ENDED IN 2019

The main objective of the project was to characterise the seismic response of masonry and prefabricated buildings in the province of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands, which in the years prior to the project was affected by low-magnitude seismic events related to hydrocarbon extraction activities.

To this end, the following combined set of experimental and numerical activities was planned:

  • Validation against experimental benchmarks, as well as through comparison with numerical models developed by other research groups, of macro-element models of URM buildings typical of the Groningen region.
  • Development of detailed finite element models of precast panels, and its connections, typical of precast construction in the Groningen region.
  • Experimental in situ-testing of URM buildings in the Groningen region.
  • Cyclic and dynamic laboratory testing of URM and precast components and sub-assemblages.
  • Cyclic and shake-table testing of full-scale masonry and RC precast houses.

The project began in May 2014 and ended at the end of 2019. The deliverables (research reports, numerical models, experimental tests) produced are listed below:

The aforementioned experimental data is available at the following platform: https://www.betestdata.eu/