Seismic evaluation of old masonry buildings. Part II: Analysis of strengthening solutions for a case study

This paper describes the application of the iterative method described in Part I (Cardoso R, Lopes M, Bento, R, Seismic Evaluation of Old Masonry Buildings. Part I: Method Description and Application to a Case Study, Engineering Structures, 2005) to the seismic strengthening design of irregular block masonry structures. The method was applied to an old masonry building from the city of Lisbon, which includes a three-dimensional wood structure braced with diagonal elements, aiming at providing seismic resistance to the building. Three different strengthening solutions were defined, based on the collapse mechanism obtained. This paper presents the analysis performed for each solution and the discussion regarding its qualitatively and quantitatively effects in the seismic structural behaviour: the identification of the expected collapse mechanism after strengthening and the seismic intensity for which it occurs. This is necessary to define the more efficient and economic strengthening strategies.