Experimental study of the out of plane behavior of masonry infill walls with exterior insulation systems

The objective of this study is to evaluate the out of plane behavior of a masonry infill wall provided with an exterior thermal insulation system. For this purpose there were constructed two 1:1 scale specimens of masonry infill walls in order to compare a simple wall with one having already applied an exterior thermal insulation system composed by a polystyrene insulation and a protection layer of plaster and a glass fiber mesh. The load was applied through a horizontal force, acting at the mid height of the wall. Both specimens were tested in displacement control, using alternate force with 3 cycles per loading step. As it was expected, an increased stiffness and out of plane resistance was observed for the wall provided with the insulation system. Various observations were noticed related to the technology and overall behavior of the infill masonry wall

New vulnerabilities of historic urban centers and archaeological sites: Extreme loads

Extreme actions represent a high risk for buildings belonging to historic urban areas and archaeological sites. Because of the conformation of the buildings, the low quality of used materials and the current state of conservation, these buildings tend to be very vulnerable to horizontal forces generated during earthquakes and terrorist attacks. This article analyses the mechanisms caused by extreme actions that are capable to generate a considerable degree of damage or even collapse of international cultural heritage buildings from historic urban centers and sites