9312725 Atkinson This two-year award will support U.S.-Italy cooperative research between Dr. Richard Atkinson, Atkinson-Noland Associates, and Professor Luigia Binda of the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. They will test to failure a full size unreinforced masonry building under a set of carefully controlled vertical and lateral loads. The Italian research plan also includes a compressive program of material and substructure tests, use of non- destructive tests prior to and after structural loading, extensive analytical studies to predict performance, and repair and retest of the damaged structure. The planned experiment in Pavia, Italy, with the associated supporting research provides a unique opportunity for U.S. investigators to participate in a major research program and to obtain research results applicable to the U.S. building infrastructure. The U.S. has never tested a full-sized, masonry building such as will be tested in Italy under this research program. Current U.S. understanding of the behavior of such building has been extrapolated from individual component tests or has been estimated from observed building response after a major loading from a catastrophic event. The Pavia experiment provides an opportunity to test such a building under controlled loading conditions, with known materials, and with known construction methods. It should provide extensive building response and strength data of a type not now available. * * *
