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Applied Sciences
Special Issues
Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening
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Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 14541

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. João Gomes Ferreira

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Guest Editor
CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, 1649004 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: building rehabilitation; seismic strengthening; structural testing; building surveying; masonry walls
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. António Sousa Gago

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Guest Editor
Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: building rehabilitation; numerical modelling; masonry structures; vaults and domes; history of construction
Dr. Daniel V. Oliveira

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimares, Portugal
Interests: masonry structures; seismic strengthening; experimental testing; numerical analysis; vernacular constructions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite their inherent heritage value, ancient buildings usually do not comply with the current demanding design codes, especially regarding earthquake resistance. Moreover, because of their age, lack of maintenance or inappropriate interventions, these buildings are frequently degraded. Also recent buildings may not respect the minimum structural safety levels if they have been subjected to design and construction errors or have been exposed to severe loading, such as foundation settlement or earthquakes, or have suffered accidents, such as fire or explosion. All of these situations may require a structural intervention, preceded by proper assessment and design, either at the material level, with local reinforcement or with an overall strengthening program.

The aim of this special issue is to attract world-leading researchers in the area of building rehabilitation and strengthening and to spread their latest developments, including numerical modelling, laboratory and on-site experimental testing and surveying.

Prof. Dr. Joao Gomes Ferreira
Prof. Dr. António Sousa Gago
Prof. Dr. Daniel V. Oliveira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • building rehabilitation
  • building strengthening
  • construction materials
  • experimental testing
  • numerical modelling
  • structural safety
  • earthquakes
  • building surveying

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 28119 KiB  
Article
Uncertainties in the Seismic Assessment of Historical Masonry Buildings
by Igor Tomić, Francesco Vanin and Katrin Beyer
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 2280; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11052280 - 04 Mar 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2094
Abstract
Seismic assessments of historical masonry buildings are affected by several sources of epistemic uncertainty. These are mainly the material and the modelling parameters and the displacement capacity of the elements. Additional sources of uncertainty lie in the non-linear connections, such as wall-to-wall and [...] Read more.
Seismic assessments of historical masonry buildings are affected by several sources of epistemic uncertainty. These are mainly the material and the modelling parameters and the displacement capacity of the elements. Additional sources of uncertainty lie in the non-linear connections, such as wall-to-wall and floor-to-wall connections. Latin Hypercube Sampling was performed to create 400 sets of 11 material and modelling parameters. The proposed approach is applied to historical stone masonry buildings with timber floors, which are modelled by an equivalent frame approach using a newly developed macroelement accounting for both in-plane and out-of-plane failure. Each building is modelled first with out-of-plane behaviour enabled and non-linear connections, and then with out-of-plane behaviour disabled and rigid connections. For each model and set of parameters, incremental dynamic analyses are performed until building failure and seismic fragility curves derived. The key material and modelling parameters influencing the performance of the buildings are determined based on the peak ground acceleration at failure, type of failure and failure location. This study finds that the predicted PGA at failure and the failure mode and location is as sensitive to the properties of the non-linear connections as to the material and displacement capacity parameters, indicating that analyses must account for this uncertainty to accurately assess the in-plane and out-of-plane failure modes of historical masonry buildings. It also shows that modelling the out-of-plane behaviour produces a significant impact on the seismic fragility curves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening)
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22 pages, 9125 KiB  
Article
A Tool for the Rapid Seismic Assessment of Historic Masonry Structures Based on Limit Analysis Optimisation and Rocking Dynamics
by Marco Francesco Funari, Anjali Mehrotra and Paulo B. Lourenço
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 942; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11030942 - 21 Jan 2021
Cited by 49 | Viewed by 4231
Abstract
This paper presents a user-friendly, CAD-interfaced methodology for the rapid seismic assessment of historic masonry structures. The proposed multi-level procedure consists of a two-step analysis that combines upper bound limit analysis with non-linear dynamic (rocking) analysis to solve for seismic collapse in a [...] Read more.
This paper presents a user-friendly, CAD-interfaced methodology for the rapid seismic assessment of historic masonry structures. The proposed multi-level procedure consists of a two-step analysis that combines upper bound limit analysis with non-linear dynamic (rocking) analysis to solve for seismic collapse in a computationally-efficient manner. In the first step, the failure mechanisms are defined by means of parameterization of the failure surfaces. Hence, the upper bound limit theorem of the limit analysis, coupled with a heuristic solver, is subsequently adopted to search for the load multiplier’s minimum value and the macro-block geometry. In the second step, the kinematic constants defining the rocking equation of motion are automatically computed for the refined macro-block model, which can be solved for representative time-histories. The proposed methodology has been entirely integrated in the user-friendly visual programming environment offered by Rhinoceros3D + Grasshopper, allowing it to be used by students, researchers and practicing structural engineers. Unlike time-consuming advanced methods of analysis, the proposed method allows users to perform a seismic assessment of masonry buildings in a rapid and computationally-efficient manner. Such an approach is particularly useful for territorial scale vulnerability analysis (e.g., for risk assessment and mitigation historic city centres) or as post-seismic event response (when the safety and stability of a large number of buildings need to be assessed with limited resources). The capabilities of the tool are demonstrated by comparing its predictions with those arising from the literature as well as from code-based assessment methods for three case studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening)
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15 pages, 1684 KiB  
Article
Effects of the Mortar Matrix on the Flexural Capacity of Masonry Cross Sections Strengthened with FRCM Materials
by Giovanni Crisci, Giancarlo Ramaglia, Gian Piero Lignola, Francesco Fabbrocino and Andrea Prota
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(21), 7908; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10217908 - 08 Nov 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2588
Abstract
The strengthening intervention strategies that exist for masonry buildings are based on the use of thin composites and are a recent activity used in structural engineering. Nowadays, mortar matrices are frequently found instead of epoxy resins, since the fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) [...] Read more.
The strengthening intervention strategies that exist for masonry buildings are based on the use of thin composites and are a recent activity used in structural engineering. Nowadays, mortar matrices are frequently found instead of epoxy resins, since the fiber reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) composites are more compatible with masonry than fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) ones. The mortar matrix in FRCM composites is not comparable to the epoxy resin, and therefore its contribution is different not only in traction but above all on the compression side. Due to its larger thickness, if compared to the epoxy resin, the impact of the mortar matrix on the flexural response of strengthened cross sections is not negligible. This paper aimed to investigate the influence of the contribution of the mortar matrix on the compression side on the flexural capacity of strengthened cross section. As such, p–m interaction domains and bending moment–curvature diagrams were evaluated to understand the influence of several mechanical properties of fiber and mortar matrices on FRCM efficiency, typical of real applications. Hence, the impact of several constitutive relationships of composites (linear and bilinear behavior) was considered for the structural analysis of the strengthened cross section. The presented results are all completely in a dimensionless form; therefore, independent of geometry and mechanical parameters can be the basis for developing standardized design and/or verification methodologies useful for the strengthening systems for masonry elements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening)
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24 pages, 1238 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study of MCDM Methods Integrated with Rapid Visual Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Existing RC Structures
by Ehsan Harirchian, Kirti Jadhav, Kifaytullah Mohammad, Seyed Ehsan Aghakouchaki Hosseini and Tom Lahmer
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(18), 6411; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10186411 - 14 Sep 2020
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3163
Abstract
Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby resulting in the elevation of risk levels of human lives over natural calamities. The occupancy demand has rapidly increased the construction rate, whereas the inadequate design of structures prone [...] Read more.
Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby resulting in the elevation of risk levels of human lives over natural calamities. The occupancy demand has rapidly increased the construction rate, whereas the inadequate design of structures prone to more vulnerability. Buildings constructed before the development of seismic codes have an additional susceptibility to earthquake vibrations. The structural collapse causes an economic loss as well as setbacks for human lives. An application of different theoretical methods to analyze the structural behavior is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, introducing a rapid vulnerability assessment method to check structural performances is necessary for future developments. The process, as mentioned earlier, is known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). This technique has been generated to identify, inventory, and screen structures that are potentially hazardous. Sometimes, poor construction quality does not provide some of the required parameters; in this case, the RVS process turns into a tedious scenario. Hence, to tackle such a situation, multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for the seismic vulnerability assessment opens a new gateway. The different parameters required by RVS can be taken in MCDM. MCDM evaluates multiple conflicting criteria in decision making in several fields. This paper has aimed to bridge the gap between RVS and MCDM. Furthermore, to define the correlation between these techniques, implementation of the methodologies from Indian, Turkish, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) codes has been done. The effects of seismic vulnerability of structures have been observed and compared. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening)
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23 pages, 14824 KiB  
Article
Force-Based Seismic Evaluation of Retrofitting Interventions of Historic Masonry Castles by 3D Rigid Block Limit Analysis
by Lucrezia Cascini, Giuseppe Brando, Francesco P. A. Portioli, Morena Rita Forgione, Claudio Mazzanti and Marcello Vasta
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(15), 5035; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10155035 - 22 Jul 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1645
Abstract
This paper deals with the force-based assessment of collapse mechanisms and strengthening interventions of the historic masonry castle “Bussi sul Tirino” (Abruzzi, Italy) using rigid block limit analysis (RBLA). The structure, which is a fortified palace dating back to the 11th century, has [...] Read more.
This paper deals with the force-based assessment of collapse mechanisms and strengthening interventions of the historic masonry castle “Bussi sul Tirino” (Abruzzi, Italy) using rigid block limit analysis (RBLA). The structure, which is a fortified palace dating back to the 11th century, has experienced severe earthquakes over the centuries and was hit once again in 2009 by the L’Aquila earthquake. Based on the historical analysis and the results of in situ investigations, a spatial rigid block model of an entire structural unit was generated using the in-house software LiABlock_3D. The software is a MATLAB® based tool for three-dimensional RBLA, which provides as outputs collapse failure modes and collapse load multipliers. In addition, a specific routine was developed for the purpose of the study to compute the participating mass ratio and the spectral acceleration that activated the failure mechanisms. The results of the numerical analysis were used to address three different retrofitting interventions, based on the use of connection elements and ties that, according to the minimum intervention principle, progressively enhanced the seismic capacity. Comparisons in terms of seismic safety indices are finally provided in order to give a quantitative measure of the effectiveness of the adopted retrofitting strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening)
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