Engineering Commons^™

Probabilistic Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Of Freestanding Historic Monuments, Marie E. Wagner

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Seismic events can cause significant damage to structures, especially to freestanding structures which are not fixed to the ground and are free to rock independently. This thesis will study the response of freestanding statues and monuments to ground motions and develop probabilistic models for overturning, in order to assist in retrofitting and repair efforts. To do this, single and dual block system models were created with a variety of sizes, aspect ratios, and asymmetries, then subjected to several historic ground motions to determine whether they overturn using three-dimensional distinct element analysis as a result of rocking, sliding or twisting in …