Seismic response evaluation of ten tuff masonry churches with basilica plan through advanced numerical simulations

This paper investigates the seismic response of ten tuff masonry churches with basilica plan, which are located in Southern Italy, through advanced numerical simulations. The comparative study highlights considerable analogies and differences in the seismic response of the various churches in terms of damage distribution, energy density dissipated by tensile damage and maximum normalised displacements. The extensive set of numerical simulations performed shows that the geometrical characteristics of the different macro-elements are the main parameters influencing the seismic performance of the churches. A fundamental role is also played by the interactions of the different macro-elements with the adjacent structural parts. Recurrent damage concentrations and relevant out-of-plane deformations are observed for the most vulnerable macro-elements. The results obtained in this work, considering a representative sample of case studies, can be used to draw general conclusions about the seismic vulnerability of masonry churches with basilica plan at a territorial scale.