M. Cabaleiro

University of Vigo | UVIGO · Department of Materials Engineering, Applied Mechanics and Construction

This work studies a new 90º connection system based on clamps for a square or rectangular steel profile, which can be used on existing structures without any prior or invasive operations. The main field where this connection system could be used would be in industrial plants, since it allows the reuse of industrial structures as many times as neces...

This paper presents several experiences focused to create and update accurate numerical models of ageing bridges in Spain. The experimental campaigns included integration of various NDT technologies such as laser scanning, ultrasounds, etc., combined with vibration‐based methods such as Operational Modal Analysis. From these multi‐source data it wa...

Large-scale infrastructure monitoring and vulnerability assessment are crucial for the preservation and maintenance of built environments. To ensure the safety of urban infrastructure against natural and man-made disasters, constant monitoring is crucial. To do so, satellite Earth observation (EO) is being proposed, particularly radar-based imaging...

A R T I C L E I N F O Keywords: Damage identification Model-based decision tree algorithm Riveted steel truss bridge Ambient vibration test FE model updating A B S T R A C T This paper develops a methodology for damage identification in steel truss bridges that uses vibration-based monitoring data and a model-based decision tree algorithm. The meth...

In this review paper, first of all, an analysis of the circular economy and its application to steel structures is carried out. It highlights the need to apply the philosophy of Design for Deconstruction or Design for Disassembly (DfD) from the conception of the structure so that it can be truly reconfigurable. Then, a brief review of the different...

Numerical modeling is a very useful tool in different fields of bridge engineering, such as load-carrying capacity assessment or structural health monitoring. Developing a reliable computational model that accurately represents the actual bridge mechanical behavior entails advanced FEM-based modeling complemented by a comprehensive experimental cam...

Nowadays, several historical masonry arch bridges present a deficient state of conservation due to degradation processes induced by natural or human actions. Usually, these constructions have significant economic, cultural, and heritage value. Therefore, they shall be thoroughly assessed to verify their structural integrity and safety condition. Fo...

Nowadays, several historical steel structures present damage and an advanced deterioration state induced by human or natural actions, causing fluctuations in geometrical, physical, and mechanical properties that dramatically affect their mechanical behavior. Due to the economic, cultural, and heritage value, these constructions must be comprehensiv...

Historic timber structures typically have elements with irregular cross-sections often with decayed segments, making of extreme importance to have proper methods to obtain the resistant cross-section. Knowing as accurately as possible the measurements of the resistant section of these beams is fundamental for the structural safety analysis. Small c...

In architecture and civil engineering, maintaining historical constructions is essential for preserving cultural heritage. This is especially relevant in constructions exposed to a high degree of degradation, such as historic steel structures. The HBIM (Heritage Building Information Modeling) technology can facilitate and automate this task. In thi...

Despite the recent significant increase on the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the cultural heritage field, its application on heritage timber structures aiming at their conservation and assessment has not yet been fully established. Comparing with other construction materials, timber presents singular features that must be addressed...

Historic timber structures are frequently composed by elements with irregular sections. Moreover, due to abiotic and biotic agent action, wood is especially vulnerable to decay, which can lead to destruction of external layers of the element. Due to this, a beam's resistant cross-section, which is the healthy section part that supports the structur...

Masonry arch bridges are one of the most important structures built through time which have allowed overcoming the important transportation difficulties associated with the irregular ground topology. Many of these ancient constructions are still in use and in many cases subjected to heavier traffic loads. For a rigorous structural safety assessment...

The objective of this work is mainly focused on the structures that support the facilities and machinery present in industrial plants. Service life extension of existing structures is one of the current objectives of the industry. The lay-out of the production has to constantly adapt to changes in production, variations in demand and new products....

p>A large part of the European bridge stock is reaching the end of its design service life. Currently, several applications for numerical models have been emerged, such as damage detection or structural safety assessment, among others. However, accurate numerical modeling is still a challenge. Model input uncertainties can cause large differences b...

Among the most commonly used materials in the construction of structures in the last two centuries are iron and steel. Clamp joints are a suitable type of joint when it is necessary to rehabilitate or modify a historical steel structure for new uses, reinforcing or modifying it with new beams, without the need to drill or weld on the original struc...

Corrosion is the most common pathology suffered by steel structures and is the main problem for their maintenance and durability. In steel elements, corrosion causes a loss of material and, as a consequence, a decrease in the stiffness and strength of the structure. Determining the resistant geometry of a corroded steel profile by manual techniques...

A structure may be totally destroyed due to a fire, but often it is only partially damaged and parts of it may still be salvaged and reused. For buildings with significant historic and cultural value, it is of utmost importance that these elements, which were only partially damaged, can still be recovered as to preserve the authenticity of the stru...

This work analyzes the difference in stiffness in a steel laboratory structure using clamped joints or bolted joints and analyzes if the stiffness varies in the same way when the frame is subjected to external dynamic loads that bring the joint materials to their yield strength. To make this comparison, the differences between clamp joint and bolte...

Riveting is a joining technique that was widely used in iron and steel structures from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Nowadays, many of these riveted structures are still in service around the world, and in many instances, also constitute an important part of the built cultural heritage. The maintenance and conservation of this...

p>In this paper, a simplified probabilistic analysis approach is presented. The Barqueiro Bridge, a four- span riveted iron bridge located in Galicia, Spain, is selected as a case study. This bridge is placed in an environment with high humidity and salinity which could potentially induce severe damages to the structure. These damages introduce con...

Historical wooden structures often present numerous irregularities and changes of section along the longitudinal axis of the beams that compose them. For this reason, in order to carry out a structural analysis, the creation of models that take into account the variation in the moment of inertia presented by each beam of the structure is fundamenta...

Transport networks need periodic inspections to increase their safety and improve their management. In the last few years, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology has become a tool for helping to create a precise database of almost any type of infrastructure. Mobile laser scanning (MLS) systems use a laser beam to collect dense three dimensi...

The use of reconfigurable and removable structures in industrial facilities is an adequate solution to reduce the costs of new investments and generate less waste, reusing existing structures and infrastructures as much as possible. Steel connections using girder clamps is a promising technique in this regard, but there is a lack of research work o...

Point clouds obtained by laser scanning or photogrammetry have emerged as a source of data with great potential for the measurement of deformations in structures and construction. Deformations is not only relevant in structures and buildings, but also in small (>1 m) metallic pieces subjected to loads. The aim of this work is to propose a methodolo...

Heritage timber structures are found worldwide evidencing intricate configurations, not only due to the arrangement between elements, which sometimes leads to complex connections with hidden elements, but also due to elements with variable cross-sections and often with signs of decay. Due to its historical value, the structural safety of these stru...

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been increasingly expanding its application to different fields of civil engineering and Historic building information modelling (HBIM) is an example of that. Although, the concept has already drawn the attention of several researchers, there are still many limitations to a full and holistic process that may...

Laser scanning technology has evolved significantly in the last decade, particularly, in those applications in terrestrial environments dealing with the documentation and inspection of civil engineering and architectural constructions. Even though there exist mature procedures to convert the so-called LiDAR point clouds in CAD models or even FEM mo...

One of the goals of factories in the future and Industry 4.0 is for industrial facilities to be environmentally friendly. This objective should be compatible with saving money, always required of investments in industrial production plants. Industrial structures are part of such investments, used in industrial installations and equipment. In order...

p>In this work, the evaluation of some of the most common uncertain parameters present in the structural assessment procedure of masonry arch bridges is addressed. The Xuño Bridge, a single- span stone arch bridge located in Galicia (Spain) is considered as a case study. This structure presents the particularity that after hundreds of years, all it...

Na inspeção de estruturas de madeira antigas é comum encontrar elementos com secção transversal irregular ao longo do seu comprimento, seja decorrente do processo de corte original ou à perda de secção por degradação e/ou danos mecânicos. Em todos os casos, é essencial determinar com rigor a variabilidade da geometria, pois somente assim será possí...

Old timber structures often present damaged elements with irregular cross-sections, hidden surfaces and even with loss of material due to decay. Within that scope, in this paper, a new methodology based on the combination of laser scanner and drilling resistance tests is proposed and developed with the aim of analyzing the apparent and resistant se...

In present work it is pretended to estimate elastic parameters of beams through the combined use of precision geomatic techniques (laser scanning) and structural behaviour simulation tools. The study has two aims, on the one hand, to develop an algorithm able to interpret automatically point clouds acquired by laser scanning systems of beams subjec...

Timber structures frequently present irregular cross-sections along their length, principally in old buildings. This irregularity may be a critical parameter to take into account during the deformation analysis of these structures. The aim of this paper is to propose and develop a new algorithm that automatically estimates the deformations of timbe...

Girder clamps, are one very interesting alternative to the bolted or welded joints in the manufacturing of structures with standard steel profiles. This type of joint allows the manufacturing of structures to be dismountable and reconfigurable. Nowadays, the existing literature shows an important lack about these types of joints. This work aims to...

Cracks may indicate structural problems in constructions made of timber beams, but their identification in notably roof constructions is difficult. Therefore this paper presents an algorithm for the automatic detection of cracks in timber beams sampled by LiDAR data. This algorithm enables the identification, analysis and monitoring of cracks and t...

This chapter presents a review of applications of non-destructive technologies such as laser scanning to the 3D modeling of industrial buildings for subsequent structural engineering purposes. The chapter starts with the analysis of the most common problems during the rehabilitation or adaptation of industrial buildings to new facilities, as well a...

Beams, pillars or bars of solid timber structures, although having a nominal regular form, frequently have irregular sections along their length, that in many times represent an important lack of material in the structural member. All the changes in the cross section of the beam must be considered in any kind of strength calculation and the protoco...

This paper presents an approach for 3D modeling of beams in structures using laser scanning after identifying several deficiencies in current methodologies of model extrusion. It highlights the errors due to the actual deformation of beams, which does not correspond with the idealized straight line. To avoid these errors, a novel algorithm has been...

An interesting field for application of LIDAR technology is structural health monitoring, especially in the study of deformation and stress in the beams. In the beams, it is not only the deformation due to bending that is an issue of control but it is also important to check the deformation due to torsion, particularly in open cross sections such a...

This paper presents a multidisciplinary approach to reverse engineering and structural analysis of electricity transmission tower structures through the combination of laser scanning systems and finite element methodology. The use of laser scanning technology allows the development of both drawings and highly accurate three-dimensional geometric mo...

The automatic generation of 3D as-built models from LiDAR data is a topic where significant progress has been made in recent years. This paper describes a new method for the detection and automatic 3D modelling of frame connections and the formation of profiles comprising a metal frame from LiDAR data. The method has been developed using an approac...