47 research outputs found
On site investigation and health monitoring of a historic tower in Mantua, Italy
No full textThe paper describes the strategy adopted to assess the structural condition of the tallest historic tower in Mantua (Italy) after the Italian seismic sequence of May-June 2012 and exemplifies the application of health monitoring using (automated) operational modal analysis. The post-earthquake survey (including extensive visual inspection, historic and documentary research, non-destructive (ND) material testing, and ambient vibration tests) highlighted the poor state of preservation of the upper part of the tower; subsequently, a dynamic monitoring system (consisting of a few accelerometers and one temperature sensor) was installed in the building to address the preservation of the historic structure, and automated modal identification was continuously performed. Despite the low levels of vibration that existed in operational conditions, the analysis of data collected over a period of about 15 months allowed to assess and model the effects of changing temperature on modal frequencies and to detect the occurrence of abnormal behavior and damage under the changing environment. The monitoring results demonstrate the potential key role of vibration-based structural health monitoring, implemented through low-cost hardware solutions and appropriate software tools, in the preventive conservation and the condition-based maintenance of historic towers
Post-earthquake continuous dynamic monitoring of the Gabbia Tower in Mantua, Italy
No full textThe Gabbia Tower, about 54.0 m high and dating back to the XIII century, is the tallest tower in Mantua, overlooking the historic centre listed within the UNESCO Heritage. After the seismic sequence of May 2012 in Italy, an extensive research program was carried out to assess the structural condition of the tower. The post-earthquake investigation (including direct survey, historic and documentary research,
testing of materials and ambient vibration tests) highlighted the poor state of preservation of the upper part of the building and suggested the installation of a dynamic monitoring system to evaluate the response of the tower to the expected sequence of far-field earthquakes and check the possible evolution of the structural behavior. After a brief description of the tower and the post-earthquake survey, the paper presents the results of the continuous dynamic monitoring for a period of 8 months, highlighting the effect of temperature on automatically identified natural frequencies, the practical feasibility of damage detection methods based on natural frequencies shifts and the key role of permanent dynamic monitoring in the diagnosis of the investigated historic building
One-year dynamic monitoring of a historic tower: damage detection under changing environment
No full textThe paper summarizes the conceptual development of a vibration-based strategy suitable to the structural health monitoring of ancient masonry towers and exemplifies its application in the continuous dynamic monitoring of the tallest historic tower in Mantua, Italy. The presented approach is based on the installation of low-cost monitoring systems (consisting of few accelerometers and temperature sensors) and on the combined use of automated operational modal analysis, regression models to mitigate the environmental effects on identified natural frequencies and multivariate statistical tools to detect the occurrence of abnormal structural changes. The application of the adopted strategy to 15 months of continuously collected experimental data: (1) highlighted the effect of temperature on the automatically identified natural frequencies; (2) demonstrated the practical feasibility of damage detection methods based on natural frequency shifts; (3) provided a clear evidence of the possible key role of continuous dynamic monitoring in the preventive conservation of historic towers
Dynamic and seismic health monitoring of a historic masonry tower
No full textThe paper presents some results of the continuous dynamic/seismic monitoring program carried out on the tallest historic tower in Mantua, Italy. This project follows an extensive diagnostic investigation aimed at assessing the structural condition of the tower after the Italian earthquakes of May 2012.
A simple dynamic monitoring system was installed in the tower to evaluate the dynamic response especially to the expected sequence of far-field earthquakes and to check the possible evolution of the natural frequencies; the response to ambient excitation has been continuously collected in 1-hour records since late December 2012.
The paper summarizes the results of the continuous dynamic monitoring for a period of 8 months, highlighting the effect of temperature on automatically identified natural frequencies, the dynamic response to few seismic events and the key role of permanent dynamic monitoring in the diagnosis of the investigated historic building
Structural health monitoring of a historic masonry tower
No full textThe paper summarizes the results of the first 15 months of continuous dynamic monitoring of the Gabbia tower in Mantua. After the Italian seismic events of May 2012 a wide investigation program was performed on the tower, suggesting the installation of a dynamic monitoring system in the upper region of the building. The continuously recorded signals allowed the automated identification of the natural frequencies of the key vibration modes of the structure and the clear detection of the effects of temperature on the natural frequencies. The study of the correlation between frequencies and temperature also revealed the non-reversible structural effects determined by a far-field earthquake, proving the effectiveness of damage detection techniques based on frequency shifts
One-year dynamic monitoring of a masonry tower
No full textThe paper presents some results of the continuous dynamic monitoring program carried out on the tallest historic tower in Mantua, Italy. This project follows an extensive diagnostic investigation aimed at assessing the structural condition of the tower after the Italian earthquakes of May 2012. A simple dynamic monitoring system was permanently installed in the upper part of the building and automatic modal identification was performed. The results allow to evaluate the effects of changing temperature on automatically identified natural frequencies, to verify the practical feasibility of damage detection methods based on natural frequencies shifts and provide clear evidence of the possible key role of continuous dynamic monitoring in the preventive conservation of historic towers
Continuous dynamic monitoring of an ancient tower: identifying damage under changing environment
No full textThe paper presents some results of the continuous dynamic monitoring program carried out on the tallest historic tower in Mantua, Italy. This project follows an extensive diagnostic investigation aimed at assessing the structural condition of the tower after the Italian earthquakes of May 2012. A simple dynamic monitoring system was permanently installed in the upper part of the building and automatic modal identification was performed. The results allow to evaluate the effects of changing temperature on automatically identified natural frequencies, to verify the practical feasibility of damage detection methods based on natural frequencies shifts and provide clear evidence of the possible key role of continuous dynamic monitoring in the preventive conservation of historic towers
Diagnostics and preservation strategies applied to historic iron infrastructures: the Paderno arch bridge (1889)
No full textThe paper summarizes the dynamics-based assessment of the historic San Michele bridge at Paderno d’Adda (Italy). The San Michele bridge over the Adda river at Paderno, built between 1887 and 1889, is one of the masterpieces of XIX century iron architecture and a symbol of Italian industrial archaeology heritage. In order to address a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) program of the bridge - that is still used as a combined road and railway bridge -a series of dynamic test s was performed in operational conditions between June 2009 and June 2011 which drove to the installation of a permanent dynamic monitoring system. The whole investigation includes dynamic testing and long term monitoring, visual inspection and development of a baseline FE model of the historic bridge
Dynamic and seismic assessment of the Gabbia tower in Mantua, Italy
No full textThe paper presents the results of a recent post-earthquake assessment of a masonry tower
Il concerto delle Muse nella Città Ideale : indagini sul programma iconografico del Tempietto del Palazzo Ducale di Urbino con un'ipotesi di ricostruzione virtuale
No full textThe pictorial cycle originally housed in the so-called Tempietto delle Muse in Federico da Montefeltro’s Ducal Palace in Urbino (the oldest attestation of the iconographic representation of the Muses as musicians within a courtly context), visualizes the celebratory theme of music as a mirror of the harmony realized by the Duke during his reign, representing, at the same time, the praise of the ducal "musicality" and that of his favorite musical instruments and repertories.
There is no doubt that this sophisticated iconographic project was elaborated within an humanistic neoplatonic celebratory program, but its reconstruction is complicated by the lack of documents concerning its sources and the original number and disposition of the paintings, partly lost.
On the basis of an in-depth analysis of the pictorial cycle’s 'iconographic genealogy’, the Author proposes an original global interpretation of the decorative programme and a new hypothesis to identify the iconographic sources of the lost paintings and their possible disposition.
To support these hypotheses, the essay includes also a virtual reconstruction of the pictorial cycle, "relocating” inside the Tempietto both the surviving and the missing paintings
