About this Research Topic

Background

The design of precast buildings during past years was typically carried out without considering the complex seismic interaction between elements, both structural and non-structural, due to the peculiar nature of precast connections. This fact was recently and dramatically shown by several violent earthquakes. The seismic safety of the building stock is a requirement of modern societies and remains a concern in seismic prone areas. Recently, an increase of available literature has been observed on the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) precast elements and systems, but the majority refers to detail according to the modern codes. However, there is considerably less similar data for elements representative of building structures, and even lesser regarding the proper retrofitting solutions developed for RC precast structures. The Engineering community is currently facing the following challenges to reduce the seismic vulnerability and risk associated with precast structures: (1) refinement and harmonization of design criteria for new buildings, (2) seismic assessment and risk analysis of the existing building stock, and (3) setting and employing a retrofit.

The focus of this Research Topic is on recent advances in analysis methods and modeling approaches for the seismic design and risk assessment of precast structures. The submitted papers can also deal with the most significant recent developments in the topic of computational and experimental methods and results, as well as their applications in structural and earthquake engineering problems. The main objective of this Research Topic is to contribute to the knowledge about the seismic vulnerability and risk of precast buildings, new technologies, and how to improve the seismic assessment and design of this structural system.

The ambition of the present collection is to join the progress of international research in the field of precast structures under earthquake loading with the aim of representing a step forward in knowledge, to stimulate the interest from the technical and industrial community for the advantages of this construction typology, and to reduce its seismic vulnerability.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
• Precast concrete structures
• Seismic Performance of precast structures
• Seismic design and assessment of existing precast structures
• Seismic risk and Loss estimation in precast structures
• Simplified and detailed modeling tools applied to precast structures
• Behavior of connections/joints of precast structures
• Experimental testing on precast structures
• Influence of cladding panels on the earthquake response of precast structures
• Repair and retrofitting techniques applied to precast structures


Topic Editor Bruno Dal Lago is a partner of DLC Consulting Srl of Milan, Italy, which is a Structural Engineering consultant company active in different fields, among which precast concrete structures, the main subject of the Research Topic proposal.

Topic Editor Andrea Belleri is co-founder of Di.Mo.Re. Srl, an engineering society in Brescia, Italy, which was a former spinoff of the University of Bergamo and it is active in different fields, mainly seismic analysis, assessment, monitoring, and retrofit.

All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject.

Keywords: Precast Concrete, Seismic Risk, Connections, Joints, Structual Retrofit

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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