Intervention Strategies for the Seismic Improvement of Masonry Buildings Based on FME Validation: The Case of a Terraced Building Struck by the 2016 Central Italy Earthquake

Abstract

Residential masonry buildings represent a large stock among highly vulnerable structures in medium–high seismic hazard areas, often built without any anti-seismic provisions. Their rehabilitation and/or strengthening according to optimised intervention strategies is topical and may contribute to revaluating zones characterized by depopulation phenomena. In this paper, a terraced building struck by the 2016 Central Italy earthquake is analysed through a frame by macro element (FME) model. The building is composed of six two-storey units made of stone and clay block masonry walls and semi-rigid diaphragms. The numerical model was calibrated based on the damage pattern caused by the earthquake and then used to carry out parametric analyses on the strengthened conditions by simulating both one unit and the entire terrace. The effects of interventions applied to either vertical or horizontal components, both singularly and in combination, were analysed in terms of nonlinear static analyses, and quantified by a performance factor, according to the upgraded seismic code in Italy. Kinematic analyses also completed the assessment of the building. Results compared the capacity of interventions in attaining the targets defined for improvement at both local and overall levels.