ABSTRACT
The prediction of the dynamic response of Unreinforced Masonry Structures (URMS) is a very complex task, since it is governed by material degradation and cyclic hysteric behaviour. The preliminary numerical investigation evidenced the need to define suitable hysteric constitutive laws for reliable nonlinear dynamic analyses of URMS. Accurate models aim at providing rigorous solutions for the assessment of the nonlinear response of existing masonry structures. The need of making available to practitioners reliable tools for the static and seismic assessment of real URMS has led many researchers to propose models based on simplified hypotheses, able to simulate the overall behaviour of real buildings. The macro-element modelling approach introduced by I. Calio et al. aims at the seismic assessment of masonry structures for engineering applications. The dynamic validation was performed by means of the comparison of the dynamic properties for the models already studied in the static context.
