Nicoletta Bianchini

University of West London | UWL · Civil engineering

Preservation of cultural heritage sites is of paramount importance. The ruins of Carmo Convent in Lisbon stand as a poignant reminder of the city's rich history, but challenges regarding structural integrity and safety are present in a highly populated and touristic area. In this paper, a comprehensive study of the Carmo Convent is presented, focus...

Many historic masonry arch bridges on road and railway systems across Europe and the United Kingdom remain operational despite exhibiting structural loss of performance. In the United Kingdom alone, there are more than 70,000 masonry arch spans, with many having undergone design modifications and load adjustments over the years. These modifications...

A história da construção remonta a 10 000 anos, quando o Homem reconheceu a necessidade de transformar uma vida nómada em vida sedentária. A evolução da construção e das técnicas construtivas progrediu envolvendo materiais e formas, oferecendo à comunidade humana obras-primas arquitetónicas e artísticas que subsistem até agora. Passando das cabanas...

Masonry buildings of historical centres are usually organized within aggregates, whose structural performance against seismic actions is challenging to predict and constitutes still an open issue. The SERA—AIMS (Seismic Testing of Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures) project was developed to provide additional experimental data by testing a hal...

City centres of Europe are often composed of unreinforced masonry structural aggregates, whose seismic response is challenging to predict. To advance the state of the art on the seismic response of these aggregates, the Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures (AIMS) subproject from Horizon 2020 project Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research...

This paper presents numerical simulations within the frame of the project SERA—AIMS (Seismic Testing of Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures). The study includes blind pre-diction and post-diction stages. The former was developed before performing the shaking table tests at the laboratory facilities of LNEC (Lisbon), while the latter was carried...

Masonry is a heterogeneous material that consists of units and joints displaying a complex mechanical behaviour. In the present chapter, the experimental behaviour of masonry is briefly reviewed considering an advanced mechanical characterization of components (namely, units and mortar) and of masonry as a composite. Moving to vaulted structures, a...

Os sismos têm causados perdas significativas, incluindo perdas patrimoniais que envolvem o colapso de abóbadas. Em geral, as abóbadas, construídas em alvenaria não reforçada, são um dos elementos estruturais mais vulneráveis dos edifícios históricos quando sujeitos à ação sísmica. Além disto, a resposta sísmica das abóbadas pode ser distinta em fun...

The seismic safety assessment of 3D complex structural elements of historic buildings, such as groin and rib vaults, is a challenge and experimental tests can provide relevant data for this purpose. This paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns about a reduced scale 3D printed vault characterized by asymmetric boundary conditions. T...

Masonry cross vaults are among the most widely used typologies of horizontal structural elements for covering spaces of both ordinary and monumental buildings in the European countries. Their seismic vulnerability has been proved by systematic damages and collapses surveyed throughout the centuries. Therefore, the assessment of their structural saf...

A vulnerabilidade sísmica das abóbadas de aresta tem sido demonstrada através dos danos e colapsos observados ao longo dos séculos. A avaliação do seu comportamento sísmico é fundamental para a preservação dos edifícios históricos. Apesar de existirem vários métodos e tipos de análise para a avaliação estrutural de abóbadas (análise limite com macr...

The seismic safety assessment of 3D complex structural elements of historic buildings, such as cross vaults, is a challenge and experimental tests can provide relevant data for this purpose. This paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns in a reduced scale 3D printed vault characterized by asymmetric boundary conditions. The specimen...

The importance and the relevance of masonry cross vaults is evident in churches, palaces and cloisters of almost all European countries. However, despite their relevance and long-lasting history, which prove an accurate design with respect to gravitational loads, their seismic behaviour is still poorly understood. In this regard, the present work d...

Bagan site is one of the most remarkable heritage areas in Myanmar, belonging to the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Besides its cultural importance, Bagan is located in an area with high seismic hazard and the evaluation of the seismic vulnerability is fundamental for the protection of the monuments. This work utilises Loka-Hteik-Pan temple,...

The archaeological site of Old Bagan, located in the centre of Myanmar, is one of the most remarkable and ancient Asian site with over three thousand monuments, scattered in an area of about 80 km2. The site was hit in 2016 by the last of a series of earthquakes. The Loka-Hteik-Pan is a hollow-core temple featured by a small elegant curvilinear tow...

This paper presents the assessment of the church of Carmo in Lisbon, which nowadays operates as a museum. After Lisbon's earthquake in 1755, the structure was heavily damaged and it became a symbol, being only partially reconstructed. This work establishes the seismic behaviour of a structure that can present high seismic vulnerability, mainly due...

Masonry vaults represent a pleasant typology of structural horizontal element in traditional architecture and historical buildings, widespread on a large scale along all the European countries, even those characterized by a high level of seismicity. However, they are some of the most vulnerable structural elements particularly under dynamic actions...

Este artigo apresenta o diagnóstico e a avaliação do comportamento sísmico do templo Loka-Hteik-Pan. O templo Loka-Hteik-Pan (1113 d.C) corresponde a um templo de média dimensão (150 m2) construído na zona sudoeste de Bagan (Birmânia). O diagnóstico incluiu a inspeção visual para levantamento do dano, ensaios sónicos, ensaios de identificação dinâm...

I sistemi voltati leggeri rappresentano, nell’edilizia tradizionale, una decorosa soluzione al-ternativa ai solai più pregiati o alle volte in muratura pesante. Il sistema costruttivo più diffuso nell’area indagata, nelle province di Perugia, di Terni, di Macerata e di Ascoli Piceno, è quello “in camorcanne”; un secondo sistema, anch’esso dif-fuso...