
Alessandra AprileUniversity of Ferrara | UNIFE · Department of Engineering
Alessandra Aprile
MS, PhD
About
56
Publications
33,873
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1,105
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
My scientific activity mainly concerns the earthquake engineering and the structural rehabilitation. Since 1991 I have worked on passive control techniques for seismic applications. Since 1995 I have worked on wind engineering. Since 1999 I have worked on the seismic vulnerability assessment of existing structures and advanced methods for structural rehabilitation such as EBR, NSM and ETS techniques. Lately, I focused on the seismic risk assessment and mitigation of hystorical city centres.
Additional affiliations
November 1998 - present
Education
January 1992 - December 1994
November 1985 - March 1991
Publications
Publications (56)
In the context of developing an innovative seismic dissipation system, which aims to compromise on the steadiness of friction and processes costs, this work deals with the tribological characterization of an S355JR structural steel, whose surface has been preliminarily treated by different mechanical and galvanic processes. Tribological tests were...
Structural rehabilitation has globally become an urgent need due to both widespread construction obsolescence and more demanding requirements from modern construction codes, especially in earthquake-prone areas, where upgrading the existing constructions has become a primary goal [...]
The availability of different lithology with which concrete can be packaged could create substantial questions on the differences that they can provide to the same mixture. Different kinds of aggregates were analyzed individually to investigate their main characteristics, which allowed us to package five types of concrete mixtures. These five mixtu...
European historical city centers are particularly prone to natural disasters. This is due to the fragility of structures that often times do not comply with seismic codes; the high constructions’ density that causes induced damage; and the historical relevance of buildings that makes difficult the enacting of mitigation strategies.
In Italy, major...
For the maintenance of the safety and security of people traveling on the road, renovation of the reinforced concrete is necessary, especially for bridge or viaduct slabs. Being able to quantify the degradation of slabs and propose methodologies for its retrofit or maintenance is crucial not only in the mineralogical-engineering field but also for...
Any design of standard structures in keeping with seismic safety norms is usually founded on an approach characterised by force-based design. Research has proven, over the course of several decades, that such an approach has a solid basis and can easily be applied by the engineers in charge of the design project. Furthermore, when taken in conjunct...
The present paper reports an experimental study coupled with a numerical modelling approach to simulate masonry walls strengthened with textile-reinforced mortar (TRM). This innovative reinforcing technique is based on high-strength fibre grids embedded into inorganic matrices, and it has recently been promoted for the seismic retrofitting of histo...
In this paper, the reconstruction process of a town affected by the 2012 Northern Italy Earthquake is analysed using information published on the town journal. Relevant aspects are highlighted, and the housing recovery is compared with that of a nearby city. Then, a what-if scenario is considered, by proposing a set of seismic mitigation strategies...
Pilotis buildings have widely spread out in developed countries since World War II onwards. From the structural point of view, Pilotis RC frames exhibit substantial lack in ductility capacity and shear resistance localized at the first floor, since they have been mainly realized before the seismic codes’ era. The present study shows the performance...
We report on experimental and numerical investigations of textile reinforced mortar (TRM) strengthening systems, an innovative solution for reinforcing historical masonry structures. The experimental campaign presented in this paper is original and concerns two commercial TRM applications to single-leaf clay masonry panels. The proposed FE modellin...
A growing interest concerning the seismic risk assessment at urban scale has been observed. In Italy, recent earthquakes highlighted the vulnerability of the built environment causing severe damage and a high number of casualties. In addition, historical city centres are part of the cultural heritage and their preservation is deemed necessary. For...
Seismic design of standard structures is typically founded on a force-based design approach. Over the years this approach has proven robust and easily applicable by design engineers and – in combination with capacity design principles – it provides a good protection against premature structural failures. However, it is also known that the force-bas...
This paper presents a management tool for the large-scale assessment and mitigation of the seismic risk of urban systems. The research introduces a new perspective for a scientifically tackled holistic approach. The proposed methodology considers multiple objectives, from the identification of the most vulnerable buildings whose collapse may hinder...
Disaster risk mitigation has become a global urgent need. Similarly to other natural hazards, earthquakes may cause significant damage on a large scale. In Europe and in other regions with dense urbanization, seismic events can heavily impact historical city centres due to the several structural fragilities. These centers are often part of the worl...
Hazard maps are valuable instruments for taking decisions in disaster contexts. In order to obtain them automatically, a hazard model needs to be written using programming languages. However, before writing and running a hazard model, a software developer needs to understand important civil engineering concepts that could present some difficulties....
The "Fornello" viaduct in the Italian Orte-Ravenna highway (E45) is seriously damaged. In this paper, the concrete of the reinforced slab has been widely characterized to evaluate the level of damage and to identify the causes of degradation. No-destructive tests, as those based on ultrasonic waves, as well as chemical, physical and mechanical dest...
Mortar is of all masonry components the most difficult to be experimentally characterised in heritage buildings. This paper investigates the possibility of combining different in-situ and laboratory minor destructive testing (MDT) techniques to assess the strength of mortar in historical brickwork. Lime mortar and clay brick walls were built in the...
The strategy to simulate the crack shear stress transfer in a fixed smeared crack model for concrete is crucial to correctly predict the deformational and cracking behavior of RC elements that exhibit shear failure. This work presents a shear softening law able to correctly simulate the shear stiffness degradation and stress transfer during the cra...
The aim of the present work is to assess the effectiveness of an innovative strengthening technique for the rehabilitation of masonry buildings deficiently prepared to resist to loading conditions typical of seismic events. This technique is based on the application of outer layers of fibre reinforced mortar (FRM) by spray technology and it is used...
Disaster risk reduction has become a global urgent need. Similarly to other natural hazards, earthquakes may cause significant damages on a large scale. In Europe, seismic events mainly affect historical city centers, which are characterized by dense urban structure, usually constituted by ancient masonry and pre-code R.C. buildings, often in aggre...
This research is focused on the experimental characterisation of the compressive behaviour of masonry in existing buildings. The proposed technique is based on in situ core drilling of masonry members. Two walls were built making use of terracotta handmade bricks and lime mortar, without cement, to reproduce a low-strength historical masonry. Core...
Seismic upgrading of existing structures is a technical and social issue aimed at risk reduction. Sustainable design is one of the most important challenges in any structural project. Nowadays, many retrofit strategies are feasible and several traditional and innovative options are available to engineers. Basically, the design strategy can lead to...
To predict correctly the deformational and the cracking behavior of reinforced concrete elements failing in shear using a smeared crack approach, the strategy adopted to simulate the crack shear stress transfer is crucial. For this purpose, several strategies for modeling the fracture mode II were implemented in a smeared crack model already existi...
This work delves into the seismic assessment of masonry bridges through a detailed analysis of an existing triple-arched bridge. Firstly, the effectiveness of the nonlinear static analysis is evaluated by means of a comparison with a comprehensive set of 84 nonlinear dynamic analyses. Secondly, the choice of the control node on the finite element s...
Recent experimental research has shown that the Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique has significant potential for increasing the load-carrying capacity of continuous reinforced concrete (RC) slabs. This flexural strengthening technique is based on the installation of rectangular cross sectional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates into...
This paper presents a study of the Milano Centrale railway station aimed at assessing the seismic vulnerability of the monumental building. The work was carried out on the occasion of a big project to refurbish the station, including both the restoration of certain areas of high artistic value and the improvement of functionality with the current r...
The experimental programs for the flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures using the Near Surface Mounted (NSM) technique with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) laminates were, in general, conducted with simply supported beams. Therefore, there is a lack of experimental and theoretical studies on the moment redistribution of stati...
The structural analysis of masonry arch bridges involves several crucial issues related to the seismic
safety assessment, since the application of both static and dynamic nonlinear analyses is not trivial.
The reliability of the pushover analysis results is essential since the seismic structural safety is
predicted by means of a simplified approach...
A strengthening technique, combining carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates and strips of wet layup CFRP sheet, is used to increase both the flexural and the energy dissipation capacities of reinforced concrete (RC) columns of square cross section of low to moderate concrete strength class, subjected to constant axial compressive load and...
In this paper, the seismic performance of existing masonry arch bridges is evaluated by using nonlinear static analysis, as suggested by several modern standards such as UNI ENV 1998-1 2003, OPCM 3274 2004, and FEMA 440 2005. The use of inelastic pushover analysis and response spectrum approaches becomes more difficult when structures other than th...
In this paper the authors consider four FRP strengthened R/C beams brought to failure for concrete cover rip-off under uniform load conditions. Based on the available experimental results, a comparative study of different models for crack spacing evaluation is presented, accounting the influence of the FRP strengthening on the crack pattern develop...
Space frame modular construction systems are widely employed as a support for advertising panels, mainly for their strength, modularity, and lightness. In recent times, solutions based on aluminium extruded profiles have demonstrated their capability to solve successfully the problem with high corrosion resistance, and low maintenance costs.The spa...
I ponti ad arco in muratura sono assai diffusi nella rete infrastrutturale nazionale; si tratta di opere costruite per lo più nel secolo scorso, che svolgono tuttora la propria attività a pieno regime. Il recente adeguamento delle Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni riporta in primo piano la necessità di effettuare valutazioni di vulnerabilità sismic...
I ponti ad arco in muratura sono assai diffusi nella rete infrastrutturale nazionale; si tratta di opere costruite per lo più nel secolo scorso, che svolgono tuttora la propria attività a pieno regime. Il recente adeguamento delle Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni riporta in primo piano la necessità di effettuare valutazioni di vulnerabilità sismic...
The problem of the seismic reliability assessment of old masonry wall systems strengthened with fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) is of great practical concern. Recently, the use of these high strength composite materials, like Carbon or Glass fiber composites, has considerably increased in the field of structural repair. The applications in the fiel...
The ultimate strength of reinforced concrete beams retrofitted in flexure and shear by means of externally bonded fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) has attracted the attention of many researchers due to the particularities highlighted by a wide set of experimental results. In fact, an increase of the external reinforcement area does not always lead t...
This paper discusses the problem of predicting the stiffness, load capacity, and failure modes of RC members strengthened in bending with bonded steel or carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic thin plates. A critical issue of this strengthening technique is that, when the plate debonds, the load capacity suddenly drops and the failure mode is typically br...
This paper presents experimental and theoretical research focused on the structural behavior of old brick masonry columns. To gather data on the role played by the evolution of brick-mortar interaction stresses when the load is increasing up to failure, six prototype columns made with 17th century bricks and lime mortar were prepared and tested. Th...
This paper discusses the problem of predicting the stiffness, the load capacity and the failure modes of RC members strengthened in bending with bonded steel or C-FRP thin plates. A critical issue of this strengthening technique is that when the plate debonds, the load capacity suddenly drops and the failure mode is typically brittle. Due to both t...
A direct integration method for the dynamic analysis of structures equipped with viscoelastic dampers (VED) is presented in this paper. The constitutive model of the damper is set using a system of Maxwell elements composed in parallel (MPS); the evolutive behavior of the VE material is accounted for by introducing temperature-dependent mechanical...
The effects of temperature on the energy dissipation of viscoelastic dampers for seismic mitigation of structures are investigated. To simulate the damper behavior, an evolutionary model is proposed to describe the dependence of the mechanical properties of the damper on the deformation frequency and the temperature increase due to dissipation. The...
It is well known that the solution of the forced vibration of a N-DOF dynamical problem is very cumbersome when conditions which allow the equations to uncouple do not exist. In the literature several techniques were proposed to overcome the problem, but they were mainly focused on a particular problem in turn. So, we deemed it useful to search for...
In the paper we consider the problem of fatigue damage arising on light alloy space frame towers subjected to wind induced vibrations during the service lifetime. In order to mitigate the fatigue damage, a passive control technique is proposed, based on the implementation of viscoelastic dampers. A full stochastic formulation is adopted for wind lo...
A strengthening technique that combines carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates and strips of wet lay-up CFRP sheet was used to increase the flexural resistance and the energy dissipation capacity of square cross-section columns of very low concrete strength submitted to constant axial compressive force and cyclic lateral loading. The lami...
In the present work, the possibilities of a CFRP-based strengthening technique, herein designated Core Drilled Mounted (CDM) technique, to increase the shear resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) elements were explored. For this purpose, an exploratory experimental program of short beam shear specimens was carefully carried out with the purpose of...
Projects
Projects (4)
All Dear Colleagues – Collaborators and Their Laboratories are invited to attach to this project Their old, new, and future works or messages about "Stability of Structures under their Own Weight" what takes under consideration the stability of buildings, towers, domes, bridges, hills, slopes, dams, ... et cetera ... , and stability under own weight of columns, beams, plates, cones, ... et cetera ... , as well as designing and vulnerability of structures under dynamic, seismic, earthquake loading.
... if any RSGate Member wants to be added to the project as the Collaborator (at least a co/authorship of one work about the "Stability of Structures under their Own Weight" would be required), He needs to be a follower of a Member ... , sorry ... , but in another way, the system of the project doesn't recognize Him, and He can't be added ... ,
... if any Dear Colleague–Collaborator of the Project wants to add other Colleagues, which work on the stability (at least the co/authorship of one work about the stability would be required) ... - don't hesitate to invite them ...
The main rules of our Project are as follows:
1. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should attach at least 1 work about "Stability of Structures under their Own Weight" or a message about it,
2. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should follow each other,
3. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should read and recommend, if only would be so possibility regarding a scientific level of researches, all works with each other,
4. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should comment works to each other if only would be a reason to do that - comments naturally may be critical but with respect to authors,
5. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should cite each other - if only would be so possibility regarding research works of each one, i.e. in every new work attached to our Project should be cited a big number, e.g. 100 works of Collaborators of our Project,
6. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should collaborate and write common (with the Collaborators as co-authors) papers, books, ... and other kinds of works, if only would be so possibility,
7. if any Colleague–Collaborator of our Project has a possibility to help to publish works (e.g. as a member of a scientific journal or publishing house editorial board) should give massage about it in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project,
8. if any Colleague–Collaborator knows about a conference with "Stability of Structures under their Own Weight" as a panel or topic - He should inform us in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project ...
I hope that the above rules of our Project would help us to get success in our scientific work ... , every one of us would like that His work would be noted, read, recommended, commented, discussed, and cited ... , but somebody should do that ...
Simultaneously I would like to note that renunciation of the rules of the Project, can be taken by other Collaborators as kind of dishonesty, especially when a Collaborator would like to obtain a lot of "Reads", "Recommendations" and "Citations", but self doesn't take any so activity ...
The all Dear Colleagues – Collaborators are invited to be added to the Stability of Structures’s Lab regarding the rules of the Lab:
https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Stability-of-Structuress-Lab-Krzysztof-Murawski
Faithfully Yours
Krzysztof Murawski
All Dear Colleagues – Collaborators and Their Laboratories are invited to attach to this project Their old, new and future works or messages about Stability of Structures, especially: buckling, wrinkling, crimpling, crumpling ... and their energy absorption as well as about dynamic stability, slope stability .. of axially and non-axially loaded structures like columns, tubes, pipes, beams, plates, boxes, tanks, silos, pales, poles, pillars, conical shells, thin-walled structures as well as nanostructures, foams, gels.. et cetera .. made of metals, wood, plywood, bamboo, bones, composite, laminate, glass, ceramic, gypsum, concrete, rock, brick .. et cetera ..
If any RSGate Member wants to be added to the project as the Collaborator (at least a co/authorship of one work about the stability and following of 50 Members of the Project would be required), He needs to be a follower of a member of the project ... , sorry ... , but in another way, the system of the project doesn't recognize Him, and He can't be added ...
Naturally, all Dear Colleagues–Collaborators are asked to add every Colleague, which works on the stability (at least the co/authorship of one work about the stability and following of 50 Members of the Project would be required) ... - and don't hesitate to invite them ...
Dear Colleagues–Collaborators, I would like to thank You very much for Your current engagement in our Project, but let me allow to remind You what does mean "Collaboration" in the case of our Project, i.e.:
1. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should attach at least 1 work about "Stability of Structures" or a message about it,
2. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should follow each other (at least 50 Members of the Project),
3. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should read and recommend, if only would be so possibility regarding a scientific level of researches, all works with each other,
4. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should comment works to each other if only would be a reason to do that - comments naturally may be critical but with respect to authors,
5. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should cite each other - if only would be so possibility regarding research works of each one, i.e. in every new work attached to our Project should be cited a big number, e.g. 100 (a minimum number: 50) works of Collaborators of our Project,
6. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should collaborate and write common (with the Collaborators as co-authors) papers, books, ... and other kinds of works, if only would be so possibility,
7. if any Colleague–Collaborator of our Project has a possibility to help to publish works about "Stability of Structures" (e.g. as a member of a scientific journal or publishing house editorial board) should give massage about it in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project,
8. if any Colleague–Collaborator knows about a conference with "Stability of Structures" as a panel or topic - He should inform us in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project ...
I hope that the above rules of our Project would help us to get success in our scientific work ... , every one of us would like that His work would be noted, read, recommended, commented, discussed, and cited ... , but somebody should do that ...
Simultaneously I would like to note that renunciation of the rules of the Project, can be taken by other Collaborators as a kind of dishonesty, especially when a Collaborator would like to obtain a lot of "Reads", "Recommendations" and "Citations", but self doesn't take any so activity .
All Dear Colleagues – Collaborators and Their Laboratories are invited to attach to this project Their old, new, and future works or messages about "Stability in Plastic States of Squat Columns".
... if any RSGate Member wants to be added to the project as the Collaborator (at least a co/authorship of one work about the "Stability in Plastic States of Squat Columns" would be required), He needs to be a follower of a member ... , sorry ... , but in another way, the system of the project doesn't recognize Him, and He can't be added ... ,
... if any Dear Colleague–Collaborator of the Project wants to add other Colleagues, which work on the stability (at least the co/authorship of one work about the stability would be required) ... - don't hesitate to invite them ...
The main rules of our Project are as follows:
1. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should attach at least 1 work about "Stability in Plastic States of Squat Columns" or a message about it,
2. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should follow each other,
3. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should read and recommend, if only would be so possibility regarding a scientific level of researches, all works with each other,
4. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should comment works to each other if only would be a reason to do that - comments naturally may be critical but with respect to authors,
5. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should cite each other - if only would be so possibility regarding research works of each one, i.e. in every new work attached to our Project should be cited a big number, e.g. 100 works of Collaborators of our Project,
6. every Colleague–Collaborator of our Project should collaborate and write common (with the Collaborators as co-authors) papers, books, ... and other kinds of works, if only would be so possibility,
7. if any Colleague–Collaborator of our Project has a possibility to help to publish works (e.g. as a member of a scientific journal or publishing house editorial board) should give massage about it in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project,
8. if any Colleague–Collaborator knows about a conference with "Stability in Plastic States of Squat Columns" as a panel or topic - He should inform us in the "goal of the project" or in "updates" in our Project ...
I hope that the above rules of our Project would help us to get success in our scientific work ... , every one of us would like that His work would be noted, read, recommended, commented, discussed, and cited ... , but somebody should do that ...
All Dear Colleagues – Collaborators are invited to be added to the Stability of Structures’s Lab regarding the rules of the Lab:
https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Stability-of-Structuress-Lab-Krzysztof-Murawski
Faithfully Yours
Krzysztof Murawski