NEW VULNERABILITY MODELS OF TYPICAL BUILDINGS IN URBAN AREAS:
Applications to seismic risk assessment and target retrofitting methodology
About 2BeSafe Project
Interdisciplinary project in the field of earthquake engineering, with a particular focus on assessing the vulnerability of substandard buildings in urban areas that contribute significantly to seismic risk and the possibilities to strengthen them using retrofitting. The project takes a unique and comprehensive approach to mitigate the effects of an earthquake at the prevention stage. Such an innovative approach, using state-of-the-art experimental tests and detailed numerical analysis, allows the identification of the collapse mechanisms of a structure and critical structural elements, and the proposal of new vulnerability models, enabling the development of a new methodology for optimal retrofitting.
Project Objectives
The establishment of research group
The establishment of a new interdisciplinary research group, trained by international centres of knowledge and excellence in the field, as centre for excellence for advanced seismic performance evaluation and retrofit of buildings, and assessment of seismic risk.
Identification of typical building classes with expected high vulnerability
To identify ten most vulnerable building types (5 RC and 5 masonry) in the urban areas of the region which are estimated to be the most vulnerable with regard to seismic risk.
Seismic hazard definition
Define the model of seismic hazard which is applicable to observed region and to choose existing and develop new ground acceleration records and corresponding response spectra accordingly, in order to numerically simulate earthquake loading.
Seismic performance assessment of buildings
To assess seismic performance of selected vulnerable building types to earthquakes of various intensity levels and to determine their vulnerability models, collapse mechanisms and critical structural elements, using advanced numerical models and analysis methods.
Development of methodology for target retrofit and seismic performance assessment of retrofitted buildings
To establish new methodology for target retrofit of substandard buildings and to assess seismic performance of retrofitted buildings.
Project proposals applied for other funding sources
Collaboration with leading researchers in the field that will position the research group as the centre of excellence for advanced assessments of building performance, seismic risk assessments and methodology of target retrofit.
Latest News
22. September 2024.
We are delighted to announce a lecture by prof. Paolo Morandi of the EUCENTRE foundation, titled “Seismic assessment and retrofit strategies for URM buildings: current methods and recent research advancements”, which will be held on November 25th, 2024 at 17:15h in the Lecture hall of the temporary location of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb at Kranjčevićeva 2.
The lecture will address current methodologies for assessing the seismic performance of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, with a focus on recent research developments.
The goal is to connect theoretical principles with practical applications, offering valuable knowledge for professionals working to reduce the seismic vulnerability of masonry buildings.
16. September 2024.
On September 16th, 2024 PhD candidate Ante Pilipović, employed at the 2BESAFE project, defended his PhD topic proposal titled “Impact of target retrofit solutions on vulnerability models of typical masonry residential buildings.”
The proposed research aims to develop new vulnerability models for the as-built and target retrofitted common building typologies, and determine the impact of target retrofit on single building and urban scale seismic risk assessment in terms of common risk metrics such as loss curves and average annual losses.
18. July 2024.
The 18th World conference in Earthquake Engineering was held from June 30th – July 5th 2024 in Milano, Italy. The majority of the members of the 2BESAFE research group attended the conference and contributed with conference papers related to numerical modelling of structural elements under seismic loads, development of fragility and vulnerability curves of typical buildings, reconstruction campaign and retrofitting measures undertaken after the earthquakes in Croatia in 2020, seismic behaviour of buildings built in row aggregates and seismic risk assessment at urban scale.