Lecturer: Rui Pinho  

Course name: Seismic Assessment of RC Structures
Course code: 504987
Degree course: Ingegneria Civile
Disciplinary field of science: ICAR/09
University credits: ECTS 3
Course website: n.d.

Specific course objectives

The ‘Assessment of Existing Structures’ course/module aims not only at providing students with knowledge and tools for an accurate modelling of the nonlinear response of existing RC structures subjected to seismic action, but also at introducing the principles seismic assessment methods and retrofitting techniques used for this type of structures.

Course programme

The 'Assessment of Existing Structures' course/module is structured in six main parts, listed below. In addition, during the course the students will also be asked to undertake a design project in which an existing building will first need to be seismically assessed and then retrofitted through one or more proposed interventions.

• Notes on modelling challenges and issues
• Nonlinear behaviour of RC structures
• Nonlinear dynamic analysis (time-history)
• Nonlinear static analysis (pushover)
• Seismic assessment of existing RC structures
• Seismic retrofitting of existing RC structures

Course entry requirements

The course foresees that students will have already successfully followed the courses on Structural Mechanics and Structural Design.

Course structure and teaching

Lectures (hours/year in lecture theatre): 23
Practical class (hours/year in lecture theatre): 0
Practicals / Workshops (hours/year in lecture theatre): 0

Suggested reading materials

The slides presented during the course lectures will be made available for download by the students from an FTP server that will be indicated at the start of the course, as will be also Excel files useful for some of the practical exercises. Some textbooks and software pertinent to the course are also listed in what follows:

Nuove Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni. D.M. 14/01/ 2008.

G. Manfredi, A. Masi, R. Pinho, G. Verderame, M. Vona. Valutazione degli edifici esistenti in Cemento Armato. IUSS Press.

M.A. Pisani. Consolidamento delle strutture - Guida ai criteri, ai materiali e alle tecniche più utilizzati. Hoepli, 2012.

Seismosoft (2015). SeismoStruct - A computer program for static and dynamic nonlinear analysis of framed structures. Available from http://www.seismosoft.com .

Testing and exams

For the 'Assessment of Existing Structures' course/module a course project is compulsory and its progress will be monitored throughout the course; at the end of the latter, the project undertaken by the students will be assessed through a discussion of both the results obtained as well as the procedure adopted. The final exam will be oral and available only to those students who will have successfully completed and delivered the course project.