Structural Characterization and Seismic Retrofitting of Adobe Constructions

Adobe constructions in the world: What should we know?- Behavior of adobe construction in recent earthquakes.-Mechanical characterization of adobe bricks.- Mechanical characterization of adobe masonry.- Quasi-static testing of adobe masonry walls and structures.- Shaking table testing of adobe masonry walls and structures.- Non-destructive testing tools to support the characterization of adobe constructions.- Seismic strengthening techniques for adobe construction.- Numerical modelling of adobe structures.- Standards and codes for adobe construction.- Conclusions and future research needs.

Humberto Varum is Full Professor at the Civil Engineering Department (Structural Division) of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, in Portugal. He has privileged the development of his scientific activity mainly in the following areas: assessment, rehabilitation and seismic retrofitting of existing structures; mechanical and structural characterization of earthen constructions; monitoring of the behaviour of structures. He has coordinated and collaborated in many national and international research projects, financed on a competitive basis, and is the author of a large number of publications, including articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. He has edited 4 books, 2 journal special issues and 9 conference proceedings. He is the editor or member of the editorial or scientific committee of 9 international scientific journals and 4 national scientific journals. He has been a member of the scientific committee and an invited speaker of many scientific events and is a member, by election or invitation, of several technical-scientific committees, associations or working groups.

He is Expert Member of the ICOMOS's International Scientific Committee of Earthen Architectural Heritage (ISCEAH). He is President of the Instituto da Construção of the University of Porto.

Fulvio Parisi is Associate Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II (Italy) and Associate Researcher of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). He is Associate Editor of 3 international journals and Editorial Board member of 2 international journals. In almost 20 research projects, his research mainly focused on assessment, retrofitting, robustness, and health monitoring of existing structures. He authored more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, 1 book, 3 book chapters, 30 reports, and 3 computer tools for seismic analysis of masonry buildings and experimental data