The present paper presents the application of GUT (Gravity, Urgency, Tendency) Matrix methodology as a tool in the assessment of pathological manifestations in buildings. Three heritage constructions of the historic center of Sobral, Ceará, Brazil were studied through in situ inspections, photographic records and elaboration of the damage map. The GUT Matrix was used as a tool to rank, in each building, priority levels for each damage in order to define their order of treatment. Thus, it was possible to conclude that the applied method can be used as a useful tool to manage the maintenance of buildings through prioritization of the most significant problems and, to contribute directly to the preservation and safety of the built historical heritage.

Preservation of historical constructions, and passing it on to future generations, is a major issue in modern societies. Earthquakes are one of the major causes of damages to heritage buildings across the world. The city of Sobral (Ceará State, Brazil) keeps in its historic center a large number of heritage buildings and, since 2008, an intense seismic activity has been observed. This study aims to contribute to the preservation of the Sobral heritage constructions against seismic loads through the assessment of the seismic behavior of one representative building: the Nossa Senhora das Dores Church, a 19 th century historical construction. First, a 3D finite element (FE) model was built and tuned according to the results of dynamic tests performed under environmental loads. Next, the FE model was employed to assess the seismic behavior of the church by performing linear time-history analyses employing two real earthquakes. The results showed big displacements and high stresses in many parts of the church, allowing to identify the most critical and most susceptible to damage areas (based on the seismic scenarios considered). These results can be considered as a support for seismic retrofitting measures to be adopted on Sobral heritage constructions.

Heritage constructions presents high significance and importance for society. As way of contribution for the preservation of the heritage constructions, this paper presents a study on the dynamic behavior of a heritage construction, part of the historic center of Sobral city, located at the north region of Ceará State, namely the Nossa Senhora das Dores Church, a church from the beginning of the 19th century, built in clay brick walls. In this study, ambient vibration tests were performed aiming to obtainment of the natural frequencies of the building focusing the calibration of the numerical model and, from it, proceeding with modal analysis by Finite Element Method (FEM) with recurrence to software Ansys®. The results allowed the analysis of the structural dynamic behavior taking into account natural frequencies, modal shapes and directional displacements.

The present paper shows the vibrational characterization tests of a clay brick heritage construction from XIX century, the Nossa Senhora das Dores Church, placed in Sobral, Brazil. In this study the calibration of the 3D finite element numerical model of the church was performed through ambient vibrational testing using the first three natural frequencies identified. The obtained results, namely the natural frequencies identified, and the calibrated model intends to give a contribute for understanding of the structural behavior of the Brazilian heritage constructions, and introduces relevant information for be used for safety assessment of the church along the time.