Francesca Ceroni

• Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope

The paper is devoted to the large-scale assessment of the vulnerability of masonry church façades to the simple out-of-plane rocking mechanism. The main goal is to derive fragility curves assessing the influence of some geometrical and mechanical parameters and the effect provided by tie rods on the façade vulnerability to this type of mechanisms....

The activation of out-of-plane (OOP) mechanisms in the façade walls of masonry churches has been frequently observed during seismic events and therefore represents an important source of vulnerability for this kind of structure. Although there is a wealth of literature on the OOP behaviour of masonry elements, there is a lack of specific analytical...

The out-of-plane failure of façade walls is one of the most typical local mechanisms in masonry churches recognizable in the aftermath of a seismic event. The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of some geometrical parameters of the façade on its vulnerability to simple rocking and, therefore, to define reliable criteria for identifyin...

The paper is devoted to the large-scale assessment of the vulnerability of masonry church façades to out-of-plane mechanisms and of the positive effect provided by anchoring devices. In particular, attention is focused on the simple rocking of the main façade of masonry churches that is analysed by means of a displacement-based approach aimed to ca...

The assessment of safety conditions of archaeological heritage under seismic actions is crucial in preserving its cultural value. Particular attention has to be paid to out-of-plane mechanisms that frequently activate during seismic actions when the connections between masonry walls are absent or lacking. To this aim, the analytical approaches comm...

Due to the recent damage and collapse of several bridges in Italy, reliable quantification of their vulnerability is paramount for planning various risk mitigation and resilience-enhancing strategies. This paper specifically fo-cuses on the seismic vulnerability and loss assessment of existing reinforced concrete (RC) deck-stiffened arch bridges. T...

Several earthquakes have highlighted over time the high vulnerability of masonry churches to horizontal actions, so that more and more research is being devoted to the assessment of their seismic response and to the design of strengthening interventions to guarantee their preservation. This paper analyses in detail the damage suffered by a large sa...

Out-of-plane failure of façades is one of the most distinctive local mechanisms in masonry churches recognizable in the aftermath of a seismic event. The purpose of this paper is to derive large-scale fragility curves for masonry church façades using incremental static analysis, and to assess the influence of some parameters on their vulnerability....

Masonry structures without box-like behaviour are often prone to the complete or partial out-of-plane failure of their walls under horizontal actions, i.e. mainly the seismic ones. Steel grouted anchors or tie-rods have been widely used in the past to improve connections between orthogonal walls and avoid out-of-plane mechanisms. However, reliable...

The churches represent the most widespread building typology within the monumental masonry heritage present in the Italian territory. A special attention needs to be paid to the assessment of the vulnerability of these structures because of the particular architectural features (slender walls with large openings, wide halls and huge vaults, large f...

Grouted anchors made of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) pultruded bars are recently used to improve the masonry walls out-of-plane (OOP) response. However, despite the availability of some experimental investigations on different typologies of anchors embedded in different types of masonry, assessing their contribution to the OOP response of masonry...

The out-of-plane failure of façade is one of the most typical local mechanisms in masonry churches recognizable in the aftermath of a seismic event. The analysis of such a failure is addressed in this paper with reference to a sample of twenty existing masonry churches hit by the seismic event of 21st August 2017 in the Ischia Island (Italy). The m...

Existing Reinforced Concrete arch bridges represent still today an important part of transportation network. The peculiarities of such bridges make particularly complex the assessment of their behaviour under both static and dynamic actions and, therefore, their safety. This work concentrates on a specific arch bridge typology known as the “Maillar...

Structural behavior of reinforced concrete elements strongly depends on the interaction between the reinforcing bars and the surrounding concrete, which is generally referred as “bond in concrete”. In service conditions, the reinforcement-to-concrete bond governs deformability through the tension stiffening of concrete surrounding the bar as well t...

Structural behavior of reinforced concrete elements strongly depends on the interaction between the reinforcing bars and the surrounding concrete, which is generally referred as “bond in concrete”. In service conditions, the reinforcement-to-concrete bond governs deformability through the tension stiffening of concrete surrounding the bar as well t...

The paper deals with the description of detailed non-destructive in-situ tests and the analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the Santa Maria Maddalena church, located on the Ischia isle and partially damaged by the seismic event of August 21st, 2017. This church is a very special type of structure built in 1896 according to a mixed ‘baraccato’ const...

The paper presents the results of nonlinear analysis carried out on RC deck stiffened arch bridges, a particular typology diffused in Italy in the 50s, known also as ‘Maillart bridges’. The particularity of the ‘Maillart’ bridges is mainly represented by the high stiffness of the deck beam in comparison with the slenderness of the arch aimed to red...

The ultimate behavior of Reinforced Concrete (RC) slabs or beams without specific shear reinforcement could be affected by shear issues, especially in the case of concentrated loads close to the supports. The assessment of shear strength of such elements still is a challenging problem. Several formulations are available in the current standards for...

Assessment of churches based on empirical data at a territorial scale is a suitable tool to have an overview of the seismic behaviour of this peculiar structural typology and to evaluate their current state of vulnerability. Fragility and vulnerability curves are also aimed to perform the analysis of different seismic scenarios. The paper presents...

An atypical ‘baraccato’ system made of masonry walls encaged in iron frames was realized in the Ischia Island after the earthquake of 1883; an interesting example is represented by the Santa Maria Maddalena Church. Unfortunately, while several experimental and numerical studies can be found in the recent literature for traditional ‘baraccato’ syste...

On August 21st 2017 an earthquake of magnitude Mw = 3.9 occurred in the Ischia Island (Italy), causing numerous damages to ordinary and monumental buildings and two casualties. Immediately after the earthquake, teams from the Universities of Napoli Federico II and ‘Parthenope’, carried out inspections on the churches of the island in two phases: th...

The assessment of churches at a territorial scale is a suitable tool to have an overview of the seismic behaviour of this peculiar structural typology and to evaluate the current state of vulnerability based on empirical data. Fragility and vulnerability curves can also be obtained to perform the analysis of different seismic scenarios. The paper p...

The traditional use of steel plates externally glued to Reinforced Concrete (RC) elements represents still a good solution for strengthening existing structures in comparison with the use of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) sheets and laminates due to relatively low prices, ductile stress-strain properties, possibility of increasing also the stiffnes...

The ‘baraccato’ system is a typical building technique for masonry structures with clever earthquake resilient features, used for the reconstruction of historical city centers in Europe and especially in the South of Italy after some seismic events occurred in the 18th–19th centuries. An atypical and very innovative ‘baraccato’ system was realized...

Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composites represent an innovative and effective retrofitting solution for masonry structures. The use of FRCMs as an external retrofitting technique requires an insight knowledge of their mechanical behavior, failure modes and masonry-to-FRCM bond properties. A Round Robin Test (RRT) programme was launc...

This paper presents the results of several numerical analyses aimed at investigating the in-plane resistance of masonry walls by means of two modelling approaches: a finite element model (FEM) and a discrete macro-element model (DMEM). Non-linear analyses are developed, in both cases, by changing the mechanical properties of masonry (compressive an...

Assessment of the mechanical properties of masonry materials is a key issue for evaluating the strength capacity of masonry walls. Two types of tests are usually adopted for experimentally evaluating the shear capacity of masonry walls: diagonal-compression and shear-compression. Different approaches are available in the literature for their interp...

The 20 th century is known as the age that gave birth to the largest reinforced concrete structures. Many applications of this new material were realized at that time, both from a theoretical and practical point of view: it is the century of the first reinforced concrete arch bridges as well. For arch structures, concrete is typically preferred to...

The seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings to out-of-plane failure mechanisms is frequently related to poor connections between orthogonal walls. The effectiveness of these connections represents a necessary condition to transfer the horizontal action to the in-plane stressed walls, allowing a box behaviour of the whole structure. Steel injecte...

After the seismic event of August 21st, 2017 that hit the Ischia Island (Italy), in-situ surveys were carried out on several masonry churches located in the island in order to assess the damage induced by the earthquake. Among the inspected churches, a very interesting case study is represented by the Santa Maria Maddalena Church, located on the hi...

The assessment of the effectiveness of strengthening interventions against the out-of-plane failure mechanisms of masonry walls requires developing a proper modelling approach. In this paper, the attention is focused on strengthening systems based on injected anchors made of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) tubes. The resistance to corrosion...

The present analytical work deals with the assessment of the performances of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Deck Arch Bridges under the non-seismic loading conditions required by the current mandatory Italian codes. In particular, the attention is focused on a specific RC deck arch bridge typology, better known as the “Maillart Type Arch Bridge”, which i...

In-plane strength of masonry walls is affected by the resistant mechanisms activated in the walls, i.e., related to flexural or shear behavior. The latter one can occur in the walls according to different failure modes depending on both mortar and unit strengths and on the type of assembling, i.e., ‘regular’ or ‘irregular’ texture. In this paper, a...

The paper focuses on the study of “Deck-Stiffened Arch Bridges”, also known as “Maillart-Type Arch Bridges”, a particularly widespread typology in Italy, built between the 40s and the 60s of 20th century. In order to facilitate the “by hand” solution, the typically adopted calculation schemes at the time were easier than the ones currently adopted,...

Strengthening systems for existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures are increasingly needed due to several problems such as degradation of materials over the time, underdesign, serviceability or seismic upgrading, or new code requirements. In the last decades, strengthening by fibers composite materials applied with various techniques (FRP, FRCM...

This volume gathers the latest advances and innovations in the field of structural health monitoring, as presented at the 8th Civil Structural Health Monitoring Workshop (CSHM-8), held on March 31–April 2, 2021. It discusses emerging challenges in civil SHM and more broadly in the fields of smart materials and intelligent systems for civil engineer...

The ‘baraccato’ system is a construction technique with genius earthquake resilient features, used for the reconstruction of the historical city centres in the South of Italy after the catastrophic events occurred in the 18th-19th centuries. A very interesting example of such a building typology is represented by the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena...

Injected anchors in masonry elements represent a widespread technique for improving the ‘box behavior’ of masonry structures, since they contribute to avoid or delay out-of-plane mechanisms under horizontal actions. Despite of their diffusion, no clear design indications for injected anchors are available in literature and codes. This paper is aime...

The paper compares several simplified methods proposed in the literature for assessing the seismic vulnerability of existing buildings. Type and number of input and output data, limitations of use for different structural typologies, and complexity of use are examined for each methodology to identify the most suitable for assessing the vulnerabilit...

The arch bridges are one of the oldest type of structures and have always expressed a strong aesthetic value. Reinforced Concrete (RC) arch bridges are today still one of the most important part of transportation systems. These bridges have specific peculiarities that make particularly complex the assessment of their behavior under both the static...

Over the last recent years, the interest in the use of injected anchors as a strengthening method for avoiding out-of-plane mechanisms in existing masonry buildings has been strongly increased. Common traditional techniques made by steel bars are currently integrated by alternative ones based on the use of innovative materials as Fibre Reinforced P...

Strengthening strategies and structural rehabilitation of existing buildings with innovative materials and techniques are today one of the main activities in the field of structural engineering. Externally bonded Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM), materials are spreading as an alternative strengthening technique to the more traditional Fi...

The paper is aimed to carry out a critical analysis of the available experimental results of pull-out tests related to several types of injected anchors in masonry elements. The database is also comprehensive of the results of some experimental pull-out tests directly carried out by the Authors. Both data on traditional steel bars and on anchors ma...

The paper shows the results of a large experimental activity for the qualification of wet-lay-up FRP products for structural repair and/or strengthening, required by the Italian national approval authority. The qualification procedure and the correspondent design rules are described in national guidelines. The analysis of the experimental results o...

Injected anchors made of steel bars embedded in masonry elements by means of cement-based grout represented in the past a wide solution for avoiding out-of-plane mechanisms. Corrosion phenomena in steel bars reduced the effectiveness of such type of intervention over time. Innovative materials, as the Fiber Reinforced Plastic ones, can represent a...

The paper presents a detailed report on a large sample of masonry churches damaged by the 2016–2017 Central Italy seismic sequence. The first part of the work analyses the seismic sequence to give an overview of the occurred events in terms of both ground motion parameters and macro-seismic intensities. The surveyed data are organized into a databa...

The strengthening intervention strategies for structural rehabilitation of existing buildings with composite materials are becoming today very common. Thin composites are ideal for retrofitting buildings in seismic contexts. Their high strength/weight ratio implies a good increase of the strength without adding significant additional masses to the...

Latest Italian earthquakes have significantly highlighted that heritage masonry buildings, especially churches, are considerably vulnerable to seismic actions. Though usually made of good quality materials, churches are characterized by highly vulnerable structural morphologies and architectural configurations, such as significant dimensions, wide...

The paper focuses attention on the performance of injected anchors embedded in masonry elements. The bond behaviour is investigated by means of a three-dimensional Finite Element model aimed to assess the global strength capacity of the injected anchors and to investigate the stresses distribution in the masonry element when some meaningful paramet...

On August 21 st 2017 an earthquake of magnitude Mw = 3.9 (Md = 4) occurred in Ischia Island (Napoli, Italy), causing numerous damages to ordinary and monumental buildings. In September 2017 teams from the University of Napoli Federico II carried out usability checks on churches. The damage evaluation of churches was performed by filling the II leve...

Masonry churches hit by 2016-17 Central Italy seismic sequence confirmed their intrinsic seismic vulnerability. A detailed report of the damage data collected during the in situ surveys carried out during the emergency phases is presented. The data were recorded by filling the II level post-earthquake survey form (A-DC) with reference to masonry ch...

In the last decades Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) have been widely adopted for strengthening and repair of damaged structures. Design indications about the use of FRP materials as external strengthening techniques for structures are available in Italy since 2004, while only in 2015 the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation publishe...

During the seismic event of 21st August 2017 in Ischia, many masonry churches were damaged. Within the inspected damaged churches, a very interesting case study is represented by Santa Maria Maddalena church, located on the hill of Casamicciola Terme, near to the epicentre. The church of Santa Maria Maddalena can be considered a ‘unicum’, since it...

The paper proposes fragility curves of masonry towers accounting for Soil-Foundation-Structure (SFS) interaction under seismic loadings. The effects of structural slen-derness and soil compliance were investigated by analyzing three structural schemes placed on different soil typologies. 3D models including the soil, the foundation and the structur...

Several experimental tests recently performed on tuff or clay brick masonry elements (i.e. walls and arches) demonstrated the benefits of Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) systems used as externally bonded reinforcement for strengthening and seismic retrofitting of masonry structures. Tensile tests on coupons made of different FRCM materi...

In-plane floor deformability is an important issue for the correct assessment of the behaviour of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures subjected to seismic loads. Several studies have demonstrated that in-plane floor deformability is often not negligible in structures with RC walls as vertical resistant elements, since it mainly depends on the relat...

The objective of this study is to evaluate the bond performance of various anchorage methods that can particularly be used for fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) shear-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams. Overall, twenty-five bond tests are carried out with two different experimental test setups that simulate the behaviour of an anchored FRP...

Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM), also known as Fabric Reinforced Mortar or Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix, composites are an emerging technology for the external repair and strengthening of existing structures. For most applications, the effectiveness of the TRM reinforcement relies on its bond performance. This recommendation identifies the...

The paper discusses the effect of the soil–foundation–structure interaction on the seismic assessment of the tallest monumental tower in Napoli under the historical earthquake which severely damaged the structure in 1456. To this aim, a detailed characterization of the soil, the foundation and the structure and an accurate definition of synthetic a...

Advances in dynamic numerical analyses and investigation techniques nowadays allow to simulate the seismic behavior of structures through increasingly detailed models, calibrated on in-situ dynamic surveys. The different factors affecting the calibration procedure should, however, be well identified and properly represented in the model. Usually va...

Abstract Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) materials are becoming an alternative strengthening technique to the well-known Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials applied by means of epoxy resin, especially for masonry elements. Experimental tests have shown that the performance of elements strengthened with FRCM systems depends on the...

This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental campaign of bond tests aimed to assess and compare the influence of several environmental conditioning factors (humidity and temperature) on the bond behavior of two different types of composites systems glued to concrete elements: a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) system made of a carbon...

Numerous experimental programs have been conducted in recent years to understand the potential benefits of different types of external reinforcement systems aimed to reduce the seismic vulnerability of existing structures. The Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Mortar (FRCM) materials are spreading as an alternative strengthening technique to the tradit...

The use of epoxy bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) materials as strengthening technique for existing masonry structures is becoming in the last years more and more widespread, but some topics, as the effect of the mortar joints on the bond performance at the reinforcement/masonry substrate interface, still represents an open question. This pape...

An increasing interest and application is nowadays found for composite systems in construction and rehabilitation industry. The consensus on fibre reinforced composite systems was mainly based on high tensile strength, light weight, relative ease of installation, and resistance to corrosion. However, some drawbacks related to the epoxy (hence, orga...

Mortar-based reinforcements are an innovative solution for retrofitting existing structures that combine effectiveness, compatibility, and sustainability. Despite the recent spreading of field applications, there is still insufficient knowledge on their fundamental mechanical properties, and a regulatory gap for experimental procedures and design c...

Abstract in English The paper presents a synthetic statistical analysis of the data collected during in-site inspections, following the 2016-17 Central Italy seismic sequence, on 237 churches located in the most affected regions (Lazio, Abruzzo, Umbria and Marche). The most significant seismic events were taken into account: August 24th 2016, Octob...

The non-linear behaviour of an ancient masonry bell tower was investigated by means of a refined three-dimensional Finite Difference Model developed in the software FLAC3D. The Carmine Bell Tower is a monumental one located in the city of Napoli characterized by a slender architectural configuration and made of two types of masonry: tuff blocks and...

In this paper the results of pull-out tests on several types of injected anchors embedded in masonry elements made of yellow tuff are described and compared. Several bonded lengths and configuration of the masonry elements were considered in the tests. In particular, pull-out tests of anchors installed in single tuff stones were carried out in orde...

Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Mortar (FRCM) is becoming an alternative strengthening technique to Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials applied by means of epoxy resin, especially for masonry elements. Experimental tests have shown that the performance of elements strengthened with FRCM system depend on the bond behaviour at both the FRCM reinfo...

In this paper, the in-plane deformability of floors in Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures has been investigated in order to establish the role of lightening elements made of both traditional ceiling bricks and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) blocks. The study has been firstly developed via the implementation of three-dimensional finite element models s...

Fibre-reinforced composite materials have gained an increasing success, mostly for strengthening, retrofitting, and repairing existing structures. However some problems may arise with the use of traditional FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer), particularly when the compatibility with the substrate and the reversibility of the intervention are required,...

Composite materials consisting of high-strength fibers embedded in inorganic matrix (Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Mortar materials, FRCM) are becoming more and more widespread as strengthening technique for existing masonry structures because of the higher compatibility of the inorganic matrix with the masonry supports compared with the epoxy adhe...

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the bond performance of different anchorage techniques that can in particular be used for fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) shear-strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams. The results of two different experimental programs are gathered and compared to highlight some common aspects. Overall, 25 bond test...

The effectiveness of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) materials for external strengthening of existing masonry elements is strictly conditioned by debonding phenomena. To avoid or delay the debonding and, hence, attain higher failure loads or larger ductility at failure, end anchoring devices may be a very suitable solution. Several types of end anch...

Evidences of damage induced by past and recent earthquakes in Italy testify the seismic vulnerability of masonry towers, especially when founded on soft soils. A significant case study is represented by the 68m high Carmine Bell tower, located in the coastal area of Napoli urban center. The structure, the foundation and the subsoil of the tower wer...

The first part of the paper presents the results of two series of in situ pull-out tests of injected anchors embedded in existing yellow tuff masonry walls. Anchors are made of steel and GFRP bars with diameter of 12 and 20 mm and were embedded by means of two types of grout: a cement-based and a pozzolana-based grout. The results were examined in...

An innovative technique is being developed for the structural rehabilitation of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures. In particular, the infill walls of RC framed structures are often identified as non-structural elements, but currently are considered with an important role in the structural behavior because they participate to the in-plane strength...

The paper presents the experimental results of bond tests carried out by four laboratories (University of Sannio, University of Bologna, University of Padova, Cracow University of Technology) within the activities of a Round Robin Test (RRT) organized by the Rilem TC 250-CSM. All bond tests were realized according to a single shear set-up on red cl...

ABSTRACT: A wide experimental program, carried out by the Authors within the activities of the research project PROVACI, is described in detail in this paper. The experimental program concerned diagonal com-pression tests on 50 masonry walls made of both tuff blocks and clay bricks and retrofitted by means of sev-eral innovative composite grids emb...

The paper is firstly aimed to furnish a review of the current knowledge about the bond behavior of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP)-steel joints with reference to: a) experimental results of bond tests available in the technical literature, and b) existing strength model for estimating the debonding load. In order to assess the influence of geometric...

This chapter gives an overview on the state-of-the-art of the Near-Surface Mounted (NSM) technique for structural retrofitting of reinforced concrete structures using Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP). The chapter is divided in 5 sections. Firstly, general aspects of the technique are introduced, including main advantages, nomenclature adopted, type...

This chapter provides an overview of the debonding process between the FRP reinforcement and the concrete substrate. The main aspects of the debonding phenomenon are described and discussed, showing also mechanical interpretation of different processes. Experimental techniques to study the bond behavior between FRP and concrete are also described a...

A synergic approach for the investigations of the historical building performances - with reference to both the structural behavior and the energy performances for the space heating and cooling - is presented. The historical masonry building “Palazzo Bosco Lucarelli”, located in Benevento, has been chosen as case study.