Numerical and Experimental Response of Free-Standing Art Objects Subjected to Ground Motion

Earthquakes may damage buildings, but they also induce uplift and overturn the content of a building that, in the case of museums, can lead to the irreparable loss of art objects. In many cases, these objects, subjected to seismic actions, can be modeled considering the nonlinear dynamics of rigid blocks. This paper is focused on the seismic behavior of statues, which generally present a quite complex geometry, and are mostly characterized by a pronounced unsymmetrical response under seismic excitations. The proposed study, involving both numerical analyses and experimental tests, is applied to the masterpiece Venere Landolina of the Paolo Orsi museum (Syracuse, Italy). Analytical simulations are conducted according to a novel rigid block model accounting for asymmetric behavior and contact impairments. The experimental campaign is conducted on a scaled physical prototype, built according to a highly detailed digital model obtained by 3D survey. The numerical and experimental campaign is conducted with reference to compatible seismic ground motions, conveniently scaled to cope with scale effects. The results are finally correlated and discussed, showing the potential of the proposed approach for modeling artwork in seismic conditions and the reliability of a combined experimental and numerical strategy to assess the seismic safety of statues.