ABSTRACT
The Abruzzo earthquake (6th April 2009) dramatically demonstrated that a large amount of the Italian existing RC structures was not able to sustain earthquake actions, maily due to structural deficiencies such as: inadequate material properties, absence of capacity design principles, lack of confinement in the potential plastic regions (typically no transverse reinforcement in the joint regions), poor reinforcement detailing, such as improper anchorage detailing, use of smooth bars for both longitudinal and transverse reinforcement.
