Luigi Di Sarno

University of Liverpool | UoL · Department of Civil Engineering and Industrial Design

The provision of a minimum relative wall area equivalent to 3% of the total plan area is one of the prescriptive requirements in design process of tunnel-form concrete systems, which is independent of seismic demands and often governs determination of the wall thickness. The high lateral stiffness and resistance of the tunnel-form concrete system g...

Repairing concrete structures affected by reinforcement corrosion is vital to ensure their durability and safety. Organic corrosion inhibitors (OCIs) are widely used in the construction industry to prevent steel corrosion due to their effectiveness, sustainability, and health and safety benefits. However, the effects of these OCIs on different type...

This article conducts experimental studies on the stress-strain response of concrete materials incorporating recycled tyre rubber particles, namely rubberised concrete (RuC), under triaxial compressive loads. A series of experimental investigations are carried out on a multifunctional triaxial testing device to examine the effects of rubber replace...

The extensive time and computational effort are primary challenges in nonlinear dynamic analysis of tunnel-form concrete systems. These challenges lead engineers to resort to simpler, pushover-based analyses, inherently based on estimating the seismic performance point of the system. Technical literature review indicates that no study has yet rigor...

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) is a popular construction material used for partitions and insulation in buildings. At the end of its service life, AAC (Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) will be demolished and subsequently disposed of in landfills, thereby creating depository problem. Therefore, the study of reutilization and recycling of AAC waste is...

Traditional construction is no longer practical in the modern competitive sustainability market, and growing urbanisation demands are paralleled by heightening concerns over the depletion of natural resources. Abundant renewability is offered in agriculture products for construction. A successful prototype is in the use of natural fibre, e.g., the...

The sudden collapse of a school roof in the UK brought widespread attention to the structural integrity of buildings constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material widely used from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. RAAC, known for its lightweight and insulating properties, has been found to suffer from weak compressive strengt...

Existing steel frames not complying with modern seismic codes are often vulnerable to earthquakes due to inadequate seismic detailing. These types of framed structures typically feature semi-rigid and partial strength column-base connections; the behaviour of such connections may significantly affect their seismic performance. However, current code...

This article presents an experimental campaign based on shake table tests conducted as part of the European research project FUTURE, funded in the framework of the H2020‐INFRAIA SERA program. Three steel moment‐resisting frame structures equipped with replaceable dissipative elements were tested. The experimental mockups were scaled two thirds from...

The use of Textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) in the retrofitting of concrete structures has been studied extensively over the last two decades as they have gained considerable popularity as an alternative to Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP). A growing body of literature recognises the significance of employing TRM to repair concrete columns. This is im...

With the advent of new sustainable construction materials, self-healing concrete has been used and tested in the last decade, raising the question of the efficacy of said mechanisms to prevent water permeation after crack formation. Thus, new novel mechanical methodologies have been introduced to induce controlled cracks in concrete specimens to im...

The rapid increase in global vehicles has led to a large number of expired waste tires, and the disposal of waste tires has become an environmental and economic issue. Rubber particles produced from recycled tires can be used as a substitute for natural aggregates in self compacting concrete (SCC). The purpose of this study is to summarize the impa...

Lime has been used in masonry mortars for millennia, and many old buildings remain stand-ing today with purely lime technology, despite its low compressive strength compared with ce-ment. Modern approaches tend towards stronger and more durable materials to minimise repair cycles and labour costs, but at the detriment of traditional buildings. Ceme...

With challenged early detection came the collapse of a school roof, initiating a storm of public mistrust and hundreds of schools under investigation in the United Kingdom. The culprit is a poorly understood material heavily used in the 1950s to mid-1990s, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). As a lightweight material with excellent insul...

In recent years, some studies have explored the determinants of Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption. However, the findings of these studies are varied and sometimes contradicting. Consequently, this study undertakes an in-depth exploration of the relationship between influencing factors and behavioral intention. This analysis is achieved t...

Statistics have shown that construction sites around the world contribute significantly to the global carbon emission, from about 8% contribution of the manufacturing process of cement to the disposal of construction demolition wastes. Attempts are also being made to utilise these wastes in construction, especially concrete, but studies have also s...

Flooding in urban areas is deteriorated due to increased urbanization, concentrated rainfall and impervious pavements. The pervious concrete (Per-C) is prominent in alleviating a significant runoff burden due to impermeable pavement. However, the application of Per-C is limited because of its lower strength to maintain high porosity. This project a...

Building Information Modeling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data are widely applied in the green building industry (GBI) due to the fast-paced digital revolution. BIM enables the creation of digital models of buildings, supporting design optimization, construction management, and sustainability assessment. IoT can automatically acqui...

The rapid increase in global vehicles has led to a large number of expired waste tires, and the disposal of waste tires has become an environmental and economic issue. Rubber particles produced from recycled tires can be used as a substitute for natural aggregates in self compacting concrete (SCC). The purpose of this study is to summarize the impa...

Lime has been used in masonry mortars for millennia, and many old buildings remain standing today with purely lime technology, despite its low compressive strength compared with cement. Modern approaches tend towards stronger and more durable materials to minimise repair cycles and labour costs, but this comes at the detriment of traditional buildi...

The slow creep of microcrack evolution into structural damage and the high embedded carbon value in high Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete mixtures are commonly found in reinforced concrete structures and infrastructure. To test the viability and performance of new and greener alternatives to ordinary Portland cement in concrete, these mixtur...

Similar to other structural systems, the nonlinear modeling process of the tunnel-form concrete system necessitates an understanding of the potential failure modes in its primary lateral load-bearing members. With the identification of failure modes in the elements, deformation-control actions, force-control actions and deformation parameters are d...

Link to Download: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2024.108607 OpenAccess Paper Rocking structural systems have been proposed as a promising solution for designing resilient building structures. These low-damage systems can prevent significant economic losses associated with repair, demolition, and business downtime following earthquakes. The impor...

This paper addresses the evaluation of the effects of corrosion on the performance of ageing steel industrial infrastructures. A novel probabilistic risk assessment method is presented with respect to a case study of a real petrochemical structure located in an atmospheric environment with high severity of corrosion. The results of damage assessmen...

During the field mission days, from May 9th to 12th, 24 engineers and technical personnel affiliated with Italian universities and other institutions, accompanied by 11 engineers affiliated with either METU or TED universities of Ankara, performed post-quake inspections of 204 school buildings (primary and secondary schools) situated in the provinc...

Recent severe earthquakes highlighted the high vulnerability of artistic assets. Thus, the seismic assessment and formulation of preservation strategies of artifacts are key challenges of modern earthquake engineering, which require theoretical and experimental investigations. The present paper discusses the outcomes from large scale shake table te...

The formation of cracks in concrete structures occurs due to a multitude of causes ranging from shrinkage to external loading and environmental exposure. This phenomenon can significantly affect the lifecycle of concrete structures. Self-healing concrete (SHC) is considered a promoted innovation capable of overcoming this inevitable occurrence. In...

Seismic assessment of existing buildings is usually a building-specific task that relies on refined finite element models. Such a task may require considerable computational demand, especially when predicting the seismic fragility of existing buildings under the framework of performance-based earthquake engineering. However, the computational cost...

This paper addresses the evaluation of the effects of corrosion on the performance of ageing steel industrial infrastructures. A novel probabilistic risk assessment method is presented with respect to a case study of a real petrochemical structure located in an atmospheric environment with high severity of corrosion. The results of damage assessmen...

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation into the local buckling behaviour of laser-welded stainless steel slender I-sections under combined compression and bending moment. A testing programme was firstly carried out, including initial local geometric imperfection measurements and eccentric compression tests on t...

A greener and more sustainable option is proposed to shift the construction paradigm of high embedded carbon values in concrete and the frequency of repairs when it cracks. Using low-carbon concrete with a bacterial self-healing agent can reduce the embedded carbon value while adding value to the structure. This paper aims to evaluate the interacti...

One of the pivotal steps in seismic assessment of structures is the definition of functional relationships between an Engineering Demand Parameter (EDP) and a ground motion Intensity Measure (IM). This paper investigates the correlation between widely used non-spectral and cumulative-based ground motion intensity measures and corresponding engineer...

Purpose Building refurbishment (BR) is promoted as a green alternative to demolition and new build for urban renewal. The construction and demolition (C&D) waste of BR is increasing and recognized as more complex to manage. To address the limitations of the current static and linear life cycle assessment (LCA) method for evaluating the environmenta...

The sustainability of the construction industry is a priority in innovations made towards mitigating its notoriously high carbon emissions. Developments in low-carbon concrete technology are of peak interest today under the scrutiny of emerging policy pressures. Concrete is the external part of most structures vulnerable to permanent degradation an...

The study described and summarised in this paper was aimed at developing a framework for the definition of force-displacement relationships for single-strut models for masonry infill walls within steel moment-resisting frames. The methodology is based on a genetic algorithm optimisation and can be used for the calibration of force–displacement curv...

The practical application of cold-formed high strength steel is becoming increasingly popular in structural engineering due to its great efficiency and cost effectiveness. However, cold-formed steel sections are usually associated with high slenderness, hence are susceptible to buckling failure. Consequently, the buckling resistance of steel struts...

Transnational education is education delivered to students in a country other than the country in which the awarding institution is based. While the outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly affected higher education, transnational education has exhibited its resilience against the pandemic, and has been continuously expanding in China. In parallel wi...

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures are severely degraded due to the corrosion of the embedded reinforcing steel, and hence, the upgrading of RC structures is essential. Repairing mortar is widely used to improve durability and strengthen structures; however, further repairing might be required considering the extended life of the structure. The us...

As the driving force of social and economic development worldwide, a vibrant and environmentally friendly construction industry in every country is a necessary element for a successful and green global economy. China has a vibrant construction industry but faces environmental challenges posed by rapid urban redevelopment that generates huge quantit...

On 14th August 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Tiburon Peninsula in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, approximately 150 km west of the capital Port-au-Prince. Aftershocks up to moment magnitude 5.7 followed and over 1,000 landslides were triggered. These events led to over 2,000 fatalities, 15,000 injuries and more than 137,000 structural...

This study evaluates carbon emissions of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated by building refurbishment, using a life cycle assessment approach through a case study project in China. Three waste management scenarios were developed for a building refurbishment project in the city of Suzhou. Scenario 1 is under the business-as-usual C&D...

This paper investigates the seismic vulnerability of existing RC frames exposed to corrosion and subjected to near-field and far-field ground motions. A threefold approach for corrosion is adopted to illustrate the probabilistic framework and define time-dependent performance criteria for an accurate seismic fragility assessment. A bond-slip model...

The EC8 design rules and requirements for steel moment-resisting frames (MRFs) mainly address far-field seismic scenarios. However, there are specific issues to account for Near Fault (NF) strong motions that may increase inelastic demand on structural steel members and joints. The latter are usually designed or qualified for far-field earthquakes....

The presence of masonry infills may significantly affect the seismic behaviour of existing steel moment-resisting frames, characterised by low lateral force resistance and inadequate energy dissipation capacity due to the lack of seismic detailing. Masonry infills may cause variation of internal force distribution along beams and columns, resulting...

The seismic risk assessment of supporting structures, and process piping elevated on supporting structures plays an important role in accident prevention inside process plants. Process piping is an essential yet complex network of pipes that is used inside petrochemical facilities for connecting equipment items. Even though the seismic vulnerabilit...

Atmospheric corrosion can seriously affect the performance of steel structures over long periods of time; thus, it is essential to evaluate the rate of corrosion and subsequent modification of dynamic properties of a structure over different time periods. Standards and codes represent the general guidelines and suggest general protection techniques...

The practical application of cold-formed high strength steel is becoming increasingly popular in industry due to its high efficiency and cost effectiveness. As a consequence of its high slenderness, the buckling resistance of steel struts made of cold-formed high strength steel should be determined with carefulness, particularly in the case where c...

A strong mainshock is able to trigger several aftershocks during a short time interval, causing additional damage to structures. The effect of the polarity of aftershock ground motions (positive and negative) is of great significance, particularly on the residual displacement (RD) demand. The positive and negative polarity occurs when the direction...

Bridges are critical for transportation networks. Temporary closures due to poor maintenance may trigger adverse cascading events, affecting economic and societal well-being. Two main factors play a key role in bridge health conditions: ageing and wear-and-tear due to the increasing traffic. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework to quantify...

Most of existing steel multi-storey frames in Europe have been designed before the introduction of modern seismic design provisions, hence they often exhibit low performance under earthquake loads due to their low lateral resistance and energy dissipation capacity. In addition, such structures often include rigid and brittle masonry infill walls th...

Many existing steel multi‐storey frame buildings worldwide were designed prior to the introduction of modern seismic design provisions or based on outdated hazard maps considering low values of seismic intensity. This often resulted in buildings showing low performances with respect to earthquake loads. Assessment codes, such as the Eurocode 8 Part...

Existing steel moment-resisting frames in several seismic regions worldwide are often characterised by high vulnerability to earthquakes due to insufficient local and/or global ductility. Nowadays, it is of paramount importance to assess their response under strong motions and provide cost-effective retrofitting strategies. Amongst others, the seis...

It is now widely recognised that masonry infill plays an essential role in the seismic behaviour of existing steel buildings; however, there is still a lack of clear guidance on the modelling of masonry infill in the current Eurocode 8-Part 3. Several methods for the numerical modelling of masonry infills have been proposed in literature over the p...

Many existing steel multi-storey frame buildings worldwide were designed prior to the introduction of modern seismic design provisions or based on outdated hazard maps considering low values of seismic intensity. This often resulted in buildings showing low performances with respect to earthquake loads. Assessment codes, such as the Eurocode 8 Part...

There has been growing interest in seismic hazards in permafrost regions as development in those regions has increased. Because major infrastructure, such as natural gas pipelines, has been constructed in permafrost regions, it is necessary to evaluate the seismic safety of such a network system. As frozen soil's dynamic properties differ from thos...

This paper presents an optimization methodology to simulate the monotonic and cyclic response of steel reinforcement smooth bars when subjected to inelastic buckling. A finite element (FE) model of steel rebars, based on non-linear fibre sections and an initial geometrical imperfection, is adopted. The multi-step optimization proposed herein to ide...

In contrast with common buildings, the limit-state assessment has not been applied to pipe-rack – piping systems yet, albeit the seismic vulnerability of critical pipes is rather high. The current engineering practice may design pipe rack – piping systems in a risk-inconsistent way due to the conservative acceptance criteria of seismic codes that k...

Analytical fragility curves for structures used in chemical plants are not commonly derived because of the high computational cost. In contrast, empirical curves are utilized within a quantitative risk assessment framework given that they can be found easily and adopted for different structural configurations. Arguably, analytical fragility curves...

Structural fragility assessment is a fundamental component of modern performance-based earthquake design and assessment processes. Major advances in fragility functions development and implementation have occurred over the past three decades.

Nowadays, there is a lack of adequate code provisions for the seismic performance and risk assessment of steel structures to be used within European countries. At the same time, in several occasions, existing steel moment resisting frames (MRFs) have demonstrated to be very fragile with respect to seismic actions due to their inadequate ductility c...

This paper presents the fragility assessment of non-seismically designed steel moment frames with masonry infills. The assessment considered the effects of multiple earthquakes on the damage accumulation of steel frames, which is an essential part of modern performance based earthquake engineering. Effects of aftershocks are particularly important...

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) highlights the importance of scientific research, supporting the ‘availability and application of science and technology to decision making’ in disaster risk reduction (DRR). Science and technology can play a crucial role in the world’s ability to reduce casualties, physical damage,...

The paper illustrates the seismic performance assessment of a bridge substructure simulating typical existing Italian highway bridges. The reference structural system is a reinforced concrete (RC) 1:3 scale single span bridge, tested on the shaking table system at the University of Naples, Italy. The testing facility consists of two 3m x 3m square...

This paper presents the seismic vulnerability assessment of existing RC buildings designed according to previous non-seismic codes that are exposed to various levels of corrosion and mainshock-aftershock sequences. A refined finite element model of an existing four-storey reinforced concrete building is adopted. Twenty as-recorded natural ground mo...

Numerous aftershocks can be triggered by a strong mainshock and may cause more severe and widespread structural damage with respect to a single seismic event. This study investigates the effect of relative differences between the incident angles of consecutive earthquakes on seismic demands of structures as bi-linear Single-Degree-Of-Freedom (SDOF)...