Seismic vulnerability evaluation of historical masonry churches: Proposal for a general and comprehensive numerical approach to cross-check results

In this paper a general approach relying into the collection of different numerical procedures is proposed to all practitioners interested in a precise estimation of the seismic vulnerability of masonry churches, with an indication of all the steps to follow to predict with fair accuracy their load carrying capacity. The approach comprises the determination of eigen-frequencies and modes, spectral analyses (both assuming an elastic behavior for masonry), limit analyses with FEM and pre-assigned failure mechanisms, pushover and non-linear dynamic computations. A case study is discussed in order to calibrate the procedure and discuss the actual accuracy of the results obtained.