Modelling Strategies for the In-plane Behaviour of Iron-framed Masonry Structures: Parametric Analysis on Simple Panels and a Church Facade

An atypical 'baraccato' system made of masonry walls encaged in iron frames was realized in the Ischia Island after the earthquake of 1883; an interesting example is represented by the Santa Maria Maddalena Church. Unfortunately, while several experimental and numerical studies can be found in the recent literature for traditional 'baraccato' systems (mixed timber and masonry elements), no information is available for iron-framed masonry structures. To fill this gap, the paper presents several parametric non-linear static analyses with reference to, firstly, simple iron-framed masonry panels and, successively, the facade of the Santa Maria Maddalena Church. All the numerical analyses were carried out by means of two modelling approaches with different levels of detail, i.e. finite element (FE) and discrete macro-element (DME) models. The numerical analyses allowed to: assess the reliability of the two models (FE and DME) into predicting similar results for the panels and the church facade with reference to both the unstrengthened and the iron-framed strengthened configurations; analyse the influence of the investigated parameters; evaluate the contribution of the iron frames on the overall behaviour of the strengthened masonry elements; and drive the choice of the most suitable modelling strategy for the whole church.