PSI - Issue 78

Giuseppina Uva et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 1048–1055

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Solid Model

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Shell Box Model

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Figure 5. Damage on the façade +Z for the solid Model and the shell Box Model at drifts: (a) 0.01m; (b) 0.03 m; (c) 0.08 m; (d) 0.14 m.

4. Conclusions The methodology presented in the paper outlines a strategy for assessing the seismic vulnerability of masonry arch bridges through the calibration of a simplified finite element model - referred to as the Shell-Box Model (SBM). This model is designed to balance the accuracy of the geometric representation and constitutive modeling with the need of reducing the computational and time effort, enabling a realistic simulation of nonlinear structural behavior under dynamic loading while maintaining efficiency. Such an approach is particularly useful for performing extensive nonlinear analyses - especially nonlinear time histories - and wide-ranging parametric analyses while significantly reducing computational demand, which makes it feasible to manage the many uncertainties involved in these contexts, such as those related to the actual conditions of structural elements and materials the nonlinear properties of masonry.