The role of site effects and soil-structure interaction phenomena on the seismic response of a school building in Norcia

Le résumé fourni par la source

The 2016 Central Italy earthquakes had a strong impact in the town of Norcia, which was already hit by a strong earthquake in 1997. The proximity to the seismogenic fault and the damages to buildings have highlighted the need of in-depth studies of the site effects in the Norcia area.This work presents preliminary results on the ground response and Soil-Structure Interaction of a reinforced concrete school building in Norcia.The site response analysis is based on a newly developed 2D subsurface model of the area, constructed using original geological and geophysical data specifically acquired for this research. The model is integrated with the seismic section located near the school, and incorporates detailed stratigraphic information to improve site-specific accuracy.The Norcia School is monitored by the Structural Observatory of the Italian Department of Civil Protection, providing a unique dataset of seismic recordings, both prior to the 2016 earthquake sequence and during the major seismic events of August and October 2016. The integration of the newly constructed 2D subsurface model significantly enhances the understanding of the local site effects and their influence on the soil-structure interaction.The outcomes of the soil model are compared with those recorded at the free field station of the school, and a dynamic identification of the structure is carried out, allowing to infer the natural vibration frequencies of the structure. Preliminary results of a numerical model of the structure including SSI will be presented.The findings of this research could have important implications for technical building codes and seismic design standards, which currently assume a rigid soil-foundation interface in structural assessments. By demonstrating the impact of soil-structure interaction on seismic response, this study emphasizes the need to update construction regulations to account for site-specific geotechnical conditions. Such updates could lead to safer, more resilient designs, particularly for critical structures located in near-fault or geologically complex areas.

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