In-plane strengthening of timber floors for the seismic improvement of masonry buildings

The use of improvement techniques for the structural rehabilitation of existing timber floors in masonry buildings is more and more recommended also in seismic areas, where a proper in-plane stiffness is required to assure a suitable “box” behaviour. In this context, the study of the influence of deformable floors on the seismic behaviour of existing masonry buildings has not been sufficiently investigated as confirmed by on-site inspections after recent earthquakes. An experimental program was planned at University of Padua in order to evaluate the in-plane behaviour of original and strengthened timber floors. A specific test set-up has been designed and realized on purpose to simulate the monotonic and cyclic shear behaviour. The preliminary experimental results and the comparison between unreinforced and strengthened floors under monotonic load are discussed.