Within the framework of the DPC-EUCENTRE Convention, a research project coordinated by engineers Paolo Morandi and Filippo Dacarro, EUCENTRE researchers, has been underway since 2020 to characterise the in-plane and out-of-plane seismic response of masonry infills.
The project involves in-plane cyclic and out-of-plane dynamic tests on a shaking table, focusing on weak infills made of small-thickness (8-12 cm) brick blocks with high horizontal perforation, representative of Italian buildings of the 1960s-1980s.
Research Objective
The main objective is to fill gaps in the seismic design, verify masonry infills and partitions, and assess the seismic risk regarding economic damage and personal safety. The information obtained allows an understanding of different configurations combined in-plane and out-of-plane capacity, including various constraint levels and openings.
Expected Results
The research results may improve numerical modelling, regulatory development, and defining fragility curves for buildings. In addition, the project aims to develop an inexpensive and straightforward method to assess the constraint conditions of on-site infills using a smartphone-based sound wave acquisition system.
Scientific publications
As part of this project, two articles have recently been published in international scientific journals:
- Morandi, M. Kurukulasuriya, R.R. Milanesi, D. Bolognini, L. Grottoli, F. Dacarro, G. Magenes, Dynamic shaking table out-of-plane tests on weak masonry infills with and without previous in-plane loading, Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 100, 2025, 111670, ISSN 2352-7102, and available at the following link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1kQKz8MyS9ARA4
- Bolognini, F. Dacarro, L. Grottoli, R.R. Milanesi, P. Morandi, Development of a method based on audio waves for fast in-situ out-of-plane dynamic evaluations of the frequencies of masonry infills, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 452, 2024, 138874, ISSN 0950-0618, and available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.138874
Dataset of experimental tests
The dataset of the experimental tests performed is available at Built Environment Data at the following link:
https://experiments.builtenvdata.eu/datasets/43/
Collaborations
This research is the result of collaborative work carried out by the Eucentre Foundation team (Paolo Morandi, Riccardo Milanesi, Davide Bolognini, Luca Grottoli, Soheil Rostamkalaee, Filippo Dacarro) in collaboration with the IUSS – Scuola Universitaria Superiore di Pavia (Maithree Kurukulasuriya) and the University of Pavia (Guido Magenes, also acting as Eucentre’s scientific advisor).
Dynamic test video
The following video shows the last phase of an out-of-plane dynamic test on a shaking table of one of the tested infills: