Damage evaluation in masonry infilled RC buildings from SHM data

In long-term structural health monitoring (SHM), one of the main challenges is to correlate an observed variation in dynamic properties of a structure (i.e., natural frequencies, mode shapes, etc.) to a certain damage level. This correlation is fundamental for a fast damage quantification trough SHM data that can trigger warnings for maintenance works, in the case of minor damage, or for immediate evacuation to protect the life of occupants in the case of a heavy damage. This paper focuses on seismic damage assessment, and adopts a methodology proposed by the authors to quantify the damage experienced in a building from SHM data. In detail, the study focuses on the damage evaluation of Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings with masonry infill walls and adopts the variation of fundamental frequency as a damage intensity measure. Results from refined numerical simulations on a 2D infilled RC frame are reported for the structural and non-structural damage evaluation.