Vasco Bernardo

• PhD
• Postdoctoral Researcher at Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE)

Modular construction has been increasingly used worldwide due to its fast assembly, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability; however, the performance of these structures in seismic-prone regions remains a significant engineering challenge. The seismic behavior of modular buildings varies significantly, depending on the configuration of prefabricated...

Although mainland Portugal has been spared from large magnitude earthquakes in recent years, it faces a threat due to the presence of several active fault systems. In such a framework, Portuguese pre-code masonry construction is believed to be the most vulnerable in the existing building stock. Given the lack of information on earthquake damage to...

Traditional unreinforced masonry structures are extremely vulnerable to seismic events, featuring large losses in many countries worldwide. This study focuses on the seismic assessment of a traditional masonry structures located in Faial Island—Azores (Portugal), which was hit by an earthquake of M w = 6.2 on 9 July 1998. A set of analyses was cond...

Through the centuries, earthquakes represent one of the main causes of damage and loss of cultural heritage, monumental buildings, and historic centres, affecting the development of many countries worldwide. These kinds of constructions are usually constituted by structural masonry and have shown evidence of good behaviour under vertical static loa...

Selection and scaling of ground motion records have been recognised as one of the major sources of bias and uncertainty in the seismic assessment of civil engineering structures. This review paper provides a comprehensive description from a critical point of view of the scaling and selection approaches of earthquake motions for structural engineeri...

Earthquakes are a major cause of damage and human losses to the built environment, including cultural heritages, monumental buildings and historical centers. In the last decades, the seismic performance of buildings has received special attention due to the interest in the built heritage conservation and protection of human life, particularly with...

The seismic performance of buildings has received special attention due to the interest in the built heritage conservation and protection of human life. The historic urban centers are dominated by old unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, which techniques and construction materials have evolved during centuries. Given the presence of these building...

Earthquakes are a major cause of damage and human losses to the built environment, including cultural heritages, monumental buildings and historical centers. In the last decades the seismic performance of buildings has received special attention due to the interest in the built heritage conservation and protection of human life, particularly with r...

Despite the fact that in recent years Portugal has not seen the occurrence of high-magnitude earthquakes, it remains threatened by these events due to its geographic location. Since the 1960s, reinforced concrete has been the most used material for new constructions; however, the historic urban centers are dominated by old unreinforced masonry (URM...

Over the years, masonry structures have shown evidence of good behavior under vertical static loads; however, its characteristics make the use of this heterogeneous material unsuitable for buildings in seismic zones. Masonry building aggregates represent a common structural typology in many cities around the world. The present work addresses the se...

Although Portugal has not been hit by high‐magnitude earthquakes in recent years, its history is marked by tragic seismic events and it remains susceptible due to its geographical location. The Portuguese building stock is constituted approximately by 45% masonry residential buildings and most were built before the enforcement of the first seismic...

The Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (MAL) has the highest population and building density in Portugal, and is exposed to medium to high magnitude earthquakes due to its geographical location. Currently, the MAL housing stock is constituted by approximately 35% of masonry residential buildings with a large variability of materials and construction techn...

Prediction of effective elastic and strength parameters of both regular and irregular masonry walls from homogenization is presented. To that end, the widely accepted first order homogenization method is adopted to provide the homogenized elastic stiffnesses or compliances as well as macroscopic parameters of the selected nonlinear constitutive mod...

Despite the fact that in recent years Portugal has not seen the occurrence of high-magnitude earthquakes, it remains threatened by these events due to its geographic location. Since the 1960s, reinforced concrete has been the most used material for new constructions, however the historic urban centers are dominated by old unreinforced masonry (URM)...

According to normative requirements, analytical seismic vulnerability assessment and structural reliability analyses were carried out on a large set of masonry buildings representative of the Portuguese housing stock, which led to the development of rapid methods for seismic assessment as an alternative to the reference method defined in the Europe...

Masonry is a heterogeneous composite material made of bricks bonded by a mortar matrix. Modeling such a material on macroscale typically calls for homogenization adopting a suitable constitutive model capable of capturing its quasi-brittle behavior. The present contribution concentrates on comparison and potential application of classical isotropic...

This paper outlines prediction of macroscopic effective properties of a regular masonry from homogenization. It focuses on the derivation of nonlinear macroscopic stress strain curves adopting either classical isotropic or more advanced orthotropic damage model. The response resulting from both tensile and compressive uniaxial loading is examined i...

The aim of the present work is to predict the collapse mechanisms associated to “placa” buildings in Portugal, which are characterized structurally for the concrete slab supported by resistance masonry walls. This typology was built between 1930 and 1960 and represents 32% of buildings in Portugal [2]. In their design the impact of earthquakes was...

The aim of the present work is to predict the collapse mechanisms associated to “Placa” buildings in Portugal, which are characterized structurally for the concrete slab supported by resistance masonry walls. This typology was built between 1930 and 1960 and represents 32% of buildings in Portugal [2]. In their design the impact of earthquakes was...

The aim of the present study is to analyse the in-plane behaviour of two masonry walls, with and without retrofit, under cyclic horizontal loading and simultaneous vertical loading. An advanced nonlinear structural-analysis software based on the Applied Element Method (AEM) [1] will be used to predict the behaviour of the walls until collapse. Expe...

The paper addresses the seismic vulnerability assessment of a multi-span footbridge, prone to span unseating due to shorter seat lengths. The structure is representative of a series of pedestrian crossings located in the Southern part of Portugal, a region with a relevant seismicity. A probabilistic approach allows considering the variability of th...

Os sismos constituem uma das manifestações mais destrutivas e violentas da natureza, sendo responsáveis por inúmeras tragédias humanas, às quais estão associadas perdas económicas significativas. É possível estabelecer, a partir de experiências associadas a sismos já ocorridos, que os danos sísmicos podem assumir uma grande multiplicidade de formas...