2nd Croatian Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2CroCEE

In this paper, numerical analysis of several historical masonry towers located in Italy was conducted. The towers differ in their geometric characteristics in terms of slenderness, thickness of the outer walls, the proportion of openings, while the material properties of all towers are similar.
The purpose of this paper was to analyze the influence of various geometries, soil properties and types of earthquakes on the seismic resistance of masonry structures. The geometries of the towers were taken from the available literature.
The analysis was carried out with the planar numerical model Y-2D, which is based on the finite-discrete element method (FDEM). The towers were discretized at the macro level using triangular three-node finite elements between which contact elements were implemented that take into account material nonlinearity.
The discretization of the towers was carried out at the macro level, taking into account the averaged properties of the mortar and blocks. This is modeled using triangular three-node finite elements between which contact elements are implemented to consider material nonlinearity. In this way, the phenomenon of the initiation and propagation of cracks in the tension and shear was modeled.
An incremental dynamic analysis was performed for three real earthquakes until the complete collapse of the structure. In each increment, the appearance of the first cracks, the propagation of the cracks, as well as the failure mode of the structure were monitored.
The performed numerical analyzes highlight the suitability of the FDEM method in the analysis of the seismic resistance of masonry structures.
The conclusions reached in this paper can serve as guidelines for engineers in assessing the seismic resistance of existing masonry structures.