Seismic Assessment of Four Historical Masonry Towers in Southern Italy

The paper synthesizes the main results of investigations devoted to the evaluation of the seismic performance of four historical masonry towers. On-site diagnostic investigations were carried out using non-destructive or slightly destructive tests, including geometric surveys, laser scanning, endoscopic tests, sonic pulse velocity tests, geognostic surveys, flat-jack tests, environmental vibration tests, dynamic tests on tie-rods. The results of the on-site surveys were employed to calibrate refined 3D finite element models of the towers accounting for the materials' mechanical parameters, restraint of the neighboring constructions, and effect of soil-structure interaction. The FEM model was usefully employed to assess the seismic risk of the towers based on the Italian Guidelines. To this aim, the nonlinear FEM global analysis was developed using the pushover technique for the estimation of the seismic safety of the towers.