Iconic crumbling of the clock tower in Amatrice after 2016 central Italy seismic sequence: Advanced numerical insight

The present paper investigates from an advanced numerical point of view the progressive damage of the Amatrice (Rieti, Italy) civic clock tower, after a long sequence of strong earthquakes that struck central Italy in 2016. Two advanced numerical models are here utilised to have an insight into the modalities of progressive damage and the behaviour of the structure under strong non-linear dynamic excitations, namely a Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics (NSCD) and a FE Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) models. In both cases, a full 3D detailed discretization is adopted. From the numerical results, both the role played by the actual geometries and the insufficient resistance of the constituent materials are envisaged, showing a good match with actual crack patterns observed after the seismic sequence.