Technical and Scientific Consultancy:

• Guide lines for the Assessment of Public Buildings;
• Study of the behaviour of prefabricated structures in seismic zones;
• Seismic Tests on Public Buildings.

Guide Lines for the Assessment of Public Buildings

The main objective of this work, commisioned by the Regione Toscana was to draft guidelines encompassing the criteria and instructions for seismic assesment of public buildings. The onus of getting the buildings assessed lies on the owners under the new Building Code Construction Rules, part of the Ordinance of the President of the Council of Ministers of 20 March 2003. In the final report  Eucentre has recommended the analysis methods, the level of knowledge of the structures and the sites, the criteria and the level of detail for the assessment required for each built structure. The results and the products that must be provided by the experts who carry out the assessment have been clearly specified. As an example, Eucentre has conducted seismic assements on some buildings, chosen by Regione Toscana following the standards defined in the guidelines.


Study of the behaviour of prefabricated structures in seismic zones

The study conducted for the company RDB had a dual purpose, to verify the seismic response of existent prefabricated structures according to the new seismic code and to propose effective techniques for seismic retrofit. The work was carried out in the following phases:

1. The first survey phase, where data was collected and the elements in the desired output were classified. Further, the typologies of structural elements used in the construction of prefabricated buildings were examined and catalogued;

2. Once the data collection phase necessary for the actual output was completed, the main cases to be assessed were identified;

3. The successive phase of numerical analysis permitted the evaluation of the global seismic response of the structures and the assessment at a local level of structural elements and connections as specified in the code titled ' Technical regulations for the design, evaluation and seismic retrofit of buildings'.

The objectives achieved are compiled in a final report and are as follows :

• Classification and examination of the present output elements and structural typologies;

• Definition of the structural typologies and sub-systems to be assessed;

• Assessment according to Ordinance n. 2374 of 20 March 2003;

• Proposal for an intervention strategy for the retrofit of elements currently involved.

Seismic Assesment of Public Buildings

In the period following the enforcement of the new Building Code for the design and assessment of buildings in seismic zones, there was an acute need for information, explanation and renewal among designers, technicians and administrators to deal with the new aspects introduced by the Building Code and to apply the code competently. From this point of view, Eucentre, apart from having participated actively in organising refresher courses for professionals, has provided technical and scientific consultancy, in particular in the area of seismic assessment of public buildings. The mandatory requirement of the law that the onus of seismic assessment of these buildings is on the owners has in fact placed some public institutions in a difficult situation. They have to implement the Code, but dont possess the requisite tools to do so. Eucentre has carried out the seismic assessment of the hospital in Varese,'Nuovo Ospedale di Circolo e Fondazione Macchi'. The hospital builing is under construction currently. It was designed before the new Seimic Code came into force, but now fulfills the reuirements of the Code. Eucentre has also done the seismic assessment of a middle school as an example, for the municipal administration of Bollate and for the municipal administration of San Remo.