The subject of the seismic vulnerability of masonry churches is particularly complex, both because of the high vulnerability of churches, dramatically highlighted by recent seismic events, and because of the choice of analysis approach suited to the geometric and construction complexity of this type of structure. In this work, the case study of the church of San Martino dei Gualdesi is presented. The church under study is modelled with a finite element approach, using the model proposed in [1,2]. The contribution we intend to provide is to i) reflect on the reliability of the finite element modelling approach through the comparison with the observed damages; ii) validate a numerical strategy in which the linear dynamic analysis becomes the first step of a series of non-linear static analyses on the single macro-element, in which the effects of dynamic amplification are considered; iii) appropriately simulate the effects of seismic strengthening interventions.
[1] M. Malena, F. Portioli, R. Gagliardo, G. Tomaselli, L. Cascini, G. de Felice. Collapse mechanism analysis of historic masonry structures subjected to lateral loads: a comparison between continuos and discrete models. Computers and Structures, Vol. 220, pp. 14–31, 2019.[2] G. de Felice, M. Malena. Failure pattern prediction in masonry. Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, Vol. 14(5), pp. 663–682, 2019.