A new device for stress monitoring of ancient masonry buildings: Pilot study and results. Issue 8 (29th May 2018) - Blanco, Haydee
Summary: The need to obtain the mechanical characteristics for analysis and understanding of the mechanical behaviour of historic buildings is highlighted. Destructive tests and non‐destructive tests are widely used for this purpose; however, they only provide a value associated with a specific instant. Structural health monitoring contributes to the monitoring of specific processes before, during, or after an intervention. Nevertheless, among the available sensors, there is a lack of devices for continuous monitoring of stress variations undergone by masonry structures. In response to this need, a new stress‐measurement device for structural monitoring of masonry structures has been developed. It has the aim of determining the initial stress in masonry structural element and providing continuous control of the evolution of the stress variation. The article describes the design of the device, as well as its implementation in a historic building. Moreover, an assessment is performed of the stress variations registered in comparison with the displacements recorded in the monitored areas, as well as the influence of the thermic fluctuations on these. A good relation was confirmed between these measurements. The results demonstrate that the designed device proved to be a useful tool for monitoring structural strengthening interventions.