Seismic safety assessment of the church of Monastery of Jerónimos, Portugal

Abstract

Preservation of historical constructions with high cultural heritage value is an actual theme in modern societies as these constructions play an important role in the industry of tourism and culture, and consequently in the economy and in the image of countries and self-esteem of people. The seismic hazard of Portugal and, due to its vicinity, of the Mediterranean basin puts under potential risk of damage and collapse a high number of historical constructions, namely most of the old masonry constructions, particularly vulnerable to seismic actions. The seismic behaviour of the Church of Monastery of Jerónimos, Portugal, is discussed here with a numerical simulation, using artificial seismic acceleration time histories in agreement with three seismic hazard scenarios for 475, 975 and 5000 years return periods, allowing to assess its seismic safety.