Seismic analysis of the Serra do Pilar Monastery Church

Abstract

This paper presents part of the work developed for the seismic behaviour study of an ancient structure, over 400 years old. The church structure was numerically modelled via the finite element method, using a three dimensional model with parameters calibrated by experimental testing. In situ and laboratory tests on extracted samples were performed, and the structural stiffness was calibrated by dynamic tests for modal identification. The seismic analysis was performed in two calculation phases, using artificially generated accelerograms representative of the local seismicity. Results of complete linear elastic dynamic calculations allowed the analysis of the global behaviour and provided the input for more detailed local analyses of structural parts where the non-linear behaviour was considered. The seismic performance and vulnerability of the structure is addressed and discussed.