Vulnerability and Restoration Assessment of Masonry Structural Systems

The Masonry structures are complicated systems that require a thorough and detailed knowledge and information regarding their behavior under seismic loading. Appropriate modeling of a masonry structure is a prerequisite for robust earthquake resistant design. However, modeling a real structure to a robust quantitative (mathematical) representation is a very difficult and complicated task. This paper presents an approach toward a solution of the problem. A novel methodology for earthquake resistant design of masonry structural systems, either before or after their repair and/or strengthening, is presented. The entire process is illustrated in the case study of a 4-storey historical masonry structure located in the city of Patras, in Greece.