Correlation between local amplification effects and damage mechanisms for monumental buildings

Abstract

The damage and vulnerability survey of the monumental buildings, damaged by the 2002 earthquake in the Molise Region, has allowed singling out of a correlation between the observed damage of the churches and their morphological site conditions. The vulnerability model connected to the survey methodology provides an evaluation of the expected mean damage. Comparison with the observed damage determined the introduction of a local morphological behaviour modifier, able to take into account the vulnerability increase due to the site effects. In order to validate the previous results, a numerical 2-D analysis of the seismic local response has been performed. In particular, a numerical code, working with boundary elements, has been applied to the analyzed situations. The results, in terms of pseudo-acceleration response spectra and amplification factors, allow one to compare the numerical and the observed analyses. This comparison shows good agreement and allows one to find some correlations between the geometric characteristics of the sites, the values of the amplification coefficients and the damage mechanism activated.