Failure of a precast RC building due to Emilia-Romagna earthquakes

• The seismic assessment of an existing precast RC building is performed.
• Beam-to-column and roof-to-beam friction connections are accurately modeled.
• The structural model is validated by comparing analyses results and real damage.
• The effect of the vertical component of the seismic action is studied.

Two 5.9 Mw and 5.8 Mw earthquakes hit Emilia-Romagna region on May 2012. Most of the precast RC one-story structures exhibited significant damage, causing huge economic losses as well as deaths. These events produced in-situ observations and data to develop a deeper knowledge on the seismic behavior and collapse of this structural typology.This paper deals with the seismic assessment of a real precast RC industrial building with friction connections. The structure is located in Emilia-Romagna region and it was severely damaged during the second seismic event on May 29th. Structural columns exhibited cracking and yielding at the base as well as significant rotations along one direction. Moreover, relative displacements were recorded in both beam-to-column connections and roof-to-beam connections and several loss of support phenomena occurred for the roof elements.A detailed nonlinear structural model is defined in OpenSees code and nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed with the recorded accelerations time-histories of the two seismic events. By comparing the numerical results with the actual response of the structure, the adopted model is validated and the main damage typologies are also justified.