SAM-II: development and validation of an EF-based program for seismic pushover analysis of masonry buildings

• Published in: Bulletin of earthquake engineering 2023-11, Vol.21 (14), p.6317-6365
• Main Authors: Manzini, Carlo Filippo, Morandi, Paolo, Magenes, Guido
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Buildings; Civil Engineering; Computer software; Concrete; Criteria; Diaphragms; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Earthquake engineering; Earthquakes; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Geophysics/Geodesy; Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences; Hydrogeology; Masonry; Original Article; Reinforced concrete; Seismic activity; Seismic analysis; Seismic engineering; Seismic response; Shear strength; Structural Geology; Structural members
• ISSN: 1570-761X; 1573-1456
• DOI: 10.1007/s10518-023-01767-y

SAM-II is a computer program for seismic nonlinear static (pushover) analysis on new and existing unreinforced (URM), reinforced (RM) masonry and mixed masonry-reinforced concrete (RC) buildings, based on an equivalent frame (EF) modelling approach. The SAM program was originally proposed in the mid-1990s by Magenes and Della Fontana in Proceedings of the British Masonry Society, 1998) and Magenes (in Proceedings of the 12th World Conference in Earthquake Engineering, Auckland, 2000) and was initially conceived for the sole analysis of URM buildings. From the mid-2000s it was completely rewritten in a new code, named SAM-II, and substantially improved. The new program, in fact, also allows for the analysis of RM buildings and mixed RC-masonry structures, the management of semi-rigid floor/roof diaphragms, and the use of new shear strength criteria for masonry elements. The idealization criterion of the adopted EF model and the constitutive laws and strength criteria of the implemented structural elements are presented, focusing on the features of the program implemented in the last 15 years. Some cases of validation of the software, among the most relevant, are presented and discussed. The obtained results confirm that EF models such as SAM-II can be in many cases effective and reliable calculation tools for seismic pushover analyses of masonry buildings, provided the geometry of the building is sufficiently regular in plan and elevation to allow for the EF idealization to simulate its seismic behaviour.