Comparison of seismic analysis methods applied to a historical church struck by 2009 L’Aquila earthquake

This paper presents the seismic assessment of a historical church by means of different analysis methods. The church of San Marco, seriously damaged by 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, Italy, is chosen as case-study. The analysis tools adopted and compared are linear and non-linear kinematic analysis, FEM pushover analysis and FEM nonlinear dynamic analysis. The different methods are evaluated regarding their ability to predict the damage and collapse mechanisms actually caused by the earthquake. The accelerograms of the main shock of the 6th April 2009 L’Aquila earthquake are considered for nonlinear dynamic analysis. The influence of relevant construction features, as original disconnection between parts or RC additions, is analysed into detail. Limit analysis is carried out to understand some of the critical collapse mechanisms which are not clearly revealed by FE analysis. The comparison of the analysis methods indicates advantages and limitations of each approach.