Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

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Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Seismic damage and performance of Palazzo Centi after LAquila

earthquake: A paradigmatic case study of effectiveness
of mechanical steel ties
Giuseppe Lucibello, Giuseppe Brandonisio , Elena Mele, Antonello De Luca
Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper concerns the seismic response of Palazzo Centi after the 2009 LAquila earth-
Received 8 May 2013 quake. Built in the second half of XVIII century, Palazzo Centi is a three-storied building
Received in revised form 16 August 2013 characterized by a rectangular plan with a central court. The vertical structural system is
Accepted 19 September 2013
made of masonry walls arranged in plan to form a regular mesh.
Available online 27 September 2013
After the 2009 LAquila earthquake the building showed a widespread damage occurred
in the vertical masonry structures with more intensity at upper storeys; there were also
Keywords:
damages to non-structural parts: light masonry and fake vaults. The building case study
LAquila earthquake
Masonry buildings
is a paradigmatic example because during the 2009 earthquake, differently from other his-
Seismic damage torical masonry buildings, it responded reasonably well in the main structural parts. The
limit analysis seismic behaviour was analyzed thoroughly in order to investigate the effectiveness of the,
steel ties initially unknown, recent retrot interventions carried out in 2003. These mechanical
interventions proved to be the reason of the good seismic behaviour of the building and
that saved it from more serious damages.
On the basis of the data acquired by the authors during the post-earthquake reconnais-
sance activities and from the structural analyzes results, in conclusion, the case study of
Palazzo Centi demonstrated to represent a clear example of the effectiveness of the tradi-
tional techniques in designing and retrotting of masonry buildings.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

On 6th of April 2009 an earthquake with estimated magnitude Mw = 6.3 struck the city of LAquila and the surrounding
areas. Among the thousands of aftershocks recorded, more than 30 ones had a magnitude greater than 3.5. The main-shock
was recorded by more than 50 stations of the Italian National Accelerometric Network, with stations nearest to the epicentre
(located in the South-East periphery of LAquila) appointed as AQG, AQV, AQK and AQA. The highest values of Peak Ground
Acceleration (PGA), equal to 0.67 g and 0.56 g in the EW and NS direction, respectively, were recorded at the AQV station
(4 km far from LAquila in NW direction) [1]. However, the most interesting records for studying the seismic behaviour of
buildings in the LAquila historical centre were registered at the AQK station, that is located in proximity of the Basilica of S.
Maria di Collemaggio. The PGA values recorded at the AQK station during the main-shock are: PGANS = 0.34 g, PGAWO = 0.34 g
and PGAUD = 0.35 g; these values are larger than the ones expected according to the Italian Code [2] that, for the evaluation of
seismic action, denes for the city of LAquila PGA values equal to 0.261 g and 0.334 g for the life safety and collapse

Corresponding author. Address: Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125
Naples, Italy. Tel.: +39 081 768 2439; fax: +39 081 593 4792.
E-mail address: giuseppe.brandonisio@unina.it (G. Brandonisio).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2013.09.011
408 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

prevention limit states, respectively. The combination of high horizontal accelerations with an equally strong, and in some
cases higher, vertical acceleration, has been probably the reason of the heavy damage occurred in the masonry historical
buildings of LAquila.
The historical centre of LAquila includes a stock of buildings erected in the last 700 years, in various typologies and archi-
tectural styles (Fig. 1ac). The building heritage is not only represented by the large number of public monumental or reli-
gious buildings but also by small residential ones; some of these buildings have been built starting from the thirteenth
century onward, but most of them date after the 1703 earthquake that almost destroyed the city and, similarly to previous
earthquakes of the 1349 and 1453, had a magnitude value close to the 2009 one [3,4].

Fig. 1. LAquila historical centre building typologies: (a) Palazzo Persichetti (XVIII cent.); (b) renaissance building in Piazza Duomo; and (c) typical LAquila
Medieval building.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 409

Within the residential buildings two main typologies can be found: common buildings and mansions. Common buildings
are characterized by a number of storeys from two to four; these buildings are grouped in blocks which give rise to a regular
street grid. The mansions, widespread in the LAquila centre, were the residences of rich families and are bigger than com-
mon buildings, that are often arranged as masonry building aggregates [5].
Despite the differences of size and typology between mansions and common buildings, the quality of materials and con-
struction techniques are quite similar. Concerning the masonry material the most widespread typologies are: rubble stone
and roughly squared stone blocks; less common are the brick or the dressed stone blocks masonry, that can be found almost
exclusively in the most valuable parts of buildings as portals, mouldings or balustrades.
The low quality of masonry dramatically (Fig. 2a) affected the level of seismic damage; further, in a large number of cases,
only the presence of ties prevented the faades from out-of-plane collapse (Fig. 2b), thus allowing the activation of the in-
plane damage mechanisms with diagonal shear cracks in piers and/or spandrels (Fig. 2c), with consequent increase of energy
dissipation and enhancement of a global seismic behaviour of the building.
Observing the recurrent presence of wooden (radiciamenti) and steel ties (Fig. 3) as well as of other anti-seismic devices,
it can be stated that a major part of the built heritage of the LAquila historic centre was built with a deep awareness of the
effect of earthquake.

2. Palazzo Centi

2.1. Description

In the past centuries Palazzo Centi was the prestigious mansion of the Centi-Colella family. Before the 2009 earthquake, it
was the headquarter building of Regione Abruzzo; it is located in Piazza S. Giusta (Fig. 4a), in the historical centre of LAquila
and it represents a masterpiece of the city baroque architecture of the city.
The building was designed by Loreto Chicchi di Pescocostanzo, with typical features of late-Mannerism style, and was
erected starting from the 1776; the faade (Fig. 4b) is characterized by a magnicent portal and a large balcony, resting
on six white limestone columns, recalling Borrominis style. The building originally had only three levels; more recently,
probably in the past century, a penthouse called castellina was added on the roof of the 2nd oor.
The building has a rectangular plan, with dimensions 31  41 m (Fig. 5); considering the internal courtyard of 9  11 m,
the gross oor area for each level is approximately 1200 m2.
From the ground oor to the 2nd storey the building is regular in elevation because the plan conguration is the same at
all levels; only at the 3rd level, the so called castellina, which is a little tower, gives rise to an elevation irregularity of the
vertical masonry structure.
The bearing walls are distributed in plan according to a regular grid, with maximum spacing equal to 67 m; this distance
increases up to 12 m, and reduces to 3.5 m, respectively, in correspondence of the halls and of the aisles that enclose the
courtyard and the staircase.
The walls are made of rubble stone masonry, with the two external layers mainly made of mixed roughly squared stones
and clay bricks (Fig. 6); the weight per unit volume of rubble stone masonry varies in the range 2122 kN/m3. Therefore,
Palazzo Centi is one of the rare examples in LAquila of palace built with good quality materials, much better than those com-
monly used for the construction of similar buildings. The faade and the courtyard walls are 90 cm thick, while the internal
walls are usually 80 cm thick, only in few cases 70 cm; for all walls the thickness remains constant from the base to the top.
The horizontal structures are clay bricks pavilion vaults, with thickness at least equal to 12.5 cm (one layer of bricks); the
only exception is represented by the barrel and cross vaults which cover the aisles.
The roof structure is made of wooden trusses (Simple Palladiana type), with underneath ceilings vaults made of bricks or
fake vault, called camorcanna, realized with plaster applied on reed mats, which are hanging on a rib wood frame.

2.2. The structural system and the rules of Art

Some consideration on the structural layout can be made by examining the building plan (Fig. 5). Extracting each vertical
wall from the structure (Fig. 7), it is possible to observe the regularity of the openings arrangement and to evaluate the ratio
Af/Aw between the area of openings (Af) and the area of the wall (Aw); for all the walls this ratio is comprised between 9% and
20%, in perfect agreement with the rules of art suggested by Rondelet in his treatise [6].
The walls thickness, that in most cases is comprised between 0.8 and 0.9 m without tapering from base to the top, re-
spects the state of Art rules as can be demonstrated comparing (see Table 1) the actual thickness with the limits theorized
in some ancient treatises and manuals [68]. It is worth noting that in the third column of Table 1 the minimum thicknesses
according to the Manual of Engineer (1877) [8] are incremented of 0.1 m because of the not excellent quality of masonry
(Fig. 6). The other examined treatises ([6,7]) do not account for this parameter, however, in case of poor quality masonry
it is good practice to increase the minimum limits (in 2nd and 3rd columns of Table 1) by multiplying for 1.25. Also com-
paring the minimum thickness incremented limits with the actual values, the walls of Palazzo Centi still respect the rules
of good practice.
410 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 2. Some typical damages after 2009 earthquake: (a) poor masonry quality; (b) out-of-plane collapse; and (c) diagonal shear cracks.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 411

Fig. 3. Anti-seismic building details: steel and wooden ties.

The walls slenderness (h0/t), computed as the ratio between free deection height (h0) of the wall and the wall thickness
(t), is never greater than 7.5, so all the walls are characterized by the maximum level of stability as stated by Rondelet, which
suggests the following limits: h0/t = 8 for wall with strong stability; h0/t = 10 for wall with medium stability; h0/t = 12 for
wall with low stability [6,24].
Another parameter useful to evaluate the efciency of a masonry structure is the ratio Aw/Atot between the total footprint
area of the walls (Aw) and the building gross oor area (Atot); in the case of Palazzo Centi this ratio is equal to 20%, 19% and
19% for the rst, second and third level respectively; the only structural part that does not follow this rule is the castellina,
where Aw/Atot = 14%. If these values are compared to those computed by Rondelet (Fig. 8a) for some famous ancient monu-
ments, such as the Basilica of S. Maria del Fiore (20%), the Pantheon (23%) and Hagia Soa (23%), it is clear that the Palazzo
Centi structure (except the castellina) is well conceived and respects the rules of art. The parameter (Aw/Atot) inuences
dramatically the values of the mean vertical pressure that is evaluated to be equal to rm = 0.74 MPa that is a satisfactory
value for a good quality rubble stone masonry walls made of clay bricks faces.
412 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 4. (a) The historical centre of LAquila with the location of Palazzo Centi; and (b) the main faade.

In the chart in Fig. 8b the values of Aw/Atot, Axw/Atot and Ayw/Atot ratios for all the building levels are reported, with Axw and
Ayw representing the summations of cross sections of the walls aligned in the x and y directions, respectively (Fig. 9); the
values of the Axw/Atot and Ayw/Atot parameters, that are useful to understand the horizontal stiffness/capacity distribution be-
tween x and y directions, have been also compared to the minimum values established in design codes and scientic liter-
ature, namely Eurocode 8 [9], Italian Design Code [2], Loureno and Roque [10], and Meli [11], in order to ensure adequate
building lateral strength.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 413

41,40

T
8,80

30,90
11,50

(a) (b)
Fig. 5. (a) Ground oor plan; and (b) cross section sketch.

3. The damages after the 2009 Earthquake

The damages suffered by Palazzo Centi were observed and registered during the reconnaissance activities carried out by
the authors after the 6 April 2009 earthquake [12].
At rst sight it was evident that the damage intensity increases going from the ground oor to the building top, being the
castellina the most damaged part of the structure.
In particular, several shear cracks were observed in the piers at the ground oor; further, small cracks at the crown of
vaults and at their connection with walls were detected, especially in correspondence of the North faade, where an over-
turning mechanism seems to be activated.
The damage was more considerable at the 1st level, as can be clearly appreciated in Fig. 10, where all the observed cracks
are reported in plan. The wall damage consists of widespread diagonal cracks in the piers and spandrels, mainly concentrated
in correspondence of the courtyard and of the ues, that are well known elements of weakness in masonry structures. In
some cases the damage of the walls could not be observed because of the presence of wallpapers. All the vaults of the aisles
exhibited cracks at the crown (Fig. 11) and also on the cross vaults diagonals, probably due to shoulders differential displace-
ments. The in plan deformation of the pavilion vaults is the cause of the typical cracks at the corners that were observed both
in the structure and in the decorative plasters.
At the second level the damage pattern (Fig. 12) was quite similar to, but more severe than, the one described for the 1st
level. Moreover, local collapses of ceiling vaults, made of bricks (one layer 5.5 cm thick) or camorcanna, were observed and
the activation of the out-of-plane bending mechanism of the South faade top had been detected, as clearly shown in Figs.13
13 and 14, respectively.
The castellina suffered very severe damage, mainly consisting of wide shear cracks in the piers, such to drive the struc-
ture to a condition very close to complete collapse (Fig. 15).

4. The documental researches and the intervention before the 2009 earthquake

During the post-earthquake reconnaissance activity it was evident that Palazzo Centi exhibited a seismic behaviour far
better than other similar buildings located nearby; however, at rst time, no data capable of explaining the reason for this
occurrence were available.
Through researches carried out with the aid of the staff of the technical department of the Abruzzo Region, some funda-
mental information on the building were later obtained: in particular, it was revealed that in the 2003 the building had been
seismically improved through some retrot interventions, which are described in the following subsections.
414 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 6. The masonry appearance.

4.1. Mechanical tightened through steel ties

The intervention responsible of the good seismic behaviour of the structure was realized during 2003, and it was an over-
all seismic retrotting of the building. Within this strengthening intervention work, reinforcing steel ties were designed and
inserted in each wall at all storeys, as can be observed in Fig. 16a. The ties consist of steel rods with diameter of either 22 or
30 mm, anchored at the ends through either steel shafts (for the 22 mm ties) or ribbed steel plates (in the case of 30 mm
ties), as shown in Fig. 16b and c, respectively; the anchorages were hidden in the faades plaster layer and they were not
visible observing the building also after the earthquake because, despite the local force transmission and consequent ma-
sonry spalling, no cracks occurred.
A rst observation about the effectiveness of ties can be made relating the damage patterns reported in Figs. 1012, to the
arrangement of the ties, shown in Fig. 16a. It is evident that the most severe damages occurred in the vaults of aisles, where
the walls parallel to the aisle axes were not restrained by the steel ties (Fig. 11).
Moreover, this intervention is in strong agreement with the rules of Art theorized by Rondelet in his treatise [6], where it
can be read: Nonbasta costruire i muri dun fabbricato nelle dimensioni volute e con tutta lattenzione convenevole; siccome essi
devono essere caricati dal peso dei solai e dei tetti che tendono naturalmente a spingerli nel vuoto [. . .] si prendono di piano in
piano certe precauzioni a questo riguardo nella costruzione dei muri per prevenire ogni allontanamento, mettendo nel centro
dei muri o nel loro spessore, delle catene orizzontali di ferro piatto o quadrato ben applicate, e solidamente saldate alle loro
estremit con ancore, le quali legano insieme i muri in modo da nonpoter agire luno senza laltro ed a prestarsi un reciproco soc-
corso. Queste catene si pongono nei muri nel costruirli [In Italian], whose English translation is: It is not sufcient to build the
walls respecting the dimension and with care; the walls are loaded by slabs and roongs that naturally exert thrusts [. . .] in
this regard, in order to prevent differential horizontal movement of the walls, at each storey, during the wall construction,
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 415

L1 Af/At=0,11 L2 Af/At=0,13 L3 Af/At=0,13 L4 Af/At=0,12

L5 Af/At=0,13 L6 Af/At=0,17 L7 Af/At=0,10 L8 Af/At=0,10

Af/At=0,14 Af/At=0,19 Af/At=0,15 Af/At=0,12 Af/At=0,09

T1 T2 T3 T4 T5

Af/At=0,19 Af/At=0,64 Af/At= 0,12 Af/At=0,13 Af/At=0,12

T6 T7 T8 T9 T10

Fig. 7. Walls chart (Af/At = area of openings (Af) to area of wall (At) ratio).

Table 1
Comparison between actual walls thickness and minimum values suggested by ancient treatises and manuals.

P. Centi (1776) Rondelet (1817) [6] Breymann (1885) [7] Manual of engineer [1877] [8]
2nd oor 0.80.9 m (T + H)/48 = 0.36 ma 3wythes  0.40 m P0.45 m
1st oor 0.80.9 m 0.5 m 4wythes  0.55 m P0.45 + 0.1 = 0.55 m
Ground oor 0.80.9 m 0.6 m 5wythes  0.70 m P0.45 + 0.1*2 = 0.85
a
T = building width (perpendicular to the wall, see Fig. 5a); H = height of the wall from the story considered to the top.

steel ties (plates or bars) must be inserted in the wall thickness and securely anchored at the ends; these ties connect the
walls that, in this manner, behave as a single structural system helping each other. These ties are put in the walls during
their erection.

4.2. Strengthening of the roof structure

The second typology of retrot intervention made in 2003 pertained the wooden trusses of the roof that were strength-
ened by inserting steel plates at the nodes, thus increasing both the resistance and the stiffness. Moreover, the connections of
the trusses to the walls have been also improved by inserting steel saddles and steel belts (Fig. 17a and b), connected to the
masonry through threaded bars; in correspondence of each truss, a steel tie (parallel to the truss wooden tie) connecting the
two saddles was also inserted. This mechanical intervention prevented the out-of-plane overturning of the wall top and, con-
sequently, improved the seismic behaviour considerably, as demonstrated during the 2009 earthquake.

5. Evaluation of capacity

Kinematic analysis (linear or not) is a very useful method for the evaluation of the seismic safety of masonry buildings. In
fact it is a simple, and thus reliable, method; moreover, it allows to explicitly consider in the calculations some parameters,
as the inuence of steel ties, that other types of analysis, such as static nonlinear analysis on 2D shell or equivalent frame
models, can hardly account for [1316].
The kinematic analysis consists in: (i) dening the possible collapse mechanisms; (ii) evaluating the seismic capacity, i.e.
the value of horizontal force (F) corresponding to the activation of the mechanism; (iii) comparing the seismic capacity with
the seismic demand.
The application of the kinematic analysis is based on the following assumptions: masonry material with zero tensile
strength and innite compression strength; absence of slip between the rigid blocks involved in the collapse mechanism
[17].
416 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

(a)

(b)
Fig. 8. (a) Aw/Atot ratios for ancient monuments by Rondelet; and (b) Palazzo Centi Aw/Atot: comparison with the codes and the rules of art.

The limit analysis has been here used for calculating the horizontal load multiplier (k = F/Wtot), dened by the maximum
horizontal force (F) to total weight (Wtot) ratio, for in-plane (5.1) and out-of-plane (5.2) collapse mechanisms, both in
the case of absence and in presence of reinforcing steel ties. The comparison between the horizontal capacity of the faade
with and without steel allow to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanical strengthening interventions.

5.1. In-plane capacity

According to [1820] and on the basis of the typical damage observed on similar masonry buildings, four possible in-
plane collapse mechanisms can be considered for the application of linear kinematic analysis (Fig. 18a):
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 417

Fig. 9. Longitudinal and transversal bearing walls alignment.

Mech. A: global mechanism, characterized by the formation of hinges at the ends of the spandrels and at the base of the
piers.
Mech. B: storey mechanism, characterized by the formation of hinges at the base and at the top of piers of one specic
oor, while in the remaining part of the building (above and below levels) the collapse does not occur.
Mech. C: overturning mechanism of the faade.
Mech. D: shear collapse of the piers of the generic level.

In the following analysis, the mechanisms A and D (i.e. global mechanism and shear collapse) have been only considered,
because the horizontal load multipliers computed for the mechanisms B and C are considerably higher, thus they not affect
the wall seismic capacity.
For the Mech. A (global mechanism), starting from the expressions given in [19], with some algebraic manipulations, the
following simple formula for the evaluation of the horizontal collapse multiplier k can be obtained:
B
2
kA 1np 1
2
 h t  2t
418 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 10. First oor plan with observed cracks.

where np is the number of storeys (np = 3 for Palazzo Centi) and B, t and h are the dimensions that dene the geometry of the
masonry wall (see Fig. 18b).
Eq. (1) can be appropriately modied in order to take in account the effect of steel ties [20] inserted in spandrels and/or
piers, thus obtaining the following general expression of k for the global mechanism (Mech. A):
B
nc  np  M pl;s 1 nc  M pl;p
kA 2 1np
1:a
2
 h t  2t

where nc is the number of bays of the wall (nc = 7 in the case of Palazzo Centi main faade), Mpl,s and Mpl,p are the ultimate
exural resistance of the spandrel and of the pier respectively.
According to Italian Code [2], Mpl,s and Mpl,p can be calculated by using the following formulae:
 
t Hp
Mpl;s Hp   1 2:a
2 0:85  fmd  t  s

B
Mpl;p Atv  fyd  2:b
2
where fmd is the compression design strength of masonry in horizontal direction, Atv is the cross section area of each vertical
tie, fyd is the yielding resistance of steel of ties and Hp is given by:

Hp min Ath  fyd ; 0:4  fmd  t  s 2:c

where Ath is the cross section area of each horizontal tie.

For the evaluation of the horizontal load multiplier associated (kD) to the shear failure the following well known formu-
lation can be employed:
   
1 nc  B  s 1
kD l fv k0  l fv k0  3
W tot rm
where l = 0.4 is the masonry internal friction coefcient; fvk0 is the masonry shear strength; Wtot, is the global weight of the
wall (including the oor structures loads); B is the pier width; s is the wall thickness and rm is the averaged vertical com-
pression stress in the piers.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 419

Fig. 11. Aisle vaults cracks at the 1st oor.

With reference to the Palazzo Centi main faade (wall L1 in Figs. 7 and 9), which is characterized by the geometry of
Fig. 18b, a parametric analysis has been carried out, by varying the geometry (diameter/area) and the location of the steel
tie-rods, in order to understand their effectiveness and inuence on the seismic capacity of the analyzed walls. To this
aim, the following four different hypotheses on ties arrangements have been considered:

Case NT (No Tie), i.e. building faade without any ties (Fig. 19a).
Case HT (Horizontal Ties), i.e. with faade strengthened through horizontal ties (Fig. 19b).
Case VT (Vertical Ties), i.e. with faade strengthened through vertical ties (Fig. 19c).
Case HVT (Horizontal and Vertical Ties), i.e. with faade strengthened through horizontal and vertical ties (Fig. 19d).

The horizontal collapse multipliers (k) associated with each type of strengthening scheme of Fig. 19 have been calculated
using the closed form Eqs. 1, 1.a, 2.a, 2.b, 2.c, 3, by varying the steel ties area (At) between 0 and 1500 mm2 (corresponding to
2/30 mm), while the following values have been considered for the other geometrical and mechanical parameters (Fig. 18b):
B = 4.0 m, h = 2.8 m, t = 2.2 m, s = 0.9 m, np = 3, nc = 7, fm = 2 MPa, fvk0 = 0.2 MPa, rm = 0.74 MPa. Steel grade S235
(fyk = 235 MPa; fyd = fyk/cm0 = 235/1.05 = 223 MPa) has been assumed for the ties.
420 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 12. Second oor plan with observed cracks.

The results of parametric analysis have been plotted in Fig. 20 in terms of ties area (At) to horizontal capacity diagram.
In particular, on the left vertical axis the horizontal collapse multiplier (k) has been reported, while on the right vertical axis
the corresponding value of horizontal force (F = k  Wtot) has been also reported, where Wtot = 11,300 kN is the total weight of
the faade (including the loads transferred by the horizontal structures).
In detail, concerning the case NT (No Tie), the curve (a) of Fig. 20 is associated to seismic capacity calculated with Eq. (1),
i.e. considering the global mechanism (Mech. A in Fig. 18a), while the horizontal dashed line (b) represents the faade hor-
izontal capacity for shear collapse (Mech. D in Fig. 18a) evaluated by using Eq. (3). Quite trivially, it can be observed that both
the curves (a and b) have an horizontal trend because the ties area (At) does not affect the collapse multipliers given by the
expressions (1) and (3), respectively.
Furthermore, the curves (ce) of Fig. 20 are associated to the collapse multipliers evaluated by using the Eq. (1a) for the
hypothesized cases HT, VT, and HVT of faade strengthening through horizontal, vertical and horizontal plus vertical ties,
respectively (see Fig. 19).
In Fig. 20 is also reported a vertical line drawn in correspondence of At = 700 mm2, that is the actual area of horizontal
steel ties inserted in the spandrels during the 2003 retrot intervention.
Finally, the hatched region in the graph underlines the admissibility eld of faade horizontal capacity; in particular the
border line that denes the upper part of the hatched region of Fig. 20 is given by the curve (e) associated to the faade
strengthened through horizontal and vertical ties (case HVT) when At is less than 850 mm2, and by the horizontal dashed
line (b) due to shear collapse, when At is greater than 850 mm2.
The effectiveness of the steel ties can be immediately quantied by observing the diagram of Fig. 20; in fact the curves
(ce) show an increasing trend with the cross section area At of steel ties. In detail, it can be noted that the horizontal ties
(case HT, curve (c)) and the vertical ones (case VT, curve (d)), when At = 1500 mm2, leads to an increment of capacity up to
41% and 10%, respectively, with respect to the values corresponding to the case NT (curve (a)); furthermore, when both
vertical and horizontal ties are considered (case HVT, curve (e)) the two contributions are summed and the horizontal load
multiplier increment grows up to 51% with respect to the case NT.
Additional considerations can be made by considering the piers shear collapse (curve (b) in Fig. 20); in fact, the compar-
ison among the curves (be) suggests that the increasing of seismic capacity due to the presence of ties can be only achieved
when the prevailing collapse mechanism (i.e. the weakest one) is the global mechanism, which typically occurs in stocky
piers, characterized by low values of the aspect ratio (h/B), which is dened by the pier height (h) over pier width (B) ratio
(see Fig. 18b). In fact, when the piers shear collapse prevails (right horizontal border line of the hatched region of Fig. 20), the
actual horizontal capacity of the wall does not increase with the cross section area At of the steel ties.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 421

Fig. 13. Local collapse and damages of the ceiling reeds vaults at the 2nd oor.

Fig. 14. Out-of-plane bending of faade.

In particular, it can be underlined that in the case of Palazzo Centi, the value of piers aspect ratio (h/B) is quite low, so,
despite the weakest mechanism is still the global one (kA = 0.23 < kD = 0.30), the shear collapse multiplier is only slightly
greater (30%): this means that inserting steel ties larger than 1100 mm2 is useless because the actual collapse multiplier
(k) cannot anyway exceed the value (kD = 0.30), as emphasized by the admissibility domain of the wall hatched in the graph
of Fig. 20.
The diagram of Fig. 20 allow of making a further consideration about the effectiveness of the steel ties inserted in the
spandrels during the 2003 retrot intervention. In fact, the vertical line drawn in correspondence of At = 700 mm2 (i.e. the
actual area of horizontal steel ties inserted in the spandrels during the 2003 retrot intervention) allows of obtaining on
the graph:
422 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

Fig. 15. Shear cracks in the walls of castellina.

The point A at the intersection with the curve (a) (case NT); it represents the state of the main faade before the 2003
intervention work (no ties), and the corresponding horizontal collapse multiplier is k = 0.23.
The point B at the intersection with the curve (c) (case HT); it represents the state of the main faade after the 2003
intervention work (with horizontal steel ties in the spandrels), and the corresponding horizontal collapse multiplier
is k = 0.27.

The comparison between these two values of collapse multipliers allow of asserting that the increment of seismic capac-
ity achieved with the insertion of horizontal steel ties can be estimated in about 20%.
In conclusion it can be stated that, for walls loaded by horizontal forces acting in their middle plane, the ties have a great
effectiveness mainly for walls with slender piers, while, in case of stocky piers, like in Palazzo Centi, their advantage is lim-
ited by the shear resistance of the wall; in this case their function consists primarily, as demonstrated in the following, in
preventing out-of-plane collapses.

5.2. Out-of-plane capacity

With reference to the out-of-plane behaviour of the South faade of Palazzo Centi, the limit analysis approach has been
also employed for assessing the seismic safety both with and without steel ties.
According to [2126], the considered out-of-plane collapse mechanisms are the followings:

Mech. 1: global overturning of faade (Fig. 21a).

Mech. 2: partial overturning of 1st and 2nd levels of faade (Fig. 21b).
Mech. 3: partial overturning of the 2nd level of faade (Fig. 21c).
Mech. 4: horizontal bending on the top (Fig. 21d).

The general procedure for the evaluation of the horizontal load multiplier (k) consists of putting the sum of overturning
moment (Mo) and stabilizing moment (Mb) equal to zero, which is the same to put the total virtual work equal to zero; there-
fore, the maximum value of the horizontal force, that corresponds to the limit equilibrium condition is given by following
equation [25,27]:

Mb
Mb  M o 0 ) Mb  k  M 1o 0 ) k 4
M 1o

where M 1o is the total overturning moment computed considering the horizontal forces equal to the vertical (gravity) loads.
With reference to the three levels wall scheme of Fig. 22a, representing the vertical section of South faade of Palazzo
Centi, the values of Mb and M 1o to be considered in the mechanisms 1, 2 and 3 of Fig. 21, can be evaluated as follows:

Mech. 1: global overturning of faade with cylindrical hinge in A (Fig. 22a):

   
h3 h2 h1
M1o W 3  h1 h2 P 3  h1 h2 h3 W 2  h1 P2  h1 h2 W 1  P1  h1 5
2 2 2

s3 s2 s1
Mb W 3  P3  d3 W 2  P 2  d2 W 1  P 1  d1 T 3  h1 h2 h3 T 2  h1 h2 T 1  h1 6
2 2 2
Mech. 2: partial overturning of 1st and 2nd levels of faade with cylindrical hinge in B (Fig. 22a):
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 423

(a)

Lateral view Front view Lateral view Front view

Steel Steel
anchor anchor
plate 20 plate
Steel tie rod 22 Steel tie rod 30
5
600 200

Steel 70
anchor 8 50 200
shaft Diagonal
22
steel
50 stiffeners

Top view 3D view Top view Steel

3D view
Steel tie rod 22 32 anchor
plate 20
300 Steel tie rod 30

8 50

(b) (c)
Fig. 16. (a) Plan with the horizontal steel ties placed during the 2003 retrotting interventions (the arrangements are the same at all levels); (b) detail of
anchor shaft for steel ties /22; and (c) detail of anchor shaft for steel ties /30.

 
h3 h2
M1o W 3  h2 P3  h2 h3 W 2  P 2  h2 7
2 2
424 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

(a)

Wooden truss strut

Steel tie Masonry

Wooden truss tie

Steel saddle
Steel belt

(b)
Fig. 17. Roong structures retrot (a) view of the saddles from the 2nd oor, and (b) truss support structural detail.

s3 s2
Mb W 3  P3  d3 W 2  P 2  d2 T 3  h2 h3 T 2  h2 8
2 2
Mech. 3: partial overturning of the 2nd level of faade with cylindrical hinge in C (Fig. 22a):
2
M1o W 3  h3 P3  h3 9
3

s3 s2
Mb W 3  P 3  d 3 W 2  T 3  h3 10
2 2
Finally, the moments Mb and M 1o in the mechanism 4 can be estimated by considering the simplied mechanical model of
Fig. 22b, characterized by two triangular rigid bodies dened by two skewed cylindrical hinges on the external layer of the
wall and by a vertical cylindrical hinge on the internal layer of the wall. Therefore, the horizontal collapse multiplier can be
estimated by substituting in Eq. (4) the followings expressions of Mb and M 1o :

Mech. 4: horizontal bending on the top (Fig. 22b):

h3
M1o W 3  P 3  h3 11
2

s3 s2
Mb W 3  P 3  d 3 W 2  T 3  h3 12
2 2
In the above equations, si, hi and di (i = 1, 2, 3) are the geometric parameters shown in Fig. 22a, while Wi, Pi and Ti (i = 1, 2, 3)
represent the faade self weight, the loads of the horizontal structures and the forces acting in the steel ties, respectively; of
course, in absence of steel ties, the terms Ti are null.
It can be noted that the expressions for the mechanisms 3 and 4 are almost the same, because both the mechanisms de-
velop at the 2nd level of the wall; the unique difference is that the Mech. 4 involves triangular masonry blocks, whose centre
of gravity is at 2/3 of h3, as shown in Fig. 22b, where it is also evident that, if the ties are not placed between the two hinges
they are absolutely ineffective in preventing the horizontal bending collapse mechanism (Mech. 4).
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 425

Mech. A: global mechanism Mech. B: storey mechanism

Mech. C: overturning mechanism Mech. D: shear collapse

(a)

41,40
t
h
Htot = 16.30

B L B
B= 4.00m; D= 9.6m; h=2.80m; t= 2.20m
D
(b)
Fig. 18. (a) Considered in-plane collapse mechanisms; and (b) main faade geometric parameters.

The analyzes results are shown in Table 2 and Fig. 23, where, for each mechanism, the horizontal loads multiplier (k), the
corresponding spectral acceleration (a0 ) and the design acceleration (Da) [2,25,28] are reported. The safety checks of South
faade of Palazzo Centi can be made by comparing the capacity (a0 ) with the seismic demand (Da) evaluated for the Limit
State of Signicant Damage (SD); the safety check is satised when a0 P Da (or a0 /Da P 1). The comparison between the
safety assessment performed on the building South faade with and without steel ties allows of underlined the effectiveness
of this mechanical intervention to prevent local collapse mechanisms related to out-of-plane behaviour of the external walls.
In particular, from Table 2 and Fig. 23 it can be observed that the South faade of Palazzo Centi is very vulnerable without
steel ties, since the a0 /Da ratio is less than 1 for all mechanisms. The insertion of ties has a good inuence on the overturning
mechanisms (Mechs. 13), while the resistance to the horizontal bending on the top (Mech. 4) is only slightly improved. In
any case, considering that without steel ties the minimum value of the demand to capacity ratio is a0 /Da = 0.26 (for Mech. 2)
and with steel ties the minimum value becomes a0 /Da = 0.99 (for Mech 4), it can be stated that the steel ties provide an over-
all increment of horizontal capacity equal to 250% thus demonstrating their great effectiveness.
The previous considerations allow to conclude the unique out-of-plane mechanism for which the steel ties seem to be less
effective is the horizontal bending on the top (Mech. 4) (depending on the horizontal distance between the steel ties) and, as
426 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

(a) Case NT (No Ties) (b) Case HT (Horizontal Ties)

(c) Case VT (Vertical Ties) (d) Case HVT(Horizontal and Vertical Ties)
Fig. 19. Hypothetic arrangements of horizontal and/or vertical steel ties: (a) case NT (No Ties); (b) case HT (Horizontal Ties); (c) case VT (Vertical Ties); and
(d) case HVT (Horizontal and Vertical Ties).

Fig. 20. In-plane horizontal capacity of main faade as a function of the area steel ties (At) for the hypothetic arrangements of retrotting interventions of
Fig. 19 (k = horizontal collapse multiplier; F = horizontal loading capacity).

a matter of fact, the South faade of Palazzo Centi exhibited the activation of the Mech. 4 during the 2009 LAquila earth-
quake, with the damage pattern shown in Fig. 14.

6. Learning from earthquake, suggestions for retrot and conclusions

From the analyzes carried out on a traditional masonry building damaged during the 2009 LAquila earthquake, some
interesting results and observations, useful for future research and also for the professional practice, were obtained.
It is clear that the analyzed building suffered seismic damages; however the damage was not so heavy as expected, par-
ticularly if compared to other similar buildings and considering the high value of the 2009 earthquake acceleration, which
exceeded the values established by the Italian Code for the LAquila city.
Some fundamental aspects related to the design, the retrotting and the analysis of masonry buildings must be
highlighted.
Primarily, it can be stated that the respect of the rules of Art represents a warranty on the good seismic behaviour of the
building; in the case of Palazzo Centi this can be demonstrated observing that the only strongly damaged part of the building
is, in fact, the castellina, that has been built more recently without accounting for the rules of Art.
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 427

(a) Mech.1: global (b) Mech.2: partial overturning

overturning of faade of 1st and 2nd levels of faade

(c) Mech.3: partial overturning (d) Mech.4: horizontal bending

of the 2nd level of faade on the top
Fig. 21. Considered out-of-plane collapse mechanisms for the elevation T1 (see Fig.8).

Concerning the analysis method for the evaluation of seismic capacity of the walls, the limit analysis proved to be a reli-
able and easy method for evaluating masonry structure seismic capacity and collapse modes. The results obtained from the
parametric analysis (varying the steel ties cross section) highlight that for the LAquila buildings, characterized by walls with
stocky piers, the ties provide a slight increment of the in-plane horizontal capacity; in detail, for Palazzo Centi, the maximum
achievable increment for the collapse multiplier k is equal to 30% of the initial value. On the contrary, the steel ties are much
more effective against the activation of out-of-plane mechanisms of the walls, allowing an increment of the collapse multi-
plier up to 200%. It is worth noting that the experience gained in the post-earthquake reconnaissance activity teaches that
out-of-plane collpse mechanism represents the most frequent and dangerous damage cause for masonry buildings devoid of
devices for vault thrust balancing and for effective wall connection.
Therefore, in masonry buildings originally designed according to classical rules of art, some simple and economical inter-
ventions, like the insertion of mechanical steel ties, the strengthening of the roof structures and its efcient connection to the
walls top, allow to achieve a good seismic behaviour of the building.
Concerning the retrot interventions, it is worth underlining that the documental research testifying the building history
has a key importance for the study of building structure, and, conversely the lack of adequate information could lead to hasty
or wrong results and conclusions, as in the case of Palazzo Centi if the presence of ties had been not revealed.
The importance of steel ties, and, in more general terms, of the rules of Art, is even more clear by comparing the seismic
damage observed in Palazzo Centi (Fig. 24a) to the one detected in a similar building, located in the historical centre of
LAquila (quite close to Palazzo Centi, Fig. 24b). When compared with Palazzo Centi that was protected by the steel ties,
the building without seismic devices (or where seismic devices failed) had a poor seismic performance and suffered a severe
damage of the faade, with out-of-plane mechanism, which, in turn, caused the collapse of horizontal structures due to the
loss of supports.
The importance of ties becomes even more remarkable in the case of poor quality masonry made with little stones, as it
was for LAquila buildings, where the connection between the perpendicular walls is difcult to achieve; indeed, in this case,
without the friction between stones and considering the null tensile strength of masonry, the walls are practically free and
428 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430

P3
d3
P3 T3
s3
W3
h3
W3
P2
C C
d2 P2 T2
s2
W2
h2
W2 P1
B B
d1 P1 T1

W1
h1
W1
A A

s1 Mech. 1 Mech. 2 Mech. 3

(a)

F r o n t v ie w L a te r a l v ie w
P3 d3 P3
P3 T3
W3
h3 W3
W3 W3

s3

Top view
T3 T3 T3
P3

W3 W3

(b)
Fig. 22. (a) Three levels wall mechanical scheme; and (b) simplied mechanical scheme for the out-of-plane bending collapse (Mech. 4).

Table 2
Limit analyzes results: out-of plane collapse mechanisms of South faade of Palazzo Centi with and without steel ties.

Mechanism k (%) a0 (m/s2) Da (m/s2) a0 P Da a0 /Da

Without ties Mech. 1: global overturning 6.20 0.44 1.02 No 0.43

Mech. 2: partial overturning of 1st and 2nd levels 7.50 0.56 2.18 No 0.26
Mech. 3: partial overturning of 2nd level 18 1.35 2.72 No 0.50
Mech. 4: horizontal bending on the top 33 2.3 2.72 No 0.85
With ties Mech. 1: global overturning 31 1.2 1.02 Ok 1.18
Mech. 2: partial overturning of 1st and 2nd levels 38 2.84 2.18 Ok 1.30
Mech. 3: partial overturning of 2nd level 52 3.9 2.72 Ok 1.43
Mech. 4: horizontal bending on the top 42 2.69 2.72 No 0.99
 G. Lucibello et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 34 (2013) 407430 429

2.00
[a*0/ a] Without Ties With Ties
1.80

Check satisfied
1.60
1.40
1.20
1.00

Check unsatisfied
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
Mech. 1 Mech. 2 Mech. 3 Mech. 4

Fig. 23. Comparison between resistance with and without steel ties.

Fig. 24. (a) Palazzo Centi; and (b) building with faade not restrained by ties.

the insertion of mechanical steel ties is the most effective retrotting strategy to protect the building from the activation of
out-of-plane collapse mechanisms.

Acknowledgements

This research has been supported by ReLUIS DPC Project 2010-2013.

The authors are also grateful to the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici, Paesaggistici, Storici, Artistici ed Etnoantro-
pologici (BAPSAE) of LAquila district and in particular to the Arch. Antonello Garofalo for his valuable support to on site
investigation.

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