Damage and collapses in industrial precast buildings after the 2012 Emilia earthquake

The present paper presents a complete and commented collection of cases of damage and collapse in reinforced concrete (RC) precast industrial buildings, observed by the authors during a series of field surveys after the 2012 Emilia earthquake in Northern Italy. They were selected among a total of about 2000 industrial RC precast buildings, whose structural characteristics and damage have been collected in a large database by the authors. The main causes of the collapses were vulnerabilities related to the structural characteristics of Italian precast buildings not designed with seismic criteria. In particular, these structures were typically built as an assembly of monolithic elements (roof elements, main and secondary beams, columns) in statically determinate configurations. The most common failure causes identified were: the absence of mechanical connectors between precast monolithic elements, the interaction of structural elements with non-structural walls, the insufficient column bending capacity, the rotation of pocket foundations, the inadequacy of connections of external precast cladding walls to bearing elements (columns and beams), the overturning of racks in buildings used as warehouses or in automated storage facilities.