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Seismic performance of non-structural elements during the 2016 Central Italy earthquake

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Abstract

Non-structural elements represent most of the total construction cost of typical buildings. A significant portion of the total losses in recent earthquakes worldwide, has been attributed to damage to non-structural elements. Damage to non-structural elements occurs at low levels of ground shaking, and can significantly affect the post-earthquake functionality of buildings. However, in Europe, limited prescriptions are provided in the codes for seismic design of non-structural elements and this may partially explain why it is so common for these elements to perform poorly during earthquakes. This paper describes the observed damage to non-structural elements following the 2016 Central Italy earthquake. The most commonly damaged elements were partition walls, ceiling systems, non-structural vaults, chimneys, and storage racks. As a result, it was highlighted the need to introduce seismic regulations devoted to improving the seismic performance of non-structural elements and to reduce the associated economic losses, loss of functionality, and potential threats to life safety.

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(Reproduced with permission from Miranda and Taghavi 2003)

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the European Center for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) for providing all the data related to the inspections performed after the Central Italy earthquake.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University School for Advanced Studies IUSS Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    D. Perrone

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    P. M. Calvi

  3. European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering, Via Ferrata 1, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    R. Nascimbene

  4. Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    E. C. Fischer

  5. Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    G. Magliulo

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  1. D. Perrone
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Correspondence to R. Nascimbene.

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Perrone, D., Calvi, P.M., Nascimbene, R. et al. Seismic performance of non-structural elements during the 2016 Central Italy earthquake. Bull Earthquake Eng 17, 5655–5677 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-018-0361-5

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