Cluster analysis for informing vulnerability assessment of masonry churches to natural hazards

Bibliographic Details
Title: Cluster analysis for informing vulnerability assessment of masonry churches to natural hazards
Authors: Federica Del Carlo, Silvia Caprili, Tiago Miguel Ferreira, Pere Roca, Marco Uzielli
Source: UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Publisher Information: Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: Cluster analysis, Churches archetypes, churches archetypes, cluster analysis, structural assessment, seismic vulnerability, landslides, Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Materials i estructures, Seismic vulnerability, Landslides, Structural assessment
Description: According to a census by the Catholic Church, Italy’s territory hosts more than sixty thousand buildings of worship. Most of these buildings were built between the first and the nineteenth century A.D., with a load-bearing masonry structure that proved to be particularly prone to damage due to natural hazards. This investigation explores the use of clustering algorithms to identify and cluster typologies of buildings and archetypes. The aim is to define statistical models for the geometric and mechanical properties, to delineate a set of reference structures representative of the whole building stock, and finally select ‘indicator attributes’ that can be used in developing seismic and landslide vulnerability indicators. The proposed methodology is applied to a specific portfolio of seventy-one churches in the north-western area of the Tuscany region (Italy). The main geometric and mechanical features of the churches included in the portfolio are gathered using a new simplified Rapid Visual Survey form. A procedure is then proposed to define representative archetypes using three well-known clustering algorithms (K-Means, Gaussian Mixture Models, and Kernel-density). When analysed together, the identified archetypes can portray the variability of the geometric and mechanical properties in the selected portfolio, constituting a basis for developing new vulnerability models.
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10518-025-02116-x.
Document Type: Article
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1573-1456
1570-761X
DOI: 10.1007/s10518-025-02116-x
Access URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10518-025-02116-x
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-025-02116-x
https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1414675
Rights: Springer Nature TDM
CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....3953e6a18a8f093b848ecfb2cd890cfe
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
ISSN:15731456
1570761X
DOI:10.1007/s10518-025-02116-x