Seismic assessment of a colonial adobe building in Cusco, Peru

Peru, in particular in the area of Cusco, is characterized by a high seismic hazard. The city of Cusco, whose historic center was recognized as UNESCO site since 1983, has a long story of telluric events and the study of the seismic vulnerability of its buildings is a duty of relevant concern for the seismic risk assessment of the whole urban area. Furthermore, protection and preservation of monumental and residential assets is an essential issue, especially for those buildings made of adobe, which are an important legacy testifying the life and the development of past civilizations. Based on these premises, this study aims to assess the seismic behaviour of a colonial adobe building located in the historic center of Cusco. This category of buildings represents the so-called “casa cusquena”, i.e. the typical residential building realized by Spanish colonists, often characterized by architectural and structural elements coming from the ancient Inca population. Squared plan with internal courtyard, stone foundations and adobe walls are some of the main structural characteristics of this type of building. After the description of the reconnaissance campaign carried out in the considered building, the global seismic behavior of the structure is analyzed by means a finite element model implemented in ABAQUS. A step-by-step linear dynamic analysis is performed to identify cracks evolution as the ground acceleration increases.