David Bru

Seismic Behavior of a Masonry Chimney with Severe Cracking Condition: Preliminary Study

This paper presents a structural analysis of a masonry chimney built in the 1940s, which is currently being cataloged as local interest heritage. This structure has not served any industrial purpose for the last thirty years. The chimney is located in the town of Agost (Alicante - Spain) and directly exposed to the prevailing winds from the sea, as it is approximately 12 km away from the waterfront and there are not any significant barriers, which could protect the structure against the wind. There are longitudinal cracks and fissures all along the shaft because of the chimney’s geometrical characteristics, the effect of the masonry creep and especially the lack of maintenance. Moreover, there is also a permanent bending deformation in the upper 1/3 of the height due to the wind pressure. A numerical analysis for the static behavior against gravity and wind loads was performed using the structure’s current conditions after a detailed report of its geometry, its construction system and the cracking pattern. Afterwards, the dynamic behavior was studied, i.e. a seismic analysis using both response spectra and accelerograms in order to examine the structural stability. This work shows the pre-monitoring analysis before any experimental testing. Using the current results the future test conditions will be determined (e.g. number of sensors and monitoring point location, excitation systems, etc) prior to a possible structural reinforcement by applying composite material (fiber reinforced polymers).

Structural Health Monitoring Systems for Smart Heritage and Infrastructures in Spain

The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and robotics is currently demonstrating its potential impact on different fields of application. With regard to cultural heritage, and architectural and engineering heritage in particular, these new technologies are changing the possibilities for structural capacity assessment and health monitoring (SHM). The objective of smart heritage can be achieved thanks to properly designed SHM systems, which when connected to an automated diagnostic system can even self-evaluate retrofitting needs. This chapter includes a brief summary of the SHM technologies applied for cultural heritage management in Spain during the early 2000s.

Resonances detected on a historical tower under bells’ forced vibrations

The aim of the paper is to perform a preliminary assessment of the dynamic behavior of the bell tower of Basilica Church “S.S. Medici”, one of the most important church in the town of Bitonto, Bari, Italy. The tower is 55 m tall and it is made in reinforced concrete. It is totally disconnected from the main structure of the Church. The structural behavior of the tower has been investigated by performing dynamic experimental tests, which have been executed in two different forcing conditions: recording the vibrations induced only by ambient loads, and, then the ones due to ambient loads and to the excitation produced by the bells. Four bells are housed in the lower bell chamber on a concrete bell frame, four more bells are housed at a higher level bell frame. All the bells are directly connected to the tower and swing in the same direction, so that their movement introduces a dynamic excitation on the tower. The experimental records have detected excessive movements on the tower when bells swing.

BIM IMPLEMENTATION FOR STRUCTURAL DESIGN COURSES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

Building information modelling (BIM) is a collaborative work methodology for the creation and management of a construction project. Its aim is to centralize all project information in a digital information model created by all agents involved in its development. BIM supposes the evolution of traditional design systems based on plans, since it incorporates geometric (3D), time (4D), costs (5D), environmental (6D) and maintenance (7D) information. Furthermore, BIM is not limited to the initial design phases, as it also covers the execution of the project and even the life cycle of the building. During the last decade, BIM methodology has been progressively implemented in different countries, becoming a priority for their Public Administrations. Following the recommendation of the European Directive of Public Procurement 2014/24/EU, BIM is progressively being requested in public works, e.g. The Spanish Ministry of Public works created in 2015 the National Committee of BIM, in which BIM implementation in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry and how to introduce it in public tenders are being considered. This progressive implementation of BIM by public administrations is transforming AEC industry. Therefore, universities should include BIM formation in AEC related studies, in order to prepare future engineers for this new scenario. In this work, a critical review of different approaches for BIM implementation in structural design of Civil Engineering Degree is made.

TRM reinforcement of masonry specimens for seismic areas

This document analyses the resistant behaviour to diagonal compression and direct compression of brick masonry specimens, reinforced with textile reinforced mortars (TRM) and without them. The numerical models have been calibrated with experimental results in order to have a suitable technique to reinforce masonry historic constructions where extraordinary tension stresses could occur in seismic situations. For the numerical modelling, FEM models have been developed using non-linear layered bi-dimensional shell elements. Moreover, a comparative analysis has been developed between the numerical models and the experimental ones. There are two different types of reinforced specimens: two layers to reinforce both surfaces (i), and one layer for only one surface (ii). The point of this (ii) is to respect the Italian legislation indications for the protection of historic constructions.

Structural Optimization Of Timber Beams With Composite Materials

The present paper outlines the application of a genetic algorithm for the structural constrained optimization problem of the reinforcement of timber beams using composite materials. The genetic algorithm uses an objective function with adaptive penalization as well as an adaptive mutation scheme. The aim is to minimize the material cost of strengthening timber beams and the constraints are the ultimate limit states for flexural and shear behaviour and the serviceability limit state of deflection, according to Spanish Technical Building Code. For this purpose different properties are used, such as section geometry, length, timber class and load conditions. The reinforcement solutions have been encoded in a binary database: type of composite material (carbon fiber reinforced polymer [CFRP] or glass fiber reinforced polymer [GFRP]), reinforcement mechanical properties and geometric configuration. The search space for the minimum cost consists of 65 billion possible solutions. The genetic algorithm has been used for several specific load and geometry cases for glued laminated timber in order to find whether there is a specific reinforcement configuration more feasible for certain loading situations: short or long beams and lower or higher loading increments. Five cases were analysed. In the first three cases, the length of the beams had constant values of 2, 2.5 and 3m, whereas the value of loading was variable. In the latter case, the value of the load was fixed and the length of the beam was variable. Analysis of the results shows that GFRP reinforcement is more efficient than CFRP for ultimate limit states.