in situ experimental tests on masonry panels strengthened with textile reinforced mortar composites

Abstract Textile Reinforced Mortar (TRM) composites are a retrofitting techniques used for strengthening masonry structures. The system is composed of dry fibers grids embedded in two layers of inorganic matrix. The paper describes the results of an in-situ experimental campaign on ancient masonry panels reinforced with different TRM systems. The tests were performed in a building located in Finale Emilia (north of Italy) built at the beginning of the last century. Four diagonal compressive tests were performed on unreinforced and reinforced walls. The walls were strengthened with different configurations: two panels were reinforced with a TRM systems composed of a lime mortar and two different types of glass fiber grids and twist steel bars used as anchors; one panel was reinforced with a layer of TRM on one side and a Near Surface Mounted (NSM) system on the other one. The results of the tests are described and a complete mechanical characterization of the reinforcement systems and of the masonry was performed to analyze the experimental results and validate simple analytical models

Multilevel Solvers for Unstructured Surface Meshes

Parameterization of unstructured surface meshes is of fundamental importance in many applications of digital geometry processing. Such parameterization approaches give rise to large and exceedingly ill-conditioned systems which are difficult or impossible to solve without the use of sophisticated multilevel preconditioning strategies. Since the underlying meshes are very fine to begin with, such multilevel preconditioners require mesh coarsening to build an appropriate hierarchy. In this paper we consider several strategies for the construction of hierarchies using ideas from mesh simplification algorithms used in the computer graphics literature. We introduce two novel hierarchy construction schemes and demonstrate their superior performance when used in conjunction with a multigrid preconditioner

Handbook on tsunami hazards and damage scenarios

The handbook is one of the products of the SCHEMA project (FP 6 Space priority) and has been conceived to illustrate the basic concepts and methods that have been elaborated and applied in the project to produce tsunami scenarios in view of providing tools to assess hazard and potential damage resulting from tsunamis. One of the main objectives was the elaboration of a general methodology that can be used in all possible cases and that can be adapted easily to the needs of the end users, i.e. chiefly the public administrators responsible for planning of the coastal zone development and protection strategies as well as people and organisations involved in disasters management and mitigation policies. It is for these reasons, that the SCHEMA methodology has been applied to five test sites (Rabat, Morocco; Setúbal, Portugal; Mandelieu, France; Catania, Italy; Balchik, Bulgaria) that differ very much from one another, so proving that it is suitable for a quite large variety of cases, and that it has been tested with the active involvement of the end users, so ensuring that it will provide practical and useful tools and it is flexible enough to cover local needs.JRC.DG.G.7-Traceability and vulnerability assessmen

Making and re-making.

Above my grandmother’s desk hung a picture of a bunch of flowers in a vase. At the age of twelve, I became aware that sunflowers were in the vase. At some point, I was told that a well-known artist named Van Gogh made the picture. When I was in high school, I noticed the Ben-Day dots of color that comprised the picture; this evidence suggested, to me, that this was a picture of a picture. It was a copy; and, given that my grandparents were smart, they knew it was a copy. At first, I admit, I felt snobbish and dismayed over the cheap imitation that hung before me; after all, I had made some of my own paintings by then and knew its “value.” When I asked my grandmother why she had the picture above her desk, she explained that they framed it and hung it on their wall because it pleased them to look at it, not because it was a valued object. What changed was not the picture of sunflowers; my understanding of the picture changed. The act of situating ourselves in space, whether with pictures, furniture, people, etc., is how I understand that we make ourselves at home. Through the alteration of actual, and visual, spaces and with materials found in, or used for, the purposes of Home, my thesis explores the geographies and constructions of the internal psyche as predicated on perception

Flexural out-of-plane retroftting technique for masonry walls in historical constructions

The paper presents a recent technology for the out-of-plane flexural strengthening of historic masonry walls. The method is based on the forming of an irregular net following the joint texture of the wall, which would be able to work in tension. The applied net can be hidden by repointing the joints. This way the technology does not cause visual alteration to walls without rendering, respecting their authenticity. An ongoing research in Portugal is aiming to increase the workability and efficiency of the technique by developing a new anchor element for the application of the net. The discussion includes the introduction of the method and partial results of the research from the University of Minho, Portugal