Seismic Performance of a Historical Apartment Building Using a Barcelona Model (BM) Adapted for Masonry Walls

The main objective of this study was to examine the dynamic response of a masonry monumental apartment building subjected to a strong seismic event. A three-dimensional FE model of the building was prepared with the ABAQUS Standard software program. Three components of the registered seismic event were applied as seismic excitation acting in three directions. To represent the inelastic behavior of the masonry elements of the structure under the earthquake, a Barcelona Model (BM) was assumed as a constitutive model for the masonry elements. The analysis proved that strongly nonlinear behavior of the masonry monumental apartment building was observed under the strong seismic shock. The plastic strains as well as the tensile damage (cracking) were obtained in some zones of the walls of the structure after seismic shock. In the paper authors also discussed the methodology for strengthening and structural health monitoring dedicated for historical masonry structures.