ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a 3D structural analysis to support the design of a facade retention system for an old three-storey building located in the historical centre of Leiria, Portugal. The building under study has a structure composed of masonry walls, wooden floors and roof, and wooden interior walls called tabiques. The results of this study are compared with the dynamic analysis performed in situ with an accelerograph, thus enabling the calibration of the numerical model. The evaluation of the mechanisms of collapse through numerical modelling provides an important contribution to the study of facade retention systems, enabling the forces transferred to the structural elements of those systems to be analysed. The chapter also presents the numerical modelling from ongoing research, giving special emphasis to facade retention systems, for prevention and emergency situations in a masonry building that represents a widespread type of construction.
