Masonry structures: A proposal of analytical generation of fragility functions for tsunami impact – Application to the Mediterranean coasts

Abstract

Evaluation of tsunami vulnerability of coastal buildings is gaining high interest in recent years in the areas with high tsunami hazard. Fragility evaluation is a fundamental step to obtain a quantitative estimation of the probability of building damage and in order to define possible strategies for risk mitigation. Several empirical fragility curves are available for masonry structures. However, an empirical fragility curve is generally based on field surveys after tsunami events, not always available. Conversely, analytical fragility curves are based on prediction approaches. In this paper, a proposal for the evaluation of analytical fragility curves for masonry structures typical of the Mediterranean coasts based on simplified structural analyses and damage indexes is presented. The proposal considers the uncertainties in both the structural demand and capacity probabilistically. Several Monte Carlo simulations on some masonry structure types have been carried out to evaluate the fragility related to each fixed damage state assuming the inundation depth as intensity measure. Finally, the validity of the results is discussed by comparisons with empirical fragility curves available in the literature.