Probabilistic reliability assessment of existing masonry buildings: The church of San Justo y Pastor

Abstract There exists a large number of masonry historical buildings with a high heritage value whose preservation has to be ensured. For this purpose, it is important to establish a methodology to assess their structural reliability in the case of extraordinary load events. Particularly, the materials and construction techniques employed in this kind of buildings make them especially vulnerable in the event of an earthquake. This paper presents and discusses a probability-based reliability analysis to determine the damage on existing masonry structures subjected to seismic loads. Geometric and material data are introduced in a three-dimensional FEM model, which takes into consideration the uncertainties that exist in the material properties. The reliability of the structure is determined via the definition of a Damage Index and carrying out a Monte Carlo-type analysis. The case of study presented in this paper is the church of San Justo y Pastor located in Granada, a seismic-prone region in southern Spain.