Damage suffered by industrial buildings during the 2012 Emilia (Italy) earthquakes

The seismic sequence that struck the Emilia Region of Northern Italy at the end of May 2012 had a strong impact on a highly industrialised area of recent codified seismicity. Industrial buildings, which have high exposure in terms of human life, building content and importance of production processes, have been severely damaged. In this study, damage observed during field surveys in such buildings is presented. The interpretation of the structural performance is carried out recognising different types of damage, e.g. formation of plastic hinges at the base of the columns, short-column failures, unseating of the beams and collapse of cladding panels. Non-linear dynamic analyses are performed on plane models representing typical configurations of industrial buildings present in the most affected area. The analyses highlight the directionality of damage, the relevance of the vertical component of earthquake excitation, and the significant inelastic rotation induced in the columns. Finally, recommendations are made to improve the seismic behaviour of these types of structures.