Structural Monitoring and Integrity Assessment of Medieval Towers
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VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 11
Abstract
This investigation concerns the structural stability of two medieval buildings, “Torre Sineo” and “Torre Astesiano,” rising in the center of Alba, a characteristic town in Piedmont, Italy. The geometrical and structural aspects of these masonry towers were analyzed and tests were performed to assess the evolution of damage phenomena. The slant of the towers was determined with the customary topographic survey methods. Nondestructive testing methods were used, instead, to determine the extent of damage and cracking and to assess the evolution of these phenomena over time. The damage processes underway in some portions of the masonry were monitored using the acoustic emission (AE) technique. The latter method makes it possible to estimate the amount of energy released during the fracture process and to obtain information on the criticality of ongoing processes. Finally, an ad hoc theory based on fractal concepts for assessing the stability of masonry structures from the data obtained with the AE technique is proposed.
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Acknowledgments
The present research was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MIUR) and of the European Union (EU). The writers would like to thank Architects Massimo Aprile and Luigi Bacco for the technical support provided in the structural monitoring.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 11 • November 2006
Pages: 1681 - 1690
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 17, 2004
Accepted: Mar 8, 2006
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Ahmet Emin Aktan
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