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A method to quantitatively assess the vulnerability of masonry structures subjected to rockfalls

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Abstract

This paper proposes a quantitative method to assess the physical vulnerability of masonry buildings subjected to rockfalls. The impact of a boulder either results in no damage or in a local damage. Depending on the impact energy and the geometrical disposition of the structural and non-structural elements of the building, the local damage can further propagate across the structure, implying a (partial or global) collapse. Three mechanisms of local failure for the masonry walls are considered: punching, arching and vertical bending. For each of them, the method allows to evaluate the equivalent horizontal force exerted on the wall. The most likely local failure mode is then identified considering a full plastic impact model. For sake of simplicity, the damage propagation is geometrically treated with some further information about the arrangement and the typology of the structural elements. Some practical recommendations for on-site surveying concerning building heritage are also given in the text. Finally, the proposed approach is applied to a real case study in order to test its applicability.

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Acknowledgements

Some of the concepts contained in this work had been firstly put forward in the Master’s thesis in Building Engineering (Politecnico di Torino) of B.A. Castro Yabar, advised by four of the authors (Barbero, Castelli, De Biagi and Napoli), whose early contribution is gratefully acknowledged. A special thanks goes to Eng. S. Campus (Regione Piemonte) and Geol. L. Lanteri (ARPA Piemonte) for the concession of the data relative to the study area. This work has been supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research in the framework of the PRIN 2015 project “Innovative Monitoring and Design Strategies for Sustainable Landslide Risk Mitigation.”

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  1. Department of Structural, Geotechnical and Building Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Gianmarco Vallero, Valerio De Biagi, Monica Barbero, Marta Castelli & Maria Lia Napoli

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  1. Gianmarco Vallero
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  2. Valerio De Biagi
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  3. Monica Barbero
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  4. Marta Castelli
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  5. Maria Lia Napoli
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Correspondence to Valerio De Biagi.

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Vallero, G., De Biagi, V., Barbero, M. et al. A method to quantitatively assess the vulnerability of masonry structures subjected to rockfalls. Nat Hazards 103, 1307–1325 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04036-2

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