When
Friday, October 23, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
Gianni Blasi
Assistant Professor of Structural Engineering
Department of Engineering for Innovation
University of Salento (Lecce, Puglia, Italy)
"The Role of Non-Structural Components in the Seismic Risk of Civil Structures"
Civil Engineering, Room 201
ABSTRACT
Non-structural components (NSC) represent a significant portion of the total cost of strategic buildings and comprise diverse elements with greatly variable mechanical properties, geometry and functions. Such components often play a key role in the functionality of buildings and may be also fundamental from a human life-safety perspective. Post-earthquake surveys showed that losses caused by NSC failure far exceed those associated with structural damage, and that in several cases their collapse is itself a life-safety issue. Yet their assessment often remains absent from design practice.
This seminar addresses the role of NSC in the seismic risk of buildings considering two complementary standpoints. The first one is the role of some NSC (e.g., infill walls) in the seismic response of the structural system, namely their influence on dynamic properties and failure modes, particularly referring to gravity-load-designed buildings. The second standpoint addresses the seismic vulnerability of critical NSC from a functionality and life safety perspective, such as fire-protection and medical gas distribution piping systems, required to remain operational even after an earthquake.
The discussion moves from the evidence collected in the aftermath of recent earthquakes to the performance level characterization of NSC through laboratory testing. Finally, advanced numerical modelling strategies and analysis methods for vulnerability assessment and post-earthquake damage estimation are examined.
BIO
Gianni Blasi is an assistant professor of structural engineering at the University of Salento. His primary research interests include the seismic response analysis of civil structures and non-structural components, the analysis of the performance evolution of bridges under degradation phenomena, and the development and characterization of innovative materials for sustainable construction and for structural retrofit applications. He earned his PhD in materials and structural engineering in 2019 at the University of Salento. He is a member of the International Association for the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements (SPONSE) and has participated in several national and international projects focused on structural resilience enhancement and seismic vulnerability assessment of civil structures (e.g., DPC-ReLUIS, CADS, ENRICH, CN MOST). He has also been involved in post-earthquake damage assessment surveys in both national and international contexts, including the 2016 earthquake in Italy and the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.