The province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands was involved since 1990s in induced seismic episodes caused by gas extraction. The intensity and frequency of these events have been growing until the achievement, in 2012, of a maximum magnitude of 3.6 (Richter Scale). The Netherlands are tectonically inactive, therefore Dutch constructions are not generally designed to withstand remarkable horizontal forces: common residential buildings, as terraced houses, are made of unreinforced masonry (URM) cavity walls (often with the use of calcium silicate (CS) bricks for load-bearing inner leafs) and concrete floors, arranged in rows up to 10 housing units. Despite the magnitude mentioned above (not high in comparison with those of countries with medium-high seismic hazard), some buildings were lightly damaged and there is a need for insight in the consequences of potentially larger earthquakes. Therefore, the identification of reliable procedures for the seismic vulnerability assessment of the existing structures has become of primary importance. In the paper, the 3D extension of a Fibre Flexural Model (FFM) implemented in DIANA FEA to represent the in-plane flexural behavior of masonry components in the typical configuration of terraced houses, made of slender piers and long transversal walls, is discussed. The model was calibrated on the basis of laboratory experimental test results and sensitivity analyses, also taking into account various types of connections among walls and floor. The results demonstrated the good accuracy of the simplified model to reproduce the pre-peak flexural behavior of Dutch masonry structures, with reduced computational efforts in comparison with full 3D solid and shell type FE analyses. For this reason, FFM, is considered to have potential for seismic analyses of common residential buildings, although further research is necessary to improve the results in the post-peak regime.
3D extension of an equivalent frame model for the characterization of the flexural behavior of Dutch masonry structures
Damolin N.;Salvalaggio M.;Valluzzi M. R.
2019
Abstract
The province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands was involved since 1990s in induced seismic episodes caused by gas extraction. The intensity and frequency of these events have been growing until the achievement, in 2012, of a maximum magnitude of 3.6 (Richter Scale). The Netherlands are tectonically inactive, therefore Dutch constructions are not generally designed to withstand remarkable horizontal forces: common residential buildings, as terraced houses, are made of unreinforced masonry (URM) cavity walls (often with the use of calcium silicate (CS) bricks for load-bearing inner leafs) and concrete floors, arranged in rows up to 10 housing units. Despite the magnitude mentioned above (not high in comparison with those of countries with medium-high seismic hazard), some buildings were lightly damaged and there is a need for insight in the consequences of potentially larger earthquakes. Therefore, the identification of reliable procedures for the seismic vulnerability assessment of the existing structures has become of primary importance. In the paper, the 3D extension of a Fibre Flexural Model (FFM) implemented in DIANA FEA to represent the in-plane flexural behavior of masonry components in the typical configuration of terraced houses, made of slender piers and long transversal walls, is discussed. The model was calibrated on the basis of laboratory experimental test results and sensitivity analyses, also taking into account various types of connections among walls and floor. The results demonstrated the good accuracy of the simplified model to reproduce the pre-peak flexural behavior of Dutch masonry structures, with reduced computational efforts in comparison with full 3D solid and shell type FE analyses. For this reason, FFM, is considered to have potential for seismic analyses of common residential buildings, although further research is necessary to improve the results in the post-peak regime.
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