Study of Collapse Mechanisms in Masonry Corner Portions through Advanced Experimental, Numerical and In-situ Analyses in Italy and Türkiye: From the Laboratory to Earthquake-Affected Sites

Gabriele Milani (Principal Investigator)

Existing and historical masonry structures generally exhibit high vulnerability for out-of-plane actions. Recent earthquakes, such as those occurred in Turkey (2023 Kahramanmaras) and Italy (2016 Amatrice), have shown that significant damage often arises from out-of-plane effects, particularly near corners. The ENFCorMas project aims to comprehensively investigate these damage mechanisms, giving an insight into role played by masonry texture and level of interlocking between perpendicular walls. The project includes (i) in-scale lab tests on titling planes, (ii) advanced numerical modelling and (iii) field studies in both countries. Experimentation will rely on about 100 tilting plane tests carried out on different configurations of corners and different textures, where blocks and stones will be also obtained by 3D-printing. Detailed surveys of masonry structures in both countries will assess out-of-plane collapse risks during seismic events. Two real structures, one from each country, will be replicated at a reduced scale (1:9) in the lab and tested, then predicting the collapse again with computerized limit analysis.

Contribution to SDG: 9, 11, 13