

Finite Element Analysis of Building Deformations Due to Deep Excavations

Over the past decades an increase in underground construction is observed. Deep excavations are among the structures used for underground construction. The construction of such structures often affects nearby existing structures and causes possibly even damages.<br/>The prediction of these damages is usually done by following these steps:<br/>1....

Optimizing Seismic Capacity of Existing Masonry Buildings by Retrofitting Timber Floors: Wood-Based Solutions as a Dissipative Alternative to Rigid Concrete Diaphragms

The inadequate seismic performance of existing masonry buildings is often linked to the excessively low in-plane stiffness of timber diaphragms and the poor quality of their connections to the walls. However, relevant past studies and seismic events have also shown that rigid diaphragms could be detrimental for existing buildings and do not...

Onderzoek naar de oorzaken van bouwkundige schade in Groningen: Methodologie en case studies ter duiding vande oorzaken

Voor u ligt een rapport van TU Delft dat is opgesteld in opdracht van de Nationaal Coördinator Groningen. Het rapport doet verslag van een onderzoek naar de oorzaken van bouwkundige schade in de provincie Groningen. Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd aan de hand van een aantal case studies. In het onderzoek is ingegaan op veel verschillende aspecten...

Monitoring of progressive damage in buildings using laser scan data

Vulnerability of buildings to natural and man-induced hazards has become a main concern for our society. Ensuring their serviceability, safety and sustainability is of vital importance and the main reason for setting up monitoring systems to detect damages at an early stage. In this work, a method is presented for detecting changes from laser...

From The Ruin To The Re-Birth: Design of a Functional Parasite for the city of L'Aquila

The Project constitutes of the design of a parasite building inside the former church of Santa Maria Paganica in L’Aquila (IT).<br/><br/>After the earthquake of the 6th of April 2009 the city of L’Aquila is experiencing difficulties to proceed with the works of reconstruction and after almost eight years from that event the majority of the city...

Change analysis in structural laser scanning point clouds: The baseline method

A method is introduced for detecting changes from point clouds that avoids registration. For many applications, changes are detected between two scans of the same scene obtained at different times. Traditionally, these scans are aligned to a common coordinate system having the disadvantage that this registration step introduces additional...

Damage functions for the vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings subjected to tunneling

This paper describes a new framework for the assessment of potential damage caused by tunneling-induced settlement to surface masonry buildings. Finite element models in two and three dimensions, validated through comparison with experimental results and field observations, are used to investigate the main factors governing the structural...

Coupled analysis of building damage due to tunneling

Excavation works in urban areas require a preliminary risk damage assessment. In historical cities, the prediction of building response to settlements is necessary to reduce the risk of damage of the architectural heritage. The current method used to predict the building damage due to ground deformations is the Limiting Tensile Strain Method ...