Impact of traffic vibration on the temple of minerva medica, rome: preliminary study within the co.b.ra. project

Abstract

The impact of long-term traffic vibration on ancient structures located in the city centre of big cities is an important issue, as it represents the main factor of fatigue, possibly causing structural damage in historic constructions. This article illustrates the preliminary results of a study on the so-called Temple of Minerva Medica in Rome, Italy, conducted within the CO.B.RA. project, which focuses on the development of advanced technologies and methods for the conservation of cultural heritage assets. The studied monument, which is part of the architectural heritage of ancient Rome, is located very close to several railway tracks just out of the Termini train station, on the northeast side, and to urban tramways, on the west side. To obtain indications on the dynamic behaviour of the structure and to map the base excitation induced by passing trains and trams, ambient vibration data were acquired by digital recorders with triaxial velocimeters positioned at several measurement points on the ground, around and inside the structure, and at different heights on the northwest façade. For evaluating the structural vulnerability, three-dimensional (3D) architectural surveys and non-destructive investigations on the material properties of the monument were conducted in order to implement a finite element model of the building to be used for structural analyses and dynamic simulations. In particular, to the purpose of obtaining a detailed 3D model, laser scanner and stereo-photogrammetric acquisitions were carried out. Photographic acquisitions were also used to identify the crack pattern and to document the current state of damage. Vibration and 3D reconstruction data were acquired both in summer and in winter, along with thermographic images, for assessing the seasonal effects on the structural behaviour. All collected data were stored into an ad hoc friendly data repository accessible through the internet by the accredited project end-users.

Experimental analysis of the traffic‐induced‐vibration on an ancient lodge

“…Regarding the correlations between the vibration level and the cosmetic damages, only in previous works 4,28 severe damage levels due to the traffic vibrations have been observed. Considering the information today available in the Standards and in the literature, it is possible to underline how some further steps are needed to set up reliable methods.…”

Dynamic Identification of the So-Called Temple of Minerva Medica: Comparison of Different Instrumentations and Methods for Mutual Validation of the Results

“…The Temple of Minerva Medica is strongly affected by the vibrations caused by the local tram, the nearby train railway, and the vehicular traffic [9]. Moreover, the wind action, whose intensity was mostly constant during the acquisition, allows the assumption of zero Mean Gaussian white noise excitations, suitable for output only modal analysis [10].…”

Integrated Modeling of Minerva Medica to Identify the Dynamic Effects of Rail-Traffic Vibrations

“…There are several studies in the literature on applications of finite-element models to study dynamic analyses with use of experimental measurements; a large part of the scientific literature concerns slender structures, such as towers and minarets [4][5][6][7][8]. There are also works regarding ancient Roman constructions, such as the Colosseum [3,9,10], the Basilica of Maxentius [2], the Baths of Diocletian [11], the Trajan Arch [12], the Circus Maximum [13], the Frontinus Gate [14], the Verona Arena [15], and the so-called Temple of Minerva Medica [16,17]; the main focus of these studies is dynamic identification, thus processing of site-recorded data to extract the modal features of these constructions.…”