Imminent Shaking Table Tests on Half-scale Models by Bath Research Team
Researchers at the University of Bath are at the heart of an innovative building project working towards the protection of historic buildings.
The team, led by the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering’s Dr Dina D’Ayala, have just constructed the first of three masonry buildings to undergo a series of destructive tests at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, Lisbon.
Made with traditional bricks and lime mortar, the first model building is a two-storey, half-scale model of the historic masonry houses of L’Aquila, Italy. The town was hit by an earthquake in 2009 and suffered major destruction. Because of their traditional design and materials, its heritage buildings were more vulnerable to the effects of ground shaking and hence were severely affected.
Once each building has cured for two months, they will be tested on one of Europe’s largest “ shaking tables” with a force equivalent to that of a small earthquake. But rather than being a wasted building programme, the short lifetime of these models is intended as part of a project to test innovative technologies for the seismic protection of historic buildings.
Researchers from the University will spearhead the experiments with a view to validating a new type of steel anchor or “dissipator” that, once embedded in the walls, can prevent catastrophic out-of-plane failures.
For more information on the project, visit the Heritage Portal website.
