Seismic Performance of Pre-Code Reinforced Concrete Buildings

The present paper aims at deepening and extending the current knowledge about the evaluation of seismic vulnerability of existing reinforced concrete buildings. The object of the investigation consists in the analysis of the actual response and possible failure mechanisms of buildings constructed in the area of Southeast Sicily before adequate regulations for seismic design of structures came into effect, and representative of a widely diffused typological class. Nonlinear pushover and dynamic analyses were performed. As far as the seismic input is concerned, accelerograms both recorded during past events and generated according to the scenario earthquake expected for the area under investigation were utilized. The influence of masonry infilling was also taken into account resorting to a simplified model appositely developed in order to characterize both the strength and stiffness of the panels.