Seismic evaluation of old masonry buildings. Part I: Method description and application to a case-study

This paper describes a method developed to evaluate the seismic performance of old masonry buildings, which allows identifying the expected structural collapse mechanism of the structure. The collapse mechanism is identified by the accumulation of several damaged structural elements in specific points of the structure. The methodology allows simulating the non-linear behaviour of masonry buildings by making use of an iterative procedure, where the structure is changed at each step according to the cracking, yielding or collapse of structural elements at the previous steps. The method was applied to an old masonry building from the city of Lisbon that includes a three-dimensional timber structure enclosed in masonry walls aimed at providing seismic resistance. Discussion is made regarding the advantages of the iterative procedure for the identification of the expected structural collapse mechanism of old masonry buildings. The method limitations will also be discussed.