Seismic behaviour of vernacular architecture

Vernacular buildings are in several seismic prone regions a relevant part of the building stock. They represent an important part of the of the cultural legacy, and of the technological and heritage context of the society. The present paper presents a revision of the effect of recent earthquake disasters in old buildings, and discusses the influence of the main structural elements in the vulnerability of these buildings, as well as the more common failure mechanisms. Finally, it is presented a review on the elements that more contribute to the seismic behaviour and performance of vernacular buildings.Project ‘SEISMIC-V –Vernacular Seismic Culture in Portugal’ (PTDC/ATP-AQI/3934/2012), from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT

Structural conservation and vernacular construction

Modern societies understand built cultural heritage, including vernacular construction, as a landmark of culture and diversity, which needs to be protected and brought to the next generations in suitable condition. Still, a large part of this heritage is affected by structural problems that menace the safety of buildings and people. In the case of vernacular construction, deterioration due to abandonment is often present, making the phenomena of urbanization one of the most important menaces to this built heritage. The developments in the areas of inspection, non-destructive testing, monitoring and structural analysis of historical constructions, together with recent guidelines for reuse and conservation, allow for safer, economical and adequate remedial measures, as discussed in this paperProject ‘SEISMIC - V – Vernacular Seismic Culture in Portugal’ (PTDC/ATP - AQI/ 3934/2012) , from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT

Experimental investigations on dry stone masonry walls

Brick unreinforced masonry walls have been widely studied both from experimental and numerical point of view, but scarce experimental information is available for dry stone masonry walls that constitute the material more frequently used in the construction of ancient historical constructions. Therefore, the present work aims at increasing the insight about the behavior of typical ancient masonry walls under cyclic loading. To attain such goal, different experimental approaches are considered: static cyclic and dynamic tests. Besides the considerable out-of-plane movements of the stones, it was found that flexural response of the walls prevails in both experimental approaches

Seismic behaviour analysis and retrofitting of a row building

Rammed earth is one of the oldest building materials in the world and is present in Portugal with a particular focus in the South of the country. The mechanical properties and the structural behavior of rammed earth constructions have been the subject of study of many researchers in the recent years. This study is part of a broader research on vernacular seismic culture in Portugal. Numerical analyzes were carried out to assess the influence of different retrofitting solutions in the behavior and seismic performance of an rammed earth building representative of the vernacular heritage of Alentejo region. Understating the structural fragilities of this type of constructions allowed determining the most appropriate retrofitting solutions.Project ‘SEISMIC-V –Vernacular Seismic Culture in Portugal’ (PTDC/ATP-AQI/3934/2012), from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT

Sustentabilidade de sistemas de produção irrigados para agricultura familiar: um desafio para os colonos do Projeto Curu Paraipaba.

No início dos anos de 1970, uma consultoria externa aportou, com vários especialistas, no Vale do Rio Curu, para estruturar um dos maiores Projetos de Irrigação do estado Ceará. Retirar da pobreza mais de 800 famílias de agricultores familiar era sua meta primordial. Na mesma década de 1970, essas alternativas de desenvolvimento pensadas para países subdesenvolvidos exibiam sinais de ineficácia, o que aponta uma incoerência, desde sua concepção. Atualmente, o grande desafio das famílias e equipes técnicas do projeto é a discussão sobre a sua sustentabilidade. São esses os termos que posicionam o presente debate, apontando algumas dificuldades que se anunciam para o tal intento, quando se pretende alinhar resultados alcançados ao conceito mais popularizado de desenvolvimento sustentável, formulado no relatório da Comissão Brundtland em 1987

Melhoramento genético participativo: uma nova perspectiva para o manejo da diversidade genética do semi-árido nordestino.

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