Collapse investigation of the Arquata del Tronto medieval fortress after the 2016 Central Italy seismic sequence

Abstract In this paper, an investigation is presented of the Arquata del Tronto medieval fortress local collapses that occurred due to the 2016 Central Italy seismic sequence. Both historical evolution and damage inspection of the fortress are discussed. Interestingly, the damage reported to the fortress after the 2016 earthquakes appears similar to what occurred more than 300 years before (due to the 1703 Apennine earthquakes), despite the restoration work of the 1920s. Linear kinematic analysis and 3D modal and seismic FE analyses are carried out to evaluate the safety of the local collapse mechanisms that occurred on the towers’ crownings. Numerical findings point out that no failure mode passes the safety check. This suggests that the reconstruction of the collapsed parts should be complemented by specific strengthening devices.

[1]  Lucia Luzi,et al.  ITACA (ITalian ACcelerometric Archive): A Web Portal for the Dissemination of Italian Strong-motion Data , 2008 .

[2]  Francesco Ubertini,et al.  An innovative numerical modeling strategy for the structural analysis of historical monumental buildings , 2017 .

[3]  Giovanni Castellazzi,et al.  Seismic-induced damage in historical masonry vaults: A case-study in the 2012 Emilia earthquake-stricken area , 2017 .

[4]  Claudio Borri,et al.  Numerical Modeling of the Structural Behavior of Brunelleschi’s Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore , 2015 .

[5]  Michele Betti,et al.  Assessment of seismic resistance of a basilica-type church under earthquake loading: Modelling and analysis , 2008, Adv. Eng. Softw..

[6]  Paulo B. Lourenço,et al.  The effect of skew angle on the mechanical behaviour of masonry arches , 2014 .

[7]  Eva Coisson,et al.  The fractures of the French Panthéon : Survey and structural analysis , 2008 .

[8]  Marius Mosoarca,et al.  Failure mechanisms for historical religious buildings in Romanian seismic areas , 2013 .

[9]  Luigi Fregonese,et al.  An insight in the late Baroque architecture: An integrated approach for a unique Bibiena church , 2017 .

[10]  A. Altunışık,et al.  Non-destructive testing of an ancient Masonry Bastion , 2016 .

[11]  Gabriele Milani,et al.  Comprehensive FE numerical insight into Finale Emilia Castle behavior under 2012 Emilia Romagna seismic sequence: Damage causes and seismic vulnerability mitigation hypothesis , 2016 .

[12]  Loris Vincenzi,et al.  Ambient vibration‐based finite element model updating of an earthquake‐damaged masonry tower , 2018 .

[13]  Andrea Chiozzi,et al.  Numerical insights on the seismic behavior of a non-isolated historical masonry tower , 2018, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.

[14]  F. Cannizzaro,et al.  3D macro-element modelling approach for seismic assessment of historical masonry churches , 2016, Adv. Eng. Softw..

[15]  Andrea Chiozzi,et al.  Base isolation of heavy non-structural monolithic objects at the top of a masonry monumental construction , 2016 .

[16]  Francesco Fabbrocino,et al.  Evaluation of different approaches for the estimation of the seismic vulnerability of masonry towers , 2018, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.

[17]  Gianni Bartoli,et al.  A numerical study on seismic risk assessment of historic masonry towers: a case study in San Gimignano , 2016, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.

[18]  Antonio Tralli,et al.  Damage assessment of fortresses after the 2012 Emilia earthquake (Italy) , 2014, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.

[19]  Paolo Lonetti,et al.  Survey and seismic vulnerability assessment of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Tumba (Italy) , 2017 .

[20]  Stefano Lenci,et al.  Assessment of seismic behaviour of heritage masonry buildings using numerical modelling , 2016 .

[21]  Eva Coïsson,et al.  Analysis of damage mechanisms suffered by Italian fortified buildings hit by earthquakes in the last 40 years , 2017, Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.