Hole Drilling Technique for On-Site Stress Measurements of Masonry Piers: Analysis of the Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 3
Abstract
The construction of the Santa Maria del Mar cathedral dates back to 1329. The cathedral represents an excellent example of the Gothic style in Catalonia. Because of the observed damage on the piers of the main nave, special attention was focused on determining the piers’ stress states. During a research campaign, the resulting stresses are determined numerically as well as experimentally based on a minimally destructive technique called the hole drilling technique. The technique allows determination of the principal stresses and their direction in stone masonry. The experimental results are compared with the outcome of a comparative numerical analysis. The quality of the experimental technique and the usefulness of the on-site methodology in the framework of cultural heritage sites are presented and discussed. The aim of the paper is the final corroboration of the applicability of the hole drilling technique in masonry structures. The technique has been previously checked in the Altes Museum (Berlin), the Saint Jakobs church at Leuven (Belgium), and the Tarazona cathedral (Spain).
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Acknowledgments
The first author acknowledges the financial support of Plan Nacional de I+D of the Spanish government to perform the experimental work in the framework of the Research Project BIA2004-054801 and PES 2012 [Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)]. The Santa María del Mar cathedral staff is acknowledged for providing support to this study.
References
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Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 20 • Issue 3 • September 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2013
Accepted: Jan 22, 2014
Published online: Feb 18, 2014
Discussion open until: Jul 18, 2014
Published in print: Sep 1, 2014
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