Evaluation of timber floor in-plane retrofitting interventions on the seismic response of masonry structures by DEM analysis: a case study

Abstract

The seismic response of existing masonry structures is strongly influenced by floor and roof in-plane properties. An in-plane strengthening intervention is often needed on traditional timber floors to overcome their low in-plane stiffness and to preserve historical buildings. In this study, the effect of un-stiffened and stiffened timber floors on the seismic behaviour of an existing listed masonry building is investigated with dynamic non-linear analyses by means of the Discrete Element Method (DEM). With this approach, the failure processes and collapse sequences of masonry structures can be followed in detail. A previously developed model of the floor cyclic behaviour, based on experimental data, is here applied in the DEM models of the masonry building. Different seismic ground accelerations, different floor types and different wall-to-diaphragm connections are considered. The results highlight the effectiveness of the analysed floor strengthening solution in reducing the out-of-plane displacements of masonry walls. With adequate connections, the reinforced floor is able to transfer the seismic forces to the shear resistant walls up to the shear-sliding collapse of the side walls of the structure. A comparison with the ideal rigid diaphragm case confirms the good performance of the strengthened floors. The small observed out-of-plane displacements are compatible with the masonry wall capacity, and the reinforced floor hysteretic cycles contribute to dissipating part of the input energy. Moreover, different designs of the connections can also cap the transferred seismic forces to an acceptable level for seismic resistant walls.