A mechanical method for the vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings

Abstract

This paper discusses a mechanical model for the vulnerability assessment of masonry buildings that takes into account the uncertainties inherent to the structural parameters and the limit states. At first a bilinear model for the capacity spectrum for masonry buildings is derived as an analytical function of a few number of geometrical and mechanical parameters. Applying a suitable procedure for the uncertainty propagation, the statistical moments of the structural capacity is obtained as a function of the statistical moments of the input parameters, showing the role of each in the results. Using the capacity spectrum method formulated in the so called N2 procedure, vulnerability analysis is carried out with respect to a certain number of random limit states which depend, in turn, on the building parameters. Fragility curves are derived taking into account the uncertainties of each quantity involved.