Unreinforced masonry spiral staircases have been built for more than two thousand years in castles, churches and palaces, these require structural assessment. For a few decades, the behaviour of “cantilever” has debated among scholars. Several methods used, but due to complex 3D geometry substantial number treads, priori assumptions made about magnitude point application contact forces between ...

Displacement-based seismic design and assessment procedures require as key input parameter estimates of displacement capacities of the critical elements. The displacement capacities of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls are typically determined by means of quasistatic cyclic tests. This paper shows that for URM walls failing in shear the number of applied cycles in quasi-static cyclic tests influ...

Abstract Unreinforced masonry buildings undergoing seismic actions often exhibit local failure mechanisms which represent a serious life-safety hazard, as recent strong earthquakes have shown. Compared to new buildings, older unreinforced are more vulnerable, not only because they been designed without or with limited loading requirements, but also horizontal structures and connections amid the...

Our research focuses on how new computational tools and design methods can support the design process of masonry buildings. Specifically we discuss the potential of parametric modeling technologies to promote innovation by embedding knowledge on masonry construction as both generative rules and checker functions. Their goal is to inform designers on the feasibility of their intents on early sta...

To understand the seismic damage characteristics of bottom frame-wall buildings and to study their seismic performance, the seismic damage outcomes of  bottom frame-wall structures in Du jiang weir by the Wen chuan earthquake on May 12,2008, China were field observed and studied. The assesment of the seismic damage to the bottom frame-wall masonry in Du jiang weir urban showed that the damage t...

This paper presents the results of a parametric study on response unreinforced and retrofitted masonry specimens. The adopted strengthening technique is steel-reinforced plaster, which very commonly used but it not supported by proper theoretical experimental characterization in scientific literature. aim was to investigate main parameters that affect structural performances walls. Several nume...

Abstract The seismic response of existing masonry structures is strongly influenced by floor and roof in-plane properties. A strengthening intervention often needed for traditional timber floors to overcome their low stiffness preserve historical buildings. In this study, the effects unreinforced reinforced on behaviour an listed building are investigated with dynamic non-linear analyses means ...