Numerical damage assessment of a medieval masonry castle under differential settlements
Numerical damage assessment of a medieval masonry castle under differential settlements
Historic masonry buildings are often affected by complex damage patterns resulting from multiple interacting actions, including differential settlements. This study presents the numerical damage assessment of the Doria Malaspina Castle, a medieval masonry structure located atop a hill in the village of Calice al Cornoviglio, Italy. The building exhibits crack patterns that, according to previous studies, may be associated with differential settlements, among other contributing factors. To accurately identify the causes of the existing damage, a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the entire castle was developed, and nonlinear static analyses were conducted to evaluate its structural response under three differential settlement scenarios, defined based on soil stratigraphy and observed damage patterns. Comparison of the damage predicted numerically with the crack patterns surveyed on-site provided insight into the settlement scenario most consistent with the observed damage.
Chiara Ferrero; Giulio Lucio Sergio Sacco; C. Calderini
4th International Symposium on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites
Geohazards and Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment for Cultural Heritage
https://doi.org/10.53243/tc301-2026-39