A new strategy of analysis is presented here for the rocking motion dynamics of a rigid and thin block with damping represented by the coefficient of restitution. This is based on the construction of the “limit” artificial accelerogram which involves an upper bound of the block response and on its subsequent correction to consider more realistic situations. The “limit” artificial accelerogram is characterized by a particular sequence of instantaneous pulses and a simplified equation of motion is adopted for the analysis. It is firstly underlined that the amplitude resonance for the block is much more intense and frequent than that for the linear elastic oscillator. A “reduced” accelerogram is then defined by means of two criteria: 1) increasing the frequency of the pulses and 2) considering the limited duration of the stronger phase of an earthquake. The results are discussed with reference to the influencing parameters such as the coefficient of restitution and the size and slenderness of the block. A numerical example shows the comparison between the results from this procedure with those obtained by the Italian seismic codes NTC08 for the limit analysis of masonry blocks.
