Assessment of Seismic Damage in Nativity Church in Bethlehem Using Pushover Analysis

Seismic vulnerability analysis of the Church of the Nativity, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest surviving Christian churches, reveals significant structural weaknesses. The study found that the church's transversal (Y) direction is particularly vulnerable to seismic forces, with crack widths exceeding international building code limits—up to 13.7 mm in some areas. Damage concentrations were identified in the main lateral walls, vaults, and their connections to the apse, highlighting critical failure points. The research employed advanced finite element modeling (using DIANA FEA and SAP2000) combined with pushover analysis to simulate seismic behavior under monotonically increasing horizontal loads. While the church exhibits a 'low modal period' characteristic of masonry structures, the findings underscore the need for urgent structural reinforcement and more sophisticated nonlinear dynamic analysis to account for material nonlinearity in future assessments.

Almassri, B., & Safiyeh, A. (2021). Assessment of Seismic Damage in Nativity Church in Bethlehem Using Pushover Analysis. Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, 15(4), 349–366. https://doi.org/10.32604/sdhm.2021.016889