A kinematic limit analysis approach for seismic retrofitting of masonry towers through steel tie-rods

The possible introduction of horizontal and vertical steel tie-rods is investigated in the same way, simply considering the contribution of the reinforcement in the internal dissipation in limit analysis computations. The results of the analyses show that, depending on the geometry of the tower and the mechanical properties of masonry, different mechanisms can be activated and therefore the choice of the reinforcement must be done on the basis of the expected failure mode. In addition, it is possible to predict the change in the active failure mechanism due to the introduction of reinforcement, as well as to evaluate the increase in the load carrying capacity.