Evaluation of the seismic behaviour

Evaluation of the seismic behaviour (determining the structural resistance of buildings to seismic actions)

Most of the country’s residential buildings, in particular the oldest / those that were designed and built before the current structural regulations, cannot withstand an intense seismic event.

Therefore, rehabilitation interventions to these buildings must not be limited to aspects of aesthetics, comfort or habitability, but must also involve structural aspects.

To approach this question, Oz proposes the following methodology in three stages:

1. A preliminary visual inspection, with an initial evaluation of the building’s condition, from a structural perspective;
2. If necessary, additional inspections and surveys to characterize the construction, structure and building materials, as well as the anomalies that may affect it, and cost estimates for any works;
3. An execution plan for the building’s structural rehabilitation, when deemed necessary.

Examples of characterization tests of old constructions:

Figure 1 -Tests with flat jacks in resistant masonry walls for a mechanical characterization of structural materials (in particular, the evaluation of the resistance and of the deformability module) and to determine the state of tension.		Figure 2 - Resistography tests of structural wood elements to detect sections with abnormal density variations.		Figure 3 -Helix pull-out tests to evaluate the resistance of the foundation materials of the resistant masonry walls.