Homogenization of Ancient Masonry Buildings: A Case Study

Abstract

With the aim of evaluating local and global dynamic mechanisms of a vast and historical masonry building, a homogeneous structural model is proposed here. It is realized with the assembly of othotropic plates and Timoshenko and pure shear beams as well. The identification of the constitutive parameters is carried out after realizing refined finite element models of building portions, and imposing energy or displacement equivalence with the corresponding homogeneous versions, depending on the complexity of the involved schemes. The outcomes are compared with those provided by experimental investigations, and help to give insight and interpretation on the dynamic behavior of the building.