An Overview of the Structural Safety-Oriented Research in the Region Marche Seismic Area

In recent years, Italy has been hit by earthquakes, causing significant damage to masonry and reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Especially, common buildings and ordinary structures in many small historical towns of Italian central regions, such as Marche, have suffered dramatic consequences and destruction. Dynamic analysis and seismic structural safety are important topics in civil engineering, which have been studied and deepened for many years by the researchers of the Structural Division of the Department of Civil and Building Engineering, and Architecture of UnivPM. The researches have been oriented towards the investigation of structures under seismic loads in order to improve the knowledge of the structural response under high actions, due to the soil dynamic movements and, thus, define adequate techniques to strengthen the damaged structures. In this paper we present a wide spectrum of main results of our research group, comprising experimental studies, vulnerability analysis and assessment of existing structures, new methods of modelling and theoretical approaches to define the dynamic behavior of structures, also in presence of damage. Finally, we show and discuss new prospects of research for safety, employing advanced techniques and materials to prevent collapse and/or relevant damages in structures.