Experimental, numerical and analytical investigations of masonry corners: Influence of the horizontal pseudo-static load orientation

The present work aims to expand the knowledge of the behaviour of masonry corners, which are capital to obtain an integral seismic response in masonry buildings. In particular, the influence of the seismic load orientation (from π/4 to π/2) is investigated experimentally, numerically and analytically. Both units and interfaces have been...

Seismic Assessment Of Dutch Urm Buildings According To Npr9998:2018 Code With An Equivalent-Frame Approach

In the last two decades, the province of Groningen, located in the North-East of the Netherlands, has been subjected to an increasing number of earthquakes induced by gas extractions. The existing building stock is mainly composed by unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings not conceived to resist seismic loads. The need of reducing the...

In-plane response of slender walls made of calcium silicate brick and element masonry

Due to the increase of induced seismic activities in the Groningen area (north part of the Netherlands), the assessment of low-rise residential buildings with slender façade piers became of relevance. In this framework, the in-plane response of slender walls made of calcium silicate (CS) brick and element masonry is investigated in this paper...

Influence of Geometrical irregularities on the in-plane behaviour of a masonry wall façade in macro-element based and analytical mechanism based analyses

The seismic assessment of unreinforced masonry structures in Groningen is still ongoing. The assessment is vital to determine whether a building must be strengthened or not. Different assessment approaches have been followed in recent years. First, the Non Linear Time-History analyses (NLTHA) were initially the only approach used for the seismic...

Experimental and numerical study of historic masonry with bed joint reinforced repointing

Induced seismicity due to gas extraction in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands has a noticeable impact on building structures. Historic masonry structures in the area, which are non-engineered and lacking empirical design features often present in traditionally seismic regions, are especially vulnerable to dynamic loading. Compounding...

Seismic assessment of a lab-tested two-storey unreinforced masonry Dutch terraced house

The exploitation of geo-resources in the northern part of the Netherlands (Groningen region) is triggering shallow earthquakes, rising the need of assessing the current building stock. Being the region not prone to tectonic earthquakes, buildings are designed as wind-resistant systems and have specific characteristics that can limit their...

Blind prediction of a cyclic pushover test on a two-storey masonry assemblage: a comparative study

In recent years induced seismicity in the north of the Netherlands has considerably increased. The built environment in the region mainly consists of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. Those buildings were not designed for seismic loads and have specific characteristics, that limit their seismic performance. In early 2017 a quasi-static...

Seismic assessment of existing RC buildings under alternative ground motion ensembles compatible to EC8 and NTC 2008

This work investigates the effects of the choice of different ensembles of ground motions on the seismic assessment of existing RC buildings through nonlinear dynamic analysis. Nowadays indeed, all the main International Seismic Codes provide a soil classification which is based on the shear wave velocity, the soil morphology and the assumed...