Nested Buildings: An Innovative Strategy for the Integrated Seismic and Energy Retrofit of Existing Masonry Buildings with CLT Panels

Maria Rosa Valluzzi, Elisa Saler, Alberto Vignato, Matteo Salvalaggio, Giorgio Croatto, Giorgia Dorigatti and Umberto Turrini
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Maria Rosa Valluzzi: Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padova, 35139 Padova, Italy
Elisa Saler: Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Alberto Vignato: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Matteo Salvalaggio: Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padova, 35139 Padova, Italy
Giorgio Croatto: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Giorgia Dorigatti: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Umberto Turrini: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-19

Abstract: The Italian building heritage is aged and inadequate to the high-performance levels required nowadays in terms of energy efficiency and seismic response. Innovative techniques are generating a strong interest, especially in terms of multi-level approaches and solution optimizations. Among these, Nested Buildings, an integrated intervention approach which preserves the external existing structure and provides a new structural system inside, aim at improving both energy and structural performances. The research presented hereinafter focuses on the strengthening of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings with cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, thanks to their lightweight, high stiffness, and good hygrothermal characteristics. The improvement of the hygrothermal performance was investigated through a 2D-model analyzed in the dynamic regime, which showed a general decreasing in the overall thermal transmittance for the retrofitted configurations. Then, to evaluate the seismic behavior of the coupled system, a parametric linear static analysis was implemented for both in-plane and out-of-plane directions, considering various masonry types and connector spacings. Results showed the efficiency of the intervention to improve the in-plane response of walls, thus validating possible applications to existing URM buildings, where local overturning mechanisms are prevented by either sufficient construction details or specific solutions.

Keywords: nested buildings; seismic retrofit; energy efficiency; integrated intervention; built heritage; masonry buildings; CLT panels; timber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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