Seismic Vulnerability of Historical Constructions: A Contribution

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering 1: 3782, 2003.
2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Seismic Vulnerability of Historical Constructions:

A Contribution
CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA
DECivil/ICIST, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Lisbon, Portugal (Fax: 00 351 218418200; E-mail:
csoliv@civil.ist.utl.pt)
Received 20 November 2002; accepted in revised form 26 February 2003
Abstract. Earthquakes are known to be natural hazards that have affected tremendously historical
constructions. Unfortunately, as far as earthquake impacts are concerned, there are no world statistics
to compare the suffering of populations or of the building stock and their evolution in time, with the
damage inflicted to the stock of historical constructions. Lately, a great effort has been placed on
engineering developments: (i) to better understand the seismic behaviour of historical construction
and (ii) to assess the benefits of different techniques for reinforcing these structures. However, a great
deal of discussion is still going on the type of reinforcement that should be applied, how effective
it is and how much it costs. Research is needed for helping in these decisions, by providing a more
precise framework in this field. The aim of this review is to make an overall insight on some of the
available methods for assessing seismic vulnerability of historical constructions and on how to use
them in the case of occurrence of an earthquake. Given this occurrence, the objective is to minimize
the effects of aftershocks, avoid hurried demolition made under extreme pressure and help shore-up
parts in risk of falling. The final aim is also to help in the definition of strategies for the repair of the
damaged patrimony, or as a measure to prevent damage in future earthquakes for the most vulnerable
cases. The paper is illustrated with the presentation of several examples published in the literature
where the author participated.
Key words: civil protection, historical centres, historical structures, modelling, monitoring, monuments, retrofitting, seismic behaviour
1. Introduction
The protection of historical built heritage from natural hazard has been the object
of many studies and discussions and Carta di Veneza (1964) has defined the main
principles on how this protection should be done in order to keep its most authentic
value.
It is well known how much this heritage has suffered from the action of earthquakes, Figure 1, where three different cases are shown. The first, Figure 1a, represents the damage to a church in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the second, Figure 1b,
the damage to a masonry church in our times and the third, Figure 1c, the damage
to a modern mosque.
To minimize further destruction under future seismic activity it is necessary
to reinforce the existing structures that are more vulnerable; but this action al-
38
Figure 1. Typical damage to monuments: a) the Lisbon earthquake of 1755; b) the 1980
Azores earthquake; c) the 1999 Izmit earthquake.
ways causes some perturbation to the authenticity of these structures as far as the
historical evolution of their design is concerned.
The main purpose of the engineering analysis of these structures is to obtain
the best solution that minimizes the intervention and, consequently, to balance
between the need for safety and integrity, and the need for preservation of the
original structure and tissue.
There is only one way to look into the problem, which is to analyze structure by
structure, understanding its initial construction and its evolution in time under the
action of all aging ingredients, both from nature and from repairing, including the
earthquake impacts.
In this overview we look at several different cases which gave us a fair amount
of experience and try to see where science can help in decision making. We try
to generalize from these examples into the vast world of monuments in order to
foresee the possibility of applying a simple tool to measure their vulnerability.
This methodology has been explored with some success in the field of the stock of
houses and has produced results for detecting the housing categories more prone to
the earthquake threat. Observational aspects, carried out in field missions after the
occurrence of an earthquake, form an extended basis for the method.
SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Figure 1. Continued.
39
40
The latest evolution within this context is the Hazus methodology, developed
earlier in the USA. Hazus 99 (1999) has launched a great campaign to assess
vulnerability of various types of the US constructions merging observation with
non-linear structural analysis. However, historical structures in the US cover a narrow recent time interval, not contemplating the most common monuments existing
in the rest of the world, namely in Europe and South America. So, it is of great
importance to develop the necessary tools to establish vulnerability functions for
these historical constructions.
Fragility of monuments has been recognized throughout the ages so that different cultures have developed their own reinforcing techniques. The use of ringbeams, wood and steel ties, wooden frames inside walls and vaults, gravity exterior
walls (counterfort) of various forms and sizes, and replacement of heavy materials by lighter portions are among the most important measures for structural
retrofitting of old structures. The same can be seen in the evolution of the layout of
the structure as function of materials and technology.
Through the presentation of several cases, which summarize the experience
gained in the last 20 years, the following items are addressed in this review work,
some in extent, others just mentioned:
Definition of Cultural, Architectural and Historical Heritage: built patrimony;
monuments; historical constructions and historic urban centre;
Typology, structural categories;
Causes for severe damage: soil settlement; too much load; lack of bracing;
Causes for slight damage in parapets, obelisks, colonnades, etc.: lack of bracing;
Material properties: mechanical characterization;
Analytical studies: definition of mechanisms;
Experimental studies;
Definition of Seismic Loads;
Techniques for reinforcement;
Codes for retrofit;
Policies for prior reinforcement vs. posterior repair;
Vulnerability analysis/assessment: development tools for rapid screening of vulnerability from geometrical plans and construction materials;
The role of Civil Protection and Emergency Preparedness;
Policies for mitigation.
Cultural heritage is seen in this paper as the set of historical constructions with a
remarkable fabric, including monuments and historical centres. Even though they
present completely different features in geometry, size and connectivity among
themselves, there are still many common problems to be solved. One of them is
the construction material which is essentially the same, even though monuments
in general present better and more homogeneous standards. The second similarity
has to do with the way the connections between elements are performed. Third, is
a topological problem derived from the fact that monuments are very often located
adjacent to buildings in an historical centre.
41
The geometric scale gives the most important dissimilarity, as most monuments
are, generally speaking, of greater volume than historical centres. This scale factor
has great importance, not only due to the larger loads present in the structure but
also due to the drift of frequencies of vibration towards lower values for the larger
structures.
Other types of structures with historical interest due to its function to the society
are also included in this definition. Old bridges, aqueducts, chimneys, and also
construction from the industrial period can be considered.
We will dedicate most of our discussion to historical construction including
monuments, but nevertheless, whenever of interest, mention is made to historical
centres.
1.1. THE WORLD DAMAGE PANORAMA FOR HISTORICAL STRUCTURES AND
MONUMENTS
Unfortunately, there are no world statistics of damage inflicted by earthquakes to

the stock of monuments. Also, no detailed catalogue of monuments exists, with
location, typology, damage suffered along the times and the repair/reconstruction
processes involved. Exceptions to this are a few good examples observed in recent
earthquakes where information has been collected and sometimes is even available
in the internet (DISEG, 1999; DGEMN, 1999).
This world statistics would be of most interest because correlations with seismic
intensity, type of structure and soil foundation could be better established. The type
of repair could also be considered.
To emphasize the problem at the world level, first we are mentioning a few cases
from the last quarter of the XXth century with an important impact on the historical
patrimony and, at a later stage, we dedicate a more detailed analysis to what has
happen in Portugal.
Antgua, the capital of Guatemala, was particularly affected by the 1976 earthquake, which destroyed the Cathedral and caused a variety of damage to many
other churches. In the same year, the region of Udine in northern Italy was also
affected seriously by another earthquake (Doglioni et al., 1994) and the same has
happened in November 1980 in south Italy during the Irpinia earthquake.
In June 15, 1999, a magnitude Mw = 6.7 earthquake with epicentre in the state
of Puebla, Mexico (Mercalli modified intensity - VIII) caused important damage
to a group of around 600 churches, a few as old as those of the XVIth century
(Jimnez et al., 1999). The observed type of damage consisted essentially in the
opening of longitudinal cracks along cylindrical domes, due to the lack of support
from the lateral walls. The bell towers were also very damaged with the formation of diagonal cracking in the zone interacting with the front wall. The fall of
ornamental blocks was generalized. In June 23, 2001 a large event (ML = 8.4),
near the coast of Peru, also caused extended damage to monuments, namely, in the
Moquegua Cathedral (EERI, 2001), located more than 100 km from the epicentre.
42
Acceleration records in this region indicate Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of

220 and 295 cm/s2 , respectively, for components N-S and E-W.
Curiously, in spite of the large damage caused in Mexico City during the September 19, 1985 earthquake, to the stock of buildings of reinforced concrete structures with heights between 8 and 15 stories, the monumental structures did not
suffer anything. The spectral content of the ground motion constitutes the main
reason to explain such difference in performance.
But it was the Umbria-Marche (Italy) series of earthquakes in 1997 that most
impact caused to monuments in the last years. It spread damage in the centre of
Italy (4 main events with magnitude Mw of the order of 6), causing large effects in
more than 3350 churches in the region near Assisi.
The earthquake series caused damage to 1815 churches in Umbria (DAyala,
2000) and to 1450 in Marche, without too many total collapses but with important
losses in the historical heritage due to highly developed crack patterns and partial
collapses. About one third of these churches had already undergone some form
of strengthening (transversal ties, longitudinal ties, ring-beam, concrete roof, or
combinations), and damage patterns were highly dependent on the existence of
these elements. It was observed that the efficiency of the technique used is also
very dependent on the type of damage involved and this requires much further
research.
Damage caused to the historical heritage by these earthquake series is very
well described in several publications, and a great deal of good information on
vulnerability of monuments can be gathered from this important experience (see
Lagomarsino, 1998).
The level of vulnerability shown by churches and other monumental structures under seismic action is in general higher than the vulnerability of traditional
housing due to large open spaces, lack of horizontal thrusting elements and large
slenderness existing in those structures. This may cause an overestimation of the
intensity evaluation of ground motion for the cases where only large monumental
structures are analysed.
1.2. SOME STATISTICS OF DAMAGE IN PORTUGAL
Damage to the built heritage in Portugal has very close links with the history of
earthquake occurrences. Actually, the reverse is also very true: the strength of an
earthquake is measured by the damage caused to the built patrimony, and can be
somehow compared along the times because this built patrimony has been around
for many centuries, surviving many earthquakes.
Figures 2 and 3 and Tables I to V present an account of the damage inflicted
to monuments and historical housing during few of the most severe earthquakes in
Portugal: in Continental Portugal 1755; 1969; in the Azores 1980; 1998. It can
be seen that a large portion of the monumental stock has been heavily damaged. An
extreme good similarity between the percentage of affected monuments in the 1755
43
Figure 2. Damage to monuments and important buildings: Lisbon, 1755 (total 402).
Figure 3. Damage to monuments and important buildings: Azores, 1980 (total 218).
and 1980 Azores earthquakes derives from the fact that, even though typologies are
quite different, their construction was still similar. For a better description of these
two events see Pereira de Sousa (1923) and Kendrick (1956) for 1755 and Oliveira
et al. (1992a) for the Azores.
It is also interesting to mention that the same structure has been damaged in
different earthquakes. This is the case of the Lisbon Cathedral (S de Lisboa),
greatly destroyed in 1531 and 1755, and the case of Igreja da Conceio in Horta,
destroyed in 1926, partially rebuilt with concrete ring-beams and greatly damaged
in 1998.
2. Typlogies and Types of Damage
Many researchers have worked in the past on the characterisation of historical
monuments having in mind the structural behaviour under seismic loads. Texts
by Giuffr (1992), Kirikov (1992), Mainstone (1993), Doglioni et al. (1994), Meli
(1998), Barbat (2001), Macchi (1998), Tassios (1988), etc., are just a few docu-
44
Table I. Lisbon earthquake 1st Nov. 1755; Damage to

buildings in the city (average MM intensity IX).
Total number of existing buildings
20 000
Heavy damage
Collapse
12 000
2 000
60
10
Table II. Earthquake 28th Feb. 1969; Damage to

monuments (average MM intensity VI-VIII).
Total number of affected churches
Moderate/Heavy damage
185
20
%
10.8
Cost of repair: 50 000 Euro (year 2000) per church;

30 day repair time.
ments from last decade. Many more could be added to this list. The work done
on the aftermath of the Umbria-Marche earthquake under the sponsorship of the
GNDT (National Group for Defence from Earthquakes) in support to the Commissioner Delegated for Cultural Heritage (Brovelli et al., 1998), is a great example of
what should be done in relation to monuments.
A simple classification was essayed by Oliveira et al. (1992b), when building a
data-base related to the Azores earthquake of 1980. In that case, several categories
of churches were considered based on size, such as cathedrals, large churches,
chapels, very small chapels. Other category was directed to convents, and another
to palaces of different sizes.
For each category, a definition on the type of material, the type of structural layout, and structural elements, roof type, etc., were also included. Main dimensions
would complement the information on geometry and mechanical characterization.
Another type of information includes the existence of changes, repairs made,
etc. The 1980 Azores data-base contains also a measure of costs to repair the
damage.
Damage to monuments is of great variety and, consequently, difficult to put
down in a simple matrix. The most frequent types of damage in churches, by increasing order of importance, are: (1) damage to the towers, sometimes with their
falling; (2) separation of the main peripheral walls, by rotation in relation to the
foundation line; (3) cracking of these walls due to in-plane shear forces; (4) partial
or total collapse of corners; (5) crushing of vertical elements due to high axial
forces, in columns and walls; (6) damage in regions outside the main structure.
The nature of these damages depend on many variables such as the presence
of connectors to restrain walls, the state of deterioration, the type of soil, the type
of seismic action including the presence of vertical components. Crespellani and
45
Table III. Earthquake 1st Jan. 1980 in the Azores; Damage to buildings (average MM intensity VIII).
Total number of existing buildings
27 000
Heavy damage
Collapse
15 000
5 400
55
21
Table IV. Earthquake 1st Jan. 1980 Terceira/So Jorge, in

the Azores; Damage to monuments (average MM intensity
VIII).
Total number of existing monuments
Slight damage
Heavy damage
Collapse
359
54
58
50
15
16
14
Uzielli (2001) show clearly that damage of monumental structures has a lot to do
with the soil type where the structure is seating. Seismic spectral content as well as
the time evolution of the strong motion records are of most critical importance to
the seismic performance of the structure. These aspects depend very much on the
proximity of fault source, of the presence of soft soils and topographic geometry.
During the 1998 Azores earthquake, it was observed that vertical components of
ground motion played also a significant role in the observed damage of not only
monuments but also of masonry walls in buildings, due to the fact that friction
among masonry units (elements) was quite reduced, allowing the dismantling of
the fabric of the walls.
Besides the causes above referred, for which the lack of bracing is one of the
most important, other causes of severe damage are soil differential settlements and
the presence of too high loads in elevated locations. The performance of arches and
vaults depends essentially on the behaviour of the corresponding bedding. When
Table V. Earthquake 9th July 1998 Faial/Pico, in the
Azores; Damage to monuments (average MM intensity
VI-VIII).
Total number of existing monuments
27
Heavy damage
Collapse
16
3
59
11
46
these beddings settle, the arches cannot take too high load, forming hinges, which
will eventually lead to collapse when a mechanism takes place.
Causes for slight damage in parapets, obelisks, colonnades, etc., are essentially dependent on the absolute acceleration and duration of seismic motion at
the location of these elements.
Other types of important monumental structures are old masonry bridges and
aqueducts. They have not suffered much damage in past earthquakes. Two types
can be identified for earthquake resistance: slender bridges or aqueducts with long
spans and bulky bridges. They have completely different behaviours due to their
different flexibilities, masses and, consequently, frequencies. Not much statistical
information exists on these structures. We will look into the analysis of the slender
aqueducts. Damage to the bulky types is mainly due to lack of confinement of
lateral walls on top of the arches.
When dealing with the stock of buildings, the main categories used in the above
mentioned data-base for the Azores were again the limit states no damage, slight
damage, moderate damage, heavy damage or partial collapse, and total collapse.
Different parts of these structures could undergo different types of damage.
The existence of such a data-base for making the inventory of monumental
structures, as an updated green card, is of prime importance to keep up the state of
deterioration of these structures, helping, in the event of an earthquake, the teams
in charge of determining the ones requiring more attention. In fact, information on
the material already available for a given structure, the existence of prior studies
and who did them, repairs operated, etc., will speed up a more correct diagnosis
on what to do to prevent further damage. Using data from damaged structures in a
large number of cases will permit to determine correlations of damage with ground
motion characteristics and type of structures. Actually this was done in the Azores
and in a much more detailed way in Umbria-Marche (DISEG, 1999).
3. Modelling Techniques and Experimental Calibration: Evolution in the
Recent Times
As is many problems of structural engineering, there are several ways to analyse the
structural integrity of monumental structures. We can classify them into several categories as follows: simple geometry linear 1-D cases; complex geometry linear 2-D
and 3-D cases; non-linear 1-D case; non-linear complex 2-D and 3-D cases. Within
the most interesting and sophisticated non-linear models we can refer the ones with
discrete blocky elements, the ones using plasticity models and the theory of failure
such as the Coulomb criteria, or the models which can deal simultaneously with
small and large displacements with the same accuracy (Extended Distinct Element
Method; Meguro and Hakuno, 1994; Meguro and Tagel-Din, 1997). Other models
developing constitutive equations for friction between blocks (Loureno, 1996) and
for interfaces (masonry joints under shear) (Oliveira and Loureno, 2001) are also
merging the theory of inelasticity into the description of more heuristic models.
47
Experimental techniques, using in-situ measurements based on ambient noise

to obtain the frequencies of vibration of the structure, have been utilized to calibrate the models. These techniques are fundamental tools for this verification but
they lack of information on the structural behaviour under intense amplitudes of
vibration.
Complementary studies have been done in laboratory, by testing parts of structures under large amplitudes. These studies are essential to get a proper characterization of material properties in the non-linear range. Also the determination of
damping associated to different materials is of most interest.
Influence of type of masonry, the shape, size and geometric arrangement of
stones, the presence of mortar connecting different layers of stones and the form of
connecting elements at the edges of walls, columns, vault footings, as well as the
connections between timber elements and masonry walls, present great uncertainties on the overall performance of the entire structure.
On top of these aspects, historical structures suffered interventions along the
centuries, with alterations in several of its members which not always contributed
to a better performance. Increases in weight at the roof level, demolition of parts
of the structure, opening of passages in weak zones, and the normal degradation
process from aging, are among the most common cases of structural changes weakening the structure. These changes in mass, stiffness and strength properties are
sometimes aggravated by the occurrence of past earthquakes which caused partial
or total damages in parts of the structure.
Research has evolved tremendously in the recent past in different directions,
but it is not yet possible to say that the problem of vulnerability is solved. Many
advances in structural mechanics with better modelling have been made. But the
complex modelling of these 3-D non-linear structures at an atomic level is still
far from being achieved.
It would be of most importance to develop a screening procedure to identify
the structures which are clearly more vulnerable to the earthquake action. This
screening procedure should rely on a minimum number of requirements capable
of informing about those capacities. These should include geometry and material
properties, in a detailed or coarse description. For the first case, a good survey and
the testing of a few materials are required. In the second case a general layout,
thickness of walls and material properties taken from a generic observation might
be enough. A good example of the second procedure is the survey made of all
historical monuments in Portugal (DGEMN, 1999), consisting in the digitizing of
all existing plans, drawings and faades.
Early models were very simple, evolving to more complex when geometry information, materials characterisation and software availability could accompany.
Beam elements were considered in the analysis of structures with a 2-D and 3-D
clear element type. The most remarkable example of this technique is the study of
Aqueduto das guas Livres in Lisbon, made in late eighties with beam elements
(Figure 4). This structure was later studied with discrete macro elements in a 2-
48
D (Azevedo and Drei, 1995) and 3-D analysis (Sincraian et al., 1998; Sincraian,
2001). This last case was done for just a pillar of the Aqueduto (Lemos et al.,
1998). The complexity of the entire structure was summarized to a single pillar
made of an outer blocky type structure filled with rubble masonry.
All evidences in the different performed analyses, point out to that in the longitudinal direction the structure can stand without great problems PGA of the order
of 1 g, whereas in the transverse direction the PGA values cannot surpass 0.3 g.
A great deal of information was gathered for this structure, from the geometry
to the material properties as obtained from boreholes made at various locations
and ultra-sound prospection, and confirming the historical appreciation made from
existing information.
In-situ dynamic analysis with ambient noise done in late eighties (Oliveira
et al., 1991), before digital signals became popular, was able to identify several
frequencies and corresponding modal shapes. These frequencies were confirmed
from the analysis of the record obtained during the occurrence of a magnitude
Mb = 3.5 earthquake with epicentre 1015 km away, recorded at the top of one
pillar. Spectral analysis of this record clearly shows the existence of several higher
modes, but the first two modes, even though present, were not greatly excited due
to the high frequency content of this small magnitude event. (see Annexe 1 for
more details)
Other cases of bridge-type analysis were done in the bridge of Ribeira Grande
(Oliveira et al., 1994) and in the Aqueduct of Aqueduto gua da Prat (Drei and
Oliveira, 2001a). In both cases, experimental in-situ measurements were always
used to calibrate the analytical models. For the first case, a simple representation
with beam elements was used, while in the second case a more sophisticated shell
element was developed (Figure 5) (see Annexe 2 for more details).
The application of simple linear models for the analysis of churches was also
performed in the early nineties (Gil and Oliveira, 1994 and Guerreiro et al., 1990).
The use of even more sophisticated representations of structures, with 3-D detailed finite element discretizations has been developed in very recent years. Examples of illustrations in the case of churches are given in Loureno et al., (1999)
and Moreira et al., (2001) (Figure 6) for linear global analysis and by Lagomarsino
et al., (2002), involving some kind of non-linear analysis.
The Discrete Element Method has also been used to analyse the behaviour of
structures under large displacements and results seem very promising (Sincraian
et al., 1999). A light-house of blocky masonry (Figure 7) and a statue of cut-stone
(Figure 8) were analysed under strong shaking showing good similarities between
the observed pattern of damage and the output of the analytical response (Oliveira
et al., 2002). Aqueduto da Amoreira was also analysed (Drei and Oliveira, 2001b)
comparing a linear 3-D model with a more refined discrete element technique (see
Annexes 3 and 4 for more details about Figures 7 and 8).
49
Figure 4. View of the Aqueduto das Aguas

Livres in Lisbon. Computed shapes for the first
three transversal modes of vibration from in-situ measurements (Oliveira et al., 1991).
50
Figure 5. Finite Element Model of Aqueduto da Agua

da Prata in Evora
(Drei and Oliveira,
2001a).
Figure 6. Detailed Finite Element Model of a church in Pico, Azores (Moreira et al., 2001).
Another technique which cannot be ruled out in the context of structural safety
of monuments is the instrumentation of these structures with strong motion equipment waiting until records from earthquake motion are registered.
The technique has been applied in cases of buildings, bridges and a few cases
of geotechnical structures, with very interesting results. It allows to calibrate modelling and to check all hypothesis of non-linearity. By similarity, it is supposed to be
one of the most efficient ways to monitor the performance of historical structures,
which have a very complex behaviour. Unfortunately, there are so far very few
cases of reference, as described below.
One, not yet publicized, occurred in the Blue Mosque during the Izmit earthquake of August 17, 1999, where several records were obtained clearly showing
an increase of natural periods which tend to recover partially after some time (M.
Erdik, personal communication, 2001).
According to Meli et al., (2001), the Tehuacan earthquake (Mw = 7), June 1999
in Mexico, caused damage to about 1800 historic buildings, most of them colonial
51
Figure 7. Lighthouse of Ribeirinha: a) elevation and plan; b) response obtained with the Discrete Element Model for different input multipliers, July 9, 1998 earthquake (Oliveira et al.,
2002).
temples and convents of the central states of Puebla and Oaxaca. The example of
the Mexico City Cathedral, where several strong motion instruments were placed,
is of great value to validate design procedures and determine the main characteristics of seismic response. The recording of a few earthquakes, even though of not
great amplitude, was good enough to understand the most important features of its
behaviour, stressing the weaker points of the structure.
Also, in the aftermath of the Umbria-Marche earthquake crisis in Centre Italy,
September/October 1997, the Holy Monastery and the San Francesco Basilica in
Assisi were monitored for earthquake action by automatic systems with 25 accelerometer transducers (Menga et al., 1998). During a period of 7 months in 1998,
380 events were recorded, 50 of which with PGA above 1 cm/s2 . Maximum PGAs
of 100 to 200 cm/s2 were recorded at top levels. From this data it was observed
that for larger events the amplification in terms of PGAs from base to top was of
the order of 2.4 whereas this amplification increases up to 4.0 for lower intensity
values, indicating the increasingly dissipative capacities of this type of structure
when excitation level increases.
Another example, not of comparable interest, was obtained at a traditional 3story masonry house within an antique XVIIth century block of buildings (Figure 9), which was monitored with 3 strong motion instruments, one at each story,
and recorded a few magnitude 3 to 4 earthquakes producing PGA at the ground
52
Figure 8. Statue in Horta: permanent configuration after the July 9,1998 earthquake for
different input multipliers and the real situation (Oliveira et al., 2002).
floor in the order of 0.03 g. (Figures 10 and 11), and showing a clear amplification
at the top level (see Annexe 5 for more details).
Models based on collapse mechanisms have also been used to derive vulnerability functions, both for historical centres (Spence et al., 2000) and for monuments (DAyala, 2000). This implies the definition of prior patterns for collapse
mechanisms, establishing minimum energy concepts.
Several studies were performed on shaking tables with small scale models or
parts of structures. Pseudo-Dynamic testing were made on real scale structures.
One interesting example was performed in ELSA/Ispra (Pinto et al., 1998) on an
arch of blocky masonry to test analytical modelling in case of large displacements
(Figure 12). Geometrical as well as material non-linearities were analysed at length
and results are very promising in confirming the accuracy of sophisticated nonlinear modelling (see Annexe 6 for more details).
With all these testing devices and techniques, it is greatly desirable to have in
the near future good and simple tools for analytical evaluations of seismic performance, such as the pushover technique, capable of define a capacity curve for a
complex structure such as an historical construction. The examples presented by
Lagomarsino et al. (2002) go in this direction.
4. Mechanical Characterization of the Masonry and Structural Elements.
Testing
Only in recent years testing of old masonry elements has begun. This together with
the fact that a large variety of different masonry materials and arrangements do
Figure 9. Modelling an urban XVIIth century house in Azores: the GZCAH.
53
54
Figure 10. Ratios of PGA of observed records at GZCAH Terceira Island Azores earthquake
March 4, 2000 (black 3rd level/ground level; dark grey 2nd level/ground floor).
exist, creates a great stimulus for a more correct characterization of the dynamic
properties of these materials. The influence of the quality of mortar and its state of
deterioration is also critical.
Under moderate seismic loading, masonry structures develop non-linear behaviour due to cracking of mortar, which creates additional difficulties for the
interpretation. Even higher difficulties arise in the cases of strong loading, up to
the collapse, with the formation of large deformations, including mechanisms and
instabilities.
Many researchers have developed in the past modelling for the analysis of
historical structures, from simple masonry material to individual elements, to complete structures. A few were already cited in section 3. Two techniques were used
for this purpose: (1) vibration measurements of simple structures for which it was
possible to determine, from basic physics, the modulus of elasticity of the material
under small to moderate amplitudes; (2) performing in-situ testing of parts of walls
or other construction elements, to determine non-linear behaviour and the corresponding mechanical properties. The first technique could also be used, as seen
previously, in connection with other more complex structures.
For simple material testing conventional laboratory testing is recommended.
Ultra-sound techniques are also of great help in homogeneous bodies.
Other techniques performed elsewhere for large deformations include the use
of flat-jacks or similar devices and the laboratory testing of non altered parts or
elements.
Equivalent moduli of elasticity for the initial state of deformation were obtained from natural frequencies in experimental low-strain dynamic testing. As a
summary of results one could say that a poor quality masonry in a church tower
(Oliveira et al., 1991) led to E = 5 GPa, while in a bridge (Ponte da Ribeira
Grande) with good basalt but poor connecting mortar or no mortar, E = 5.1 GPa
was a good value (Oliveira et al., 1994). At the guas Livres Aqueduct, the sclerometer gave an equivalent E = 13 GPa for the harder limestone, 5 GPa for the
altered limestone and around 1 GPa for the interior rubble.
55
Figure 11. Analytical model versus observation (earthquake March 4, 2000): superposition
of responses (unit: cm s2 ) 2-nd story level, transverse and longitudinal components (black
recorded; grey model) (Emasonry = 0.506 GPa; Etimber = 11.0 GPa).
From testing different types of traditional masonry plastered with poor aggregates (thickness of 66 cm and density of 18 kN m3 ), we obtained a modulus of
elasticity E of 0.3 to 0.5 GPa, and of 0.2 GPa for the case of dry irregular rubble
masonry (Guedes et al., 1999). For more rigid elements, such as ignimbrite stone,
tested in laboratory by ultra-sound techniques, E = 7.5 GPa. Timber used in the
roof has an E varying from 10 to 12 GPa.
56
Figure 12. The COSISMO project (Pinto et al., 1998): a) test set-up; b) deformation pattern
and corresponding damages.
Table VI. Typical Modulus of elasticity, E, for different traditional old masonry.
Individual elements
Blocky good masonry
Blocky intermediate
Poor masonry
Up to 100 GPa
20 GPa
25 GPa
0.30.5 GPa
In relation to strength properties information is even more scarce than for the
E values. For a poor masonry the yielding compression in bending presents values
varying from 75 to 150 kPa and ultimate shear from 10 to 20 kPa (Guedes et al.,
1999) for large distortions.
Other examples can be given: In a recent study (Kaya et al., 2002) of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, a comparison between computed and in-situ measured
frequencies has recommended values for modulus of elasticity E = 2.3 to 3.3; GPa;
= 0.2; = 20 kN/m3 for stone and bricks, and E = 0.6 GPa for mortar. These
numbers agree to a certain extend with the values obtained with non-destructive
tests of ultrasonic nature.
An analysis of the Monastery of Jronimos, in Lisbon made of outer good
blocky limestone, mixed with rubble stone, have led to E = 2.7 GPa; = 0.2;
57
= 23 kNm3 ; tensile stress 0.1 MPa; compression stress 22.5 MPa.

(Loureno and Mouro, 2001). On the other hand, Marble of Parthenon lead to
E = 7080 GPa, tensile stress 78 MPa; compression stress 8090 MPa
(Angelides, 1998).
5. Vulnerability Assessment
Vulnerability studies are essential tools to solve a large group of problems among
which we can enumerate the ones for preparing emergency planning for civil protection. Great efforts have been given to the housing stock of buildings and, in
particular, to the segment of historical buildings forming the historical centres.
In the following we refer to some work devoted to these centres, as they can
considered as relevant parts of the monumental tissue and because a great deal
of information, data and experience can be used in these monumental structures.
5.1. DEFINITION OF GROUND MOTION
Ground motion is the process linking the vulnerability to damage. It has already
been referred the importance of a correct evaluation of past actions to correlate
them with damage occurred, as well as to predict, within the lifetime of the structure, the motions that can act at the foundations. This process requires the analysis
of the hazard and of the frequency content and time evolution of motion.
Besides the standard analyses, in recent earthquakes (Azores, 1998; Izmit, 1999;
Chi-Chi, 1999), two new observations, besides the soil strata characterization, become clear in near field: (1) the fling; and (2) the directivity effect. The first one
has to do with the tectonic deformation from the fault slip. The second with the
rupture process which causes a constructive interference in the direction of rupture
and destructive interference in the opposite direction. These two effects are very
important in the behaviour of the monuments and need to be explored. They have
never been included in any code of actions.
Another topic of great importance in the near-field, already mentioned, is the
presence of large vertical accelerations which are very critical for masonry structures as their influence on the friction forces acting on the contact surfaces may
become crucial.
The ground motion in terms of demand-acceleration-displacement-spectrum together with capacity curve specific for a given historical construction will define
the preliminary response of the structure in terms of displacement, and thus estimating its performance for that ground motion. This will constitute a first and
simple approach to a more scientific evaluation of the seismic performance of
historical constructions in analytical/experimental terms.
58
Figure 13. Fragility functions for historical urban centre (adapted from Oliveira et al., 1992).
5.2. HISTORICAL CENTRES

Several historical urban centres have been studied in the recent past in order to
define the most critical structures and to help in the design of emergency planning.
Usually these centres present a large concentration of population during the work
hours and their vulnerability is higher than the one in areas with more modern
construction.
In Portugal various cases have been the subject of study. The first example was
developed within the TOSQA Project (19941996), an EC/Environment project
contributing to the understanding of seismic behaviour of historical urban centres,
with application to Alfama, in Lisbon (DAyala et al., 1997). Using similar methodologies, the cases of vora and Cascais were essayed (C. S. Oliveira, personal
communication, 1994, 1996). More recently and using more sophisticated analysis,
Lisbon, Angra do Herosmo and Faro were also subjected to this type of analysis
(Dias et al., 2001).
It consists in classifying buildings by typology class and attributing vulnerability functions to each class. The classes were based essentially on age, number
of stories and presence of similar adjacent buildings, and vulnerability was taken
from experiences of past earthquakes, conveniently adapted to the situation under
study. Application of Hazus 99 methodology is now in progress, but great care has
to be exercised prior to use it in the framework of old masonry structures. That is
where the analytical methods referred in sections 3 and 4 can produce promising
information.
The inventory of the building stock was obtained for all these cases from field
work. Other more expedite techniques are being studied. The use of the Census
information has also been applied in studies for a more coarse analysis.
To calibrate vulnerability and fragility functions, data from past events is essential. The cases of Azores and Umbria-Marche are of great importance to both
the historical centres as well as for monuments. In Figure 13 we show the fragility
59
curves for the old masonry housing in Azores, obtained from the data-bank with
more than 3000 cases. For Italy a great effort has been placed in this area of knowledge; Giuffr (1993), Carocci (2001), DAyala and Speranza (2002) and Sar et al.,
(2002) are just a few researchers dedicated to it.
5.3. MONUMENTAL STRUCTURES
The experience from the GNDT studies in Italy (Doglioni et al., 1994), together
with the information gathered in the Umbria-Marche earthquake, led Lagomarsino
(1998) to propose a classification of damage to churches into several categories,
Figure 14, creating a damage index. This researcher also presented a vulnerability
index based on the potential level of damage in each one of the 16 situations of
Figure 14. Each situation is called a macroelement that can be damaged separately
in a church and has been identified in many past earthquakes as common patterns.
(The number of macroelements has been increased lately to 18 for a better description of mechanisms that may occur). Of course they do not appear independently
one from another, but for the time being, simple average of all situations is already
a large step for an overall assessment of their seismic behaviour.
Damage index: is a number between 0 and 1, which measures the average level
of damage to the church;
Vulnerability index: is linked to the propensity of the church to be damaged by
the earthquake.
While the damage index is an average of the different damages observed in
each one of the 16 possible mechanisms that can be formed during an earthquake,
the vulnerability index is also an average measuring the potential for activating
collapse mechanisms, independently from the seismic action. As Lagomarsino
(1998) states, the first index is particularly useful to estimate the seriousness of the
overall damage inflicted to a church, and the second one can be used for prevention
attitudes, prior to the earthquake.
These two indexes are a first tentative to address the vulnerability of monuments
on a descriptional basis. Merging with analytical modelling will give better support
to the method.
Correlation between vulnerability index and damage has been obtained by
(DAyala, 2000). Figure 15 shows the differences of performance of various types
of elements and collapse mechanisms. And Figure 16 proposes a global vulnerability function for monuments.
Recent works by Doglioni et al. (2000) have developed the concept of mechanisms in macroelements in a much more refined form, detailing the types, including
further elements and subdivisions and considering specific cases.
60
Figure 14. Schematic representation of damage mechanisms in churches (Lagomarsino,

1998). Each macroelement defines a possible damage mechanism in a church, as observed
in past earthquakes. Damage indexes and vulnerability indexes are overall measures accounting for the various mechanisms and their degree of damage (observeddamage;
potentialvulnerability).
61
Figure 15. Vulnerability of monuments for different parts and mechanisms (DAyala, 2000).
Figure 16. Vulnerability functions (adapted from DAyala, 2000).
6. Proposal of Possible Reinforcing

6.1. EXISTING DATA
Strengthening masonry buildings to improve their resistance to earthquakes has
been practised throughout the history, particularly in those areas where damaging
earthquakes are more frequent. The use of external gravity pillars to balance walls,
steel ties at floor and roof levels connecting the external walls together, steel staples
around corners or connecting large stones, are among the most common practices
62
in some historical areas (Spence et al., 2000). More recently other techniques were
essayed, including peripheral beams and reinforced masonry (Lizzi, 1990) that
consists of a dense series of steel bars grouted in small holes across the masonry
material.
However, until the last 10 years, there were very few cases in which old masonry buildings, strengthened to improve their earthquake resistance, had been
tested in subsequent earthquakes (Spence et al., 2000). Recent European earthquakes in Kozani, Greece (1995) Umbria-Marche, Italy (1997) and Azores, Portugal (1998) have provided a very much larger data-base of damage information
on such buildings in Europe, which can be used to review the effectiveness of
alternative approaches to strengthening.
6.2. REINFORCEMENT OF MONUMENTS IN CONTINENTAL PORTUGAL ,
TERCEIRA , FAIAL AND PICO
The experience in Portugal in the last 30 years can be summarized as follows.
In 1969 (Continent), for the earthquake which damaged quite a number of
churches in southern Portugal (see section 1), the repair consisted essentially in
applying a ring-beam running at the top of the walls just below the roof, or at
mid height if walls were too high. This reinforced concrete tie had a minimum
number of steel bars, just to ensure connectivity at the top of those walls. The same
technique was widely used in connection to the 1973 earthquake crises that affected
Pico and So Jorge islands in the Azores, Figure 17.
It is worth noting that in the Azores, after the 1926 earthquake in Faial, repair
actions used the concept of steel rods to tie peripheral walls. This technique gave
quite good results as observed in the subsequent events.
In 1980 (Azores), the repair philosophy for repairing the monuments and of
the older building stock as well, was in a first phase to insert inside the walls a
strong reinforced concrete (r.c.) frame system which would take almost all the
seismic load. Inclined r.c. slabs made the roof, Figure 18. In a second phase, the
intervention became more soft with the introduction of more gentle r.c. and steel
elements.
In 1998, contrarily to the policy recommended for the reconstruction of the
building stock (Ravara, 1980; Carvalho et al., 1998), no indications were provided
to the designers. Consequently, the strategy for each monument was decided by the
engineering designer.
For solving masonry weakness in its wall plan, recent techniques for confining
these walls were developed using jacketing of masonry. This kind of intervention,
which has been widely used in the Azores after the 1998 earthquake, is made by
shotcrete and light steel net reinforcement, Figure 19a, in both interior and exterior
wall surfaces, with connecting ties through the wall. In zones of aggressive weather
conditions, stainless steel has to be recommended for prevention of early corrosion.
63
Figure 17. Typical reinforcement practiced in Portugal in the period 19601970.
Another technique to bind the blocky masonry is by using steel ribbons, permitting
a good confinement of the entire wall, Figure 19b (Dolce et al., 2001).
The damage data produced in the historical centres, Assisi (EMS intensity VI),
Sellano (EMS intensity VII-VIII) and Nocera Umbra (EMS intensity VIII), by the
Umbria-Marche earthquake sequence, was examined by DAyala (2000) in order
to analyse the influence of strengthen and no strengthen policies and, among the
first, which techniques would produce better results.
This data, analysed for a group of 5 typical macroelements, shows that the performance of churches which had undergone some type of strengthening is much
better than those without any improvement; and the ones with seismic strengthening performed even better, Figure 20. Even though the use of tie-rods did not
produced an improvement as good as that of all seismically strengthened buildings, the behaviour still was much better than that of churches with no seismic
strengthening at all. This last statement was confirmed in the Azores earthquake
64
Figure 18. Schematic layout of reinforced elements used in the period 19801990: a) plan
view; b) vertical cross-section.
of 1998, for buildings damaged in 1973 and 1926 and retrofitted with tie-rods and
concrete ring-beams.
These techniques have been supported by the results of laboratory studies and
design procedures which indicate that they should be able to improve performance,
even if not to the level of resistance required for new structures; and regulations
have been developed (e.g., in Italy) to permit improvement strategies to be employed on a local basis. New technologies, including the use of damper devises in
identified locations, light materials to replace heavy parts, plastic reinforcements
to be applied in zones of stress concentrations, etc., are recommendable if used
without aggression to the historical patrimony.
65
Figure 19. Recent solutions proposed for confining masonry walls: a) light steel skin framing;
b) stainless steel ribbons applied to masonry (Dolce et al., 2001).
However, it is very important to better perceive the costs associated to each

technique, the degree of benefit, feasibility of application and its durability. These
points are of crucial importance when interventions in many structures are needed.
Also the definition of a time for intervention requires a cost-benefit analysis with
all parameters available.
6.3. URGENT INTERVENTIONS
Shore-up techniques, based on well defined modelling and experimental diagnosis, to save damaged monuments is of prime importance in the reduction of the
consequential damages.
This requires the uses of a rapid screening methodology, for which detailed
equipment of observation and measurement is required. This includes a proper
setting to access to some conspicuous locations such as inner sections of vaults,
and measuring the changes of frequency of some important mode shapes.
7. Emergency and Preparedness
As said before, the aim of this review paper, besides making an overall insight on
the seismic vulnerability of the historical constructions, is to analyse how to use
66
the vulnerability concepts right after the occurrence of an earthquake. With this
objective in mind, we should minimise the effects of aftershocks, avoid an hurried
demolition made under extreme pressure and help shore-up parts in risk of falling.
The role of Civil Protection and Emergency Preparedness is as follows:
Prior to the event Evaluate the most critical monuments; enquire the means and
resources as preparation for intervention; get a sheet with check list for immediate
intervention; acquire equipment for inspection.
After the event Do not let further destruction; have teams prepared for rapid
intervention for shore-up and stop aggravation due to aftershock sequences. A
guideline with the best intervention techniques should become available.
Figure 21 presents two examples of actions taken in the aftermath of important
events with the objective of reducing the impact of future seismic activity such as
aftershocks. The first one shows how it was possible to save the stability of the
gable of a church in Assisi after being damaged by a previous earthquake (Croci,
1998), and the second the temporary bracing of a masonry tower in the Azores
exhibiting an important diagonal cracking, capable of reducing the potential for
collapse during aftershock activity.
67
Figure 20. Influence of type of repairing in the vulnerability of monuments (DAyala, 2000).
1520% more churches without any kind of retrofit suffer the same type of damage ratio than
churches with some kind of retrofit, for most of the domain (d = 0.15 to 0.9).
It is also very important to use all available modelling techniques to determine

the capacity of a structure for surviving a strong aftershock.
Zuccaro and Papa (2002) suggest a handbook for seismic damage evaluation
of masonry structures, based on a collection of examples of mechanisms that can
occur in the structure. Together with the assessment of vulnerability index it is
possible to evaluate the state of damage of the structure during a post-event survey.
Doglioni et al., (2000) presents a large collection of examples with illustrations
for intervention after the Umbria-Marche earthquakes, an important guide to be
followed by all entities devoted to this problem.
8. A Final Word
In this review paper we have tried to link analytical modelling, experimental observation and measurements with earthquake performance of historical constructions,
in order to devise techniques for better evaluate their vulnerability. An historical
evolution and advancements were briefly referred.
Many issues still need good answers; explanations require new scientific developments; and simple and cheap interventions are needed. But the international
knowledge has already reached a level that, if placed at the easy of professionals
and seismic code-makers, and applied without restrictions by their owners, there is
a great potential for an important mitigation of our architectural heritage.
68
Figure 21. Emergency interventions: a) fixing the gable (tympanum wall) of church in Assisi;
b) shore-up of Torre do Relogio in Horta; c) detail of b).
Europes historical structures, until the middle of this century, consists almost
entirely of masonry buildings. Not only the numerous notable individual monuments, but also the entire historic centres of most European centres are now
recognised as vital elements of this historical structures; and in many areas, these
building groups are in need of protection from natural as well as man-made hazards, of which perhaps the earthquake hazard is the most destructive (Spence
et al., 2000).
Acknowledgements
Many individuals from various institutions have collaborated in parts of the works
referred in this paper. Their views and ideas helped me putting together what is
presented before. A special word to Engineer J.H. Correia Guedes from Direco
Regional de Cultura dos Aores for his strong defence of the built patrimony.
Thanks to Prof. Paulo Loureno from the University of Minho, Portugal, for suggesting me this topic for development, are also due. An acknowledgement is due
to two anonymous reviewers for their interesting comments and to the Editor for
his careful revision of the text. This work was partially supported by Fundao de
Cincia e da Tecnologia, Lisbon, Programa Pluri-Anual.
69
70
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Basilica in Assisi Italy. Proceedings, Monument-98, Workshop on Seismic Performance of
Monuments. Lisbon, Joint Edition DGEMN/LNEC/JRC.
Moreira D., Neves N., Arede A. and Costa A.G. (2001) Anlise ssmica da igreja da Madalena na
Ilha do Pico. 5 Encontro Nacional de Sismologia e Engenharia Ssmica, pp. 627638, Ponta
Delgada. Laboratrio Regional de Engenharia Ssmica (in portuguese).
Oliveira C.S., Lopes M.S. and Martins A. (1991) Comportamento ssmico do aqueduto das guas
Livres. Relatrio 202/91 NDA. LNEC, Lisboa (in portuguese).
Oliveira C.S., Lucas A. and Guedes J.H. Correia. (1992a) Monografia: 10 anos aps o sismo de 1 de
Janeiro de 1980 nos Aores. Edio SRHOP/LNEC, Lisbon (in portuguese).
Oliveira C.S., Lucas A., Guedes J.H. Correia and Andrade R.A. (1992b) Metodologia para quantificao dos danos observados no parque monumental. In Monografia: 10 anos aps o sismo de 1
de Janeiro de 1980 nos Aores. Edio SRHOP/LNEC, Lisbon (in portuguese).
Oliveira C.S., Gil N.P. and Fragoso M.R. (1994) Estudo Experimental e Analtico do Comportamento
Dinmico de Estruturas de Alvenaria de Pedra. Aplicao Ponte da Ribeira Grande, Proc. 2
ENCORE, LNEC, Lisbon (in portuguese).
73
Oliveira C.S., Martins A. and Lopes M.S. (1995) Seismic studies for the guas Livres aqueduct
in Lisbon. 10th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering. In: Duma (ed.), Balkema:
Rotterdam, Nederland.
Oliveira C.S., Guedes J.H.C., Lucas A. and Oliveira H.M. (2000) Estudo sobre o comportamento
ssmico de edifcios de alvenaria tradicional. Proceedings REPAR 2000, pp. 467476, Lisboa (in
portuguese).
Oliveira C.S., Lemos J.V. and Sincraian G.E. (2002) Modelling large displacements of structures
damaged by earthquake motions. European Earthquake Engineering 3, 5671, Ptron Editore,
Bologna.
Oliveira D. and Loureno P.B. (2001) Um modelo para o comportamento cclico de elementos
junta Outeiro. 5 Encontro Nacional de Sismologia e Engenharia Ssmica, pp. 291304, Ponta
Delgada. Laboratrio Regional de Engenharia Ssmica (in portuguese).
Pegon P. and Pinto A.V. (1996) Seismic study of monumental structures Structural analysis, modelling and definition of experimental model. Report EUR 16387 EN, JRC, European Commission.
Ispra, Italy.
Pereira de Sousa F.L. (1923) O Terramoto do 1 de Novembro de 1755 em Portugal e um Estudo
Demogrfico, 4 Vols., Memria dos Servios Geolgicos de Portugal, Lisbon (in portuguese).
Pinto A.V., Verzeletti, G., Molina, F.J., Plumier C., Vaz C.T., Carvalho E.C. and Oliveira C.S.
(1998) Laboratory tests on a full-scale monument. Proceedings, 11th European Conference on
Earthquake Engineering. Paris.
Ravara A.P. (1980) Estudos sobre a aco do sismo dos Aores de 1/1/1980. 2 Relatrio, LNEC,
Maro de 1980 (in portuguese).
RSAEEP (1983) Regulamento de segurana e aces em estruturas de edifcios e pontes. Dec. Lei
no. 235/83 de 31 de Maio de 1983. Casa da Moeda. Lisboa (in portuguese).
Sar G., Barbetti G., Marsicano S. and Pintucchi B. (2002) Seismic vulnerability reduction of traditional masonry buildings. Proceedings, 12th European Conference on Earthquake Engineering.
Barbican Centre, London, Paper reference 508. Elsevier Science, Ltd.
Sincraian G.E., Lemos J.V. and Oliveira C.S. (1998) Assessment of the seismic behavior of a stone
masonry aqueduct using the discrete element method. 11th European Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, September 1998, Paris. Balkema, Rotterdam.
Sincraian G., Oliveira C.S. and Lemos J.V. (1999) Comportamento de um Farol de Alvenaria de
Pedra sob Aco Ssmica Intensa. 1.er Congreso Nacional de Ingenieria Sismica, Murcia, Spain
(in portuguese).
Sincraian G.E. (2001) Seismic Behaviour of Blocky Masonry Structures: A Discrete Element Method
Approach. PhD Thesis, Instituto Superior Tcnico, Lisbon.
Spence R.S., Papa F., Oliveira C.S., DAyala D.F. and Zuccaro G. (2000) The performance of
strengthened masonry buildings in recent European earthquakes. 12th World Conference on
Earthquake Engineering, paper no. 1366, New Zealand.
Tassios T.P. (1988) Meccanica delle murature. Liguori Editore. Napoli, Italia (in italian).
The TOSQA Project 1994-1996. Earthquake Protection for Historic Town Centres. Commission for
the European Communities. EV5V-CT93-0305, Brussels.
Zuccaro G. and Papa F. (2002) Multimedial handbook for seismic damage evaluation and post
event macroseismic assessment. Proceedings, XXIIIth General Assembly of the European
Seismological Commission. Genova (CD Rom).
74
Annexes - case studies

Several case-studies referred in the text are here described in more detail for reasons of completeness.
CASE
1. AQUEDUTO DAS GUAS LIVRES ( Oliveira et al., 1991)
The construction of the Aqueduct was initiated in 1739 and its inauguration took
place in 1748. It is a 941 m long bridge-type structure with 35 arches, many of
gothic type, supporting an upper deck extending across the valley of Alcantara,
Figure 4. The higher point over the valley, is around 60 m. The Aqueduct is a
hollow structure made of masonry, well cut in the exterior, filled with rubble in
the interior. On the upper deck accompanying all the development of the Aqueduct
there is a gallery with towers for ventilation. Foundations of the different pillars
are superficial and the geotechnical material, even though of general good quality
(limestone), changes quite significantly along the valley cross-section (for detailed
description see Oliveira et al., 1991 and 1995).
It was difficult to obtain information on the detailing of structural elements. No
data was available, besides general drawings with main dimensions and a detailed
account on material costs. Complementary observation is currently under way to
confirm the geometry and arrangement of the interior sections, to detect possible
cavities and their geometry, and to estimate the state of deterioration.
Studies on the construction techniques practiced in other monuments and other
regions could be of great value for a better understanding of this type of monumental structure.
Damaged inflicted to the Aqueduct during the 1755 earthquake is not completely well understood. From different descriptions, mild damage seems to have
occurred to 3 out of 16 towers. The seismic MMI intensity in this area was VIII
according to Pereira de Sousa (1923). Inspection of the structures indicates the
presence of quite a significant number of steel bars in the towers, fixing some of
the large stone blocks. These steel bars, presently in quite rusty condition, are randomly located but more frequently observed in the towers near to the center of the
valley. This indication suggests that damage occurred during the 1755 earthquake
might have been repaired using this technique.
In order to characterize the dynamic behaviour of the structure, an experimental
testing was performed in-situ using both ambient and made-man vibration. Seven
velocity transducers were placed along the structure, Figure 4, and recorded the
motion in transverse direction. For the ambient vibration, 10 samples per channel,
2048 points at 40 Hz sampling rate, were made. For the made-man only 4 samples
/ channel were needed.
Amplitudes of vibration above the higher arch were one micron for ambient
and ten times larger for the made-man. The processing of data consisted on the
computation of the Fourier spectrum for each time series, and obtaining an average
Fourier spectrum for the whole 10 series.
75
Table VII. Comparison between computed/measured frequencies for
the first 10 modes of the Aqueduto das Aguas

Livres.
Mode
#
Frequency (Hz)
Analytical Experimental
Mode description
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0.90
1.24
1.61
2.05
2.54
2.96
2.98
3.44
3.87
4.38
Transverse symmetric
Transverse anti-symmetric
Longitudinal
Transversal
Transversal
Partial transversal
0.90
1.151.20
1.55
1.90
2.30
2.90
This treatment was found to be very efficient in detecting the main frequencies of vibration in the different locations under analysis. This permitted a first
interpretation of the three first mode shapes. Band-pass filtering the time signal for
frequencies in the neighbourhood of each natural frequency, checking the phase
of signal pairs and averaging out for many samples the results at each one of the
seven locations, it was possible to determine experimentally the mode shapes (and
compare them with the analytical model, Figure 4 and Table VII).
Other multi-channel techniques, such as the use of cross-spectra density matrix
and their largest eigen value, were not used because the first technique gave very
good results.
An average value of 1.9% damping ratio for the first mode was obtained from
free vibrations produced after the made-man testing.
CASE
2. AQUEDUTO DA PRATA ( Drei and Oliveira, 2001 A )
The aim of this research was to provide a first simple model of the seismic behaviour of the medieval stone masonry aqueduct of vora, in Portugal, called
Aqueduto da Prata (Figure 5). The study was carried out in two steps: the first
was an on-site determination of the geometric and architectural features of the construction, rough site measurements of the resistance characteristics of the materials,
and direct measurements of the main dynamic properties. The second step was a
finite element linear modelling of the structure, based on the site measurements, in
order to obtain preliminary indications for the evaluation of the structural safety in
what concerns the seismic risk point of view. The seismic load considered was that
provided by the Portuguese seismic code (RSAEEP, 1983).
76
The structure was modelled using 3-D beam-type bar elements connecting 6
degrees-of-freedom nodes. Only the central part of the Aqueduct was represented:
15 pillars forming 14 arches, in a total of 96 bars and 97 nodes. The bars were
chosen, as having uniform geometric properties throughout their lengths. Due to
the good foundation conditions all pillars were fixed at the foundation. Even though
this representation was not the best model for the structure due to: (i) neglect the
influence of less longer lateral parts of the Aqueduct; (ii) failure to simulate well
the outer and inner sections of the pillars and the arches, the model was found to
be good enough to obtain the first mode shapes and frequencies.
For simplicity, the inertia values of the bars were taken from the geometry of full
sections, considering an homogeneous material ( = 25 kN/m3 ). The equivalent
modulus of elasticity obtained to fit the results of experimental testing was E =
19 GPa, with good agreement for all identified mode shapes. This value is above
the values one could anticipate from past experience, but it also reflect that one is
in presence of a very well constructed structure.
The obtained results, even if coming from a simplified model, seems to indicate
that Aqueduto da Prata could undergo serious damage in case of an earthquake
comparable to the seismic load assumed. Therefore, more refined models to study
the seismic behaviour of this historical structure, as well as to determine different
possible reinforcements, are necessary.
CASE
3. LIGHTHOUSE OF RIBEIRINHA ( FAROL ) ( Oliveira et al., 2002)
One case of great importance to calibrate the possible acceleration values produced
in the July 9, 1998 earthquake in Faial, Azores, was the lighthouse of Ribeirinha, an
old masonry construction of good quality built around 1918 on the top of pyroclast
lava 100 m high, very close to an almost vertical cliff. It is located at approximately
5 km from the epicentre. The structure is composed by a tower with 13.5 m high
with a thick cross-section almost constant in elevation (outside rectangle with
5.8 6.2 m at the base; inside circle with 4.0 m diameter), topped by an optical
system, surrounded by an H-shape house, 2-storey high (Figure 7a).
The July 9, 1998 event caused extensive damage to the tower, to the house,
to the outside facilities including land property walls, and to the embankment on
the southern part. Describing only the effects in the tower, one can say that the it
has undergone important deformation with the formation of large inclined cracks
passing through the openings, very consistent throughout all the four sides. The
general appearance is of an overall rotation in the tower, counter clockwise viewed
from above, with peripheral enlargement at mid height. The tower was broken into
several solid blocks, which show relative horizontal displacements above 50 cm. At
the top, the optical system suffered no damage (light was on for some time after the
event), the only problem arose in the two glasses of the outer cylindrical window
(at opposite locations along NNE-SSW axis) which broke. In the support of the
77
optical system the 3 cm thick steel skirt, which connects to steel plate, cracked in an
extension of 50 cm denoting again intense movement in the NNE-SSW direction.
The discrete element model (DE) was based on the simplest 3-D approximation.
Only rigid blocks were used. Deformable blocks would make the dynamic analysis
prohibitive. Thus, the entire deformation of the system has to be given to the joints.
A number of simplifications were required to make the analysis reasonable from
a computational point of view, as it is not possible to include in the model every
individual block in the real structure. The block structure has to be chosen in such a
way that the main modes of deformation and failure of the system can be captured
with reasonable accuracy.
The DE model shown in Figure 7b is composed of about 80 rigid blocks. The
typical cross-sections are also shown in this figure. It should be noted that in the
code 3DEC (Hart et al., 1988), only convex blocks are permitted, so more complex
geometries are generated by joining blocks. The corner blocks in the present model
are represented by 2 blocks joined together. Also, the numerical representation of
a structure in 3DEC is based on blocks of polyhedral form. Therefore, the circular
interior cross-section of the tower has to be represented in an approximate manner
by straight segments.
An elasto-plastic constitutive model was used for the mortar joints, with a Coulomb friction slip criterion. The mechanical properties of the joints were as follows:
Normal stiffness
Shear stiffness
Cohesion
Residual cohesion
Friction angle
Tensile strength
1000 MPa/m
400 MPa/m
0.5 MPa
0.5 MPa
35
0
For the unit mass the materials an average value of 2000 kg/m3 was chosen.
The mass density of the top block was assumed to simulate the real total mass of
the optical system and enclosure. The height was chosen to account for the correct
centre of mass elevation. The top block is joined rigidly to the slab block. For the
joints at the base of the model the values of friction angle, cohesion and tensile
strength were increased to 45 , 5.0 MPa and 1.5 MPa, respectively, in order to
provide some confinement that in reality was given to the tower by the surrounding
buildings. The cross-section of the model is a square of 6.0 6.0 m at the base and
it narrows towards the top to a square of 5.1 5.1 m.
The natural frequency of the elastic model was about 4 Hz. The in-situ measured
frequency after the earthquake was about 2.5 Hz, a value slightly lower than the
frequency obtained for the damaged model (about 2.75 Hz).
For a better understanding of the phenomenon, the deformed structure (without
the top block) is shown for the three magnification factors (Figure 7b). The rotation
movement may be clearly noticed. Also, the large sliding and joint separation,
78
especially in the top section of the tower are noticeable, even if the top slab block
(not shown), simulating the steel plate, provides some measure of linkage of the
upper blocks. The earthquake magnified 1.5 times, with a PGA of 0.6 g, already
induces some permanent displacements localised more in the upper part of the
structure, whereas the bottom part remains almost undamaged. Damage increases,
with noticeable rotation components, for the factor F = 2. For the earthquake magnified 3 times, the damage is substantial and distributed all over the structure, with
many lower joints open.
CASE
4. STATUE IN HORTA ( Oliveira et al., 2002)
The statue of Manuel Arriaga is located downtown Horta, near the harbour at 500 m
from the Observatrio Prncipe de Mnaco. The total height of the structure is
around 5 m and it is composed by a pedestal of about 3 m height and a 2 m tall
statue, anchored to the pedestal by means of a metallic plate. The pedestal is made
of basaltic blocks with no mortar in the joints. The effect of the earthquake on
the statue was a rotation, clockwise seen from above, Figure 10, with a maximum
displacement at the top joint of 5 cm.
The 3DEC model is composed of 14 rigid blocks (Figure 8). The top block simulating the statue is rigidly joined to the one representing the metallic plate, so that
there is no relative displacement between them. For the joint located between the
statue and the pedestal high values of friction angle, cohesion and tensile strength
were used in order to prevent the top block from falling apart. The cross-section
of the pedestal is 80 80 cm with a 90 90 cm block at the base. For the joints
between the basalt blocks, a value of the friction angle of 45 was assumed in the
study. For the unit mass of the basalt stones a value of 2800 kg/m3 was chosen,
while for the top block of the model a value of 1000 kg/m3 was used to simulate
the actual mass of the bronze statue.
As the case of the lighthouse, the elasto-plastic constitutive model was used for
the mortar joints, with a Coulomb friction slip criterion. The mechanical properties
of the joints were as follows:
Normal stiffness
Shear stiffness
Cohesion
Residual cohesion
Friction angle
Tensile strength
1000 MPa/m
400 MPa/m
0
0
45
0
The three components of the Faial earthquake obtained at the Observatrio

Prncipe de Mnaco were scaled by factors of 0.4 to 1.0 (Figure 8) to examine
the influence of the PGA level on the response of the structure.
79
The rotation movement was clearly observed in all the cases as an effect of the
above mentioned input without applying any rotational component at the base of
the model. A permanent displacement at the end of each run was noticed, especially
at the upper part of the pedestal, well in accordance with the damage observed in
the real structure, from a qualitative point of view.
In what regards the magnitude of this permanent displacement, it can be said
that an input ground motion corresponding to some 70% of the registered one leads
to a displacement value at the end of the run similar to the one measured on the
monument after the Faial earthquake. Also, the deformed shape of the model at the
end of the run is almost identical with the damaged structure.
CASE
5. THE XVIII URBAN HOUSE IN TERCEIRA ( Oliveira et al., 2000)
During the January, 1st , 1980 earthquake, the urban tissue in Angra do Herosmo
was severely affected by the earthquake. The structures that constitute this tissue
are old masonry buildings two/three story high organized in rectangular blocks.
They are very typical of the construction practiced prior to mid XXth century. The
main structural elements are two parallel front walls, one facing the street, the
other to the back, and two perpendicular walls at the lateral edges, forming a boxstructure. Inside these peripheral walls there are partitions in thin wood or brick
elements, and floors are made of wood beams.
Front walls are of better and thicker rubble masonry than the edged walls, but
they exhibit a large portion of openings for windows.
The understanding of the behaviour of these types of historical structures under the seismic loads is of primary importance in respect to define measures for
retrofitting. One example was selected for a detailed analysis using linear methods
and comparing the results with in-situ testing and with real recorded earthquake
week motion. The GZCAH building is a traditional 3-story masonry house within
an antique block of buildings (Figure 9).
It has a length of 14 m along the street and 11.5 m to the interior. Front walls
are 0.66 m thick at the base and progressively decrease to 0.45 at the top. Partitions are 0.15 m thick in lower stories and 0.10 m in the upper stories. Front
walls are profoundly opened by windows and doors which give space to short
balconies. Foundation soils are of moderate consistency and this building suffered
mild cracking during the 1980 earthquake.
The fact that this building is located in a steep area, interacting with the adjacent structures made it very difficult to succeed in the analytical modelling. In
reality, frequencies of vibration depend very much on this interdependence and the
response for a given event with records at the ground floor and on the two other
stories are not well reproduced by the model (Figures 11). However, it is very clear
that the building clearly amplifies the motion from bottom to top (Figure 10) as
is was consistently observed during different events with PGA at in the order of
80
0.03 g. Modelling was made using masonry properties as obtained from testing of
components.
CASE
6. THE COSISMO PROJECT SO VICENTE DE FORA ( PINTO et al., 1998)
The COSISMO project, a joint research project on seismic analysis/assessment

of monuments was a first attempt to contribute to the required progress in the
field of old masonry monumental structures. The research programme included
the following main tasks:
Dynamic characterisation of a representative monumental structure, the So
Vicente de Fora monastery in Lisbon, by in situ testing and numerical modelling;
Laboratory testing at the reaction wall of the European Laboratory for Structural
Assessment (ELSA) of a representative model of part of the structure at full scale,
which enabled the calibration and/or development of non-linear numerical models
to be used for predicting the earthquake response of such structures;
Development and calibration of non-linear and equivalent linear models appropriate for high intensity shaking;
Assessment of the seismic vulnerability of the Monastery, using the developed
and calibrated models and appropriate seismic hazard characteristics.
To investigate the applicability of some retrofitting solutions and techniques for
monumental structures.
Pseudo-dynamic and cyclic tests on a full-scale model of the So Vicente faade
model (Figure 12) were carried out at the ELSA laboratory of the Joint Research
Centre and aim at the characterisation of the non-linear behaviour of limestone
block structures under earthquake loading. Local and overall stability of the stoneblocks, including columns and arches were assessed for large displacement amplitudes. Furthermore, stiffness and equivalent damping ratios are evaluated for
different deformation levels. The research programme on monuments aims at the
calibration of refined non-linear models to represent local behaviours and at the
calibration of equivalent linear models (stiffness and damping) to be used for the
vulnerability analyses and safety assessment of such a type of structures (Pegon
et al., 1996). It is also attempted to investigate the effects of retrofitting techniques based on the classical ties, in particular in what concerns post-tensioning
and eventual additional damping characteristics.
The monastery, designed in an austere style, is a typical example of the Portuguese architecture in the XVIth century. It still has its principal parts surrounding
the cloisters. In addition to the high artistic level, representative of the Portuguese
fine arts of the XVIIIth century, the monastery of So Vicente de Fora reflects and
represents important phases of the History of the country.
From the architectonic/engineering point of view, it represents the typical monument of Lisbon, where limestone block masonry columns and arches forming a
resistant structure are harmoniously combined with stone masonry bearing walls
and ceramic dome floors/roofs with beautiful frescos painted underneath.
81
The monument survived to the catastrophic November 1st, 1755, Lisbon earthquake, which destroyed the city and killed more than 10 thousand lives. However,
today some of the effects of the strong ground shaking are still visible there. The
2 m thick south external wall of the monastery became curved (mid-span dislocation of about 40 cm, the same happened to the west end-side external wall and the
East end-side edifice, where the Pantheons are presently located, collapsed. A quite
detailed description of the damages to the monastery during the 1755 earthquake
is available. Hence, prediction of the damages to the monastery using the present
modelling capabilities calibrated on the basis of the experimental results obtained
by in situ tests and by laboratory tests is therefore a challenge.
The test model was constructed using materials and construction techniques
(stone blocks arrangement) similar to the prototype. It is a plane structure with
three stone block columns, two complete arches and two external half arches. The
upper part of the model is made of stone masonry. Three millimetres thick mortar
joints were assured during the construction. A photographic view of the model and
a schematic representation of the test set-up and model dimensions are shown in
Figure 12.
Concerning the model it is noted that it contains very typical components of the
monumental construction. In fact, block-stones assembled columns supporting the
arches, or vaults at different storey levels. The cloister ground floor open and the
upper parts filled with stone-masonry is a common architectural/structural solution
in Lisbon also adopted in the reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake.
For example, the down town main place in Lisbon (Praa do Comrcio), reconstructed after 1755, is completely surrounded (except the river side) by column/arch facades very similar to the one adopted for the full-scale model. The
physical model has been defined taking into account the following aspects: it should
represent typical monumental constructions, should be representative of the constructions (realistic, in terms of materials, scale and stone arrangements).
The question of using a scaled model has been raised many times by the team
involved in this project. It was aimed at a realistic model to which simple and
realistic boundary conditions could be applied.
Several tests were envisaged for this model; the initial dynamic characterisation
tests in order to obtain frequencies and mode shapes and evaluate damping for very
low deformation levels (microns), initial stiffness tests, two pseudo-dynamic tests
for earthquake intensities corresponding to a low and a medium value of return
period and final cyclic tests with pre-defined displacement histories. These last
tests permitted to investigate the influence of boundary conditions, namely the posttensioning forces in the horizontal ties.
From the dynamic characterisation tests and the stiffness tests were obtained
initial stiffness, which, in conjunction with the required initial frequency of the
model, dictated the mass to be used in the pseudo-dynamic tests. It is noted that for
the pseudo-dynamic tests a one-degree of freedom system (1DOF) was considered.
82
Two pseudo-dynamic tests were initially envisaged, corresponding to a moderate and a high earthquake intensity. In addition, two types of earthquakes were
considered, because two earthquake scenarios should be considered for Lisbon
(far-field and near-field RSAEEP, 1983) with rather different energy content).
The tests on the So Vicente faade model have shown the deformation capacity
of the column-arch system commonly used in many monumental structures. Drifts
of about 2% were imposed without any loss of the load carrying capacity. Furthermore, the model has shown important dissipation characteristics due to cracking
and friction. Cracking appeared at the interfaces block/masonry in the arch zones
and at the interface between the upper part of the columns and the masonry. Such
dissipation characteristics for important deformation levels exist thanks to the tie
bars (pre-compression forces), which allow to develop the required confining of
the upper masonry part of the faade model.
It is therefore expected good deformation and dissipation characteristics of
these type of structures if a rationally distribution of ties at the floor levels exists.
Design and practical application of these tie systems using new analysis tools and
construction techniques are under investigation.
The entire structure of So Vicente de Fora Cloister was subjected to a preliminary analytical model to check to safety of the structure under seismic loading.
This model was calibrated for the initial stiffness with in-situ measurements of
vibration (Campos-Costa et al., 1997), and the recommendations from the pseudodynamic full test of the faade should be included in the final model (Lemos, 1998).
Unfortunately, definite results are not yet available.

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Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering 1: 3782, 2003.

2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Seismic Vulnerability of Historical Constructions:

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Unfortunately, there are no world statistics of damage inflicted by earthquakes to

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

Acceleration records in this region indicate Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

Table I. Lisbon earthquake 1st Nov. 1755; Damage to

Table II. Earthquake 28th Feb. 1969; Damage to

Cost of repair: 50 000 Euro (year 2000) per church;

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Table IV. Earthquake 1st Jan. 1980 Terceira/So Jorge, in

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Experimental techniques, using in-situ measurements based on ambient noise

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Figure 4. View of the Aqueduto das Aguas

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

Figure 5. Finite Element Model of Aqueduto da Agua

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Figure 9. Modelling an urban XVIIth century house in Azores: the GZCAH.

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

Blocky good masonry

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

= 23 kNm3 ; tensile stress 0.1 MPa; compression stress 22.5 MPa.

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

5.2. HISTORICAL CENTRES

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

Figure 14. Schematic representation of damage mechanisms in churches (Lagomarsino,

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Figure 16. Vulnerability functions (adapted from DAyala, 2000).

6. Proposal of Possible Reinforcing

CARLOS SOUSA OLIVEIRA

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Figure 17. Typical reinforcement practiced in Portugal in the period 19601970.

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SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

However, it is very important to better perceive the costs associated to each

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Figure 19. Continued.

SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

It is also very important to use all available modelling techniques to determine

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SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

Figure 21. Continued.

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SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

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SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTIONS

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Annexes - case studies

1. AQUEDUTO DAS GUAS LIVRES ( Oliveira et al., 1991)