PSI - Issue 78

Merani Margherita Gabriella Bruna et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 785–792

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distributes a lower number of affected buildings more broadly. This comparison powerfully demonstrates that a more accurate hazard input provides a fundamentally different picture of the damage scenario.

4. Conclusions and future work This work presents a framework for integrating dynamic monitoring data into near-real-time damage scenarios, a significant evolution from traditional predictive methods. The core advantage of this observation-constrained approach is the quantifiable reduction of uncertainty by anchoring theoretical models to physical reality. The practical application demonstrated in this study has focused specifically on the first part of this process: refining the seismic hazard assessment. By using the fundamental period (T₁), identified from the monitoring data of a representative building, we can select a more appropriate, frequency-dependent site amplification factor (FA), leading to a more accurate estimation of the seismic input. This step alone has been shown to produce a fundamentally different — and more reliable — picture of the damage distribution. However, the full potential of this methodology is realized only when both sides of the risk equation — hazard and vulnerability — are constrained by real-world data. Therefore, a crucial and immediate future objective is to extend this data-driven approach to the vulnerability assessment. The goal is to leverage the same structural response data recorded by sensors to develop and calibrate custom fragility curves that are specific to the local building typologies. This involves a methodological shift away from traditional curves based on a generic parameter like Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA). Instead, we aim to use more physically meaningful models expressed as a function of Spectral Acceleration at the building's fundamental period (Sa(T₁)). This ensures that the vulnerability model is consistent with the specific dynamic characteristics of the building, creating a powerful synergy between the refined hazard and the refined vulnerability. Aknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the RAISE project, which enabled the acquisition of the monitoring instruments used in this work. We also extend our gratitude to the RETURN Foundation and to Regione Liguria for providing the seismic microzonation studies for the Municipality of Sanremo. References Figure 5: Urban seismic damage scenarios for the masonry building stock. The top row compares the mean damage grade ( ) resulting from the refined FA approach (a) versus the generic FS approach (b). The bottom row shows the same comparison for the number of unusable buildings (c vs. d)

Cattari, S., Ottonelli, D., & Mohammadi, S. (2024). EQ-DIRECTION procedure towards an improved urban seismic resilience: Application to the pilot case study of Sanremo Municipality. Sustainability , 16 (6), 2501.