Seismic vulnerability assessment of free-standing massive masonry columns by the 3D Discrete Element Method

• Published in: Engineering structures Vol. 246; p. 113004
• Main Authors: Kim, Jinwoo, Lorenzoni, Filippo, Salvalaggio, Matteo, Valluzzi, Maria Rosa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Archaeological remains; Collapse; Columns (structural); Cultural heritage; Cultural resources; Damping; Discrete element method; Discrete Element Method (DEM); Earthquakes; Fragility; Fragility curves; Free-standing masonry columns; Ground motion; Historical buildings; Masonry; Modal analysis; Parameters; Seismic activity; Seismic design; Seismic hazard; Seismic surveys; Seismic vulnerability assessment; Stiffness; Typology; Vibration tests; Water towers; Free-standing masonry columns; Discrete Element Method (DEM); Seismic vulnerability assessment; Archaeological remains; Fragility curves
• ISSN: 0141-0296; 1873-7323; 1873-7323
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.113004

•Model updating technique based on non-destructive experimental data.•Parametric sensitivity analyses to overcome unknowns due to structures age and conservation.•Fragility analysis applied to massive masonry columns.•Approach proposal for the seismic assessment of structures with lack of material characterization.•Extension of knowledge about dynamic behavior of free-standing columns and sensitivity to damping. Free-standing masonry column is a recurrent typology of built cultural heritage. Usually raised without seismic design, columns are subject to intense rocking and overturning under strong ground motions. In this paper, a strategy to assess their seismic vulnerability using the 3-D Discrete Element Method is proposed. It includes calibrating the elastic parameters (joint stiffness parameters) using ambient vibration test data and developing fragility curves from a large set of time history analysis results. This procedure was verified for four selected water towers, a representative archaeological monument in Pompeii, Italy. Based on preliminary structural analyses, the water towers were modeled as rigid monolithic blocks. The outcomes of modal analysis were used to calibrate the input elastic parameters, starting from a range of values given by analytical calculations derived by literature. Artificial earthquakes with peak ground acceleration levels ranging from 0.167 g to 0.803 g were implemented as ground motions. Collapses and non-collapses configurations were subdivided through a threshold concerning the maximum allowable rotation of the blocks. Fragility curves were statistically developed; these revealed the overturning probabilities of the investigated structures and also enabled to conduct a parametric study of the Rayleigh damping constants.