Seismic response and damage patterns of masonry churches: Seven case studies in Ferrara, Italy

The seismic performance assessment of historical masonry structures is still a complex issue in civil engineering. This paper investigates the seismic response of seven masonry churches, which are located in the province of Ferrara (Northern Italy) and suffered extensive damage during the 2012 Emilia earthquake. Different field surveys, which were conducted after the earthquake to collect information on typical damage patterns, provided a preliminary knowledge of utmost importance for developing detailed FE models of the churches and for better understanding the results of advanced numerical simulations. First, modal analyses were performed to have a preliminary insight into the dynamic behavior of the churches. Then, non-linear dynamic analyses with different peak ground accelerations were carried out in order to obtain the damage distribution in the churches and to identify the most vulnerable macro-elements. The results highlighted the influence of morphological and geometrical characteristics on the seismic behavior of the different macro-elements composing the churches.