Interaction Between Tunnel Excavations and Historical Structures in Rome: A Fully Coupled Structural and Geotechnical Approach

In this paper we propose a 3D Finite Element (FE) approach to model the excavation of twin tunnels, accounting for the strongly non-linear soil behaviour, interacting with monumental masonry structures, carefully modelling their geometry and non-linear anisotropic mechanical behaviour. The work focuses on a specific case-study related to the ongoing construction of the line C of Rome underground

Закон України «Про позашкільну освіту» (витяг)

All around the world, paleovalley systems have trapped great amounts of deposits and hold a quite complete Late Quaternary record. Uniquely, these records directly interlink the shelf marine with the hinterland fluvial realms. In the vicinity of ice sheets, in similar ways, paleovalleys interlink the glacial record with the non-glacial domain. Considerable advances have been made in their study over the past decades, and many case well-dated and well-mapped case studies are now available. The means for comparison of records from older glacials and interglacials with that of the youngest ones have also improved. To further improve our understanding of the paleovalley systems, it is timely to start to intercompare the many cases at the new obtained resolutions. This is a correlation exercise in which we can make use of our established chronologies, sea-level histories, sedimentary evolution, human impact history and what is more. This is not just needed for the paleovalley system research itself, but also to unlock the records from the lower reaches of rivers and of deltas, estuaries and shelf areas for global research questions (climate responses and feedbacks, sediment fluxes, chronostratigraphy). This session introduction will give a quick tour around a series of events holding large correlation potential, via downstream and via upstream controls. E.g. the recording of transgression and high stand in the Last Interglacial and the Holocene, of regressions and low stands in the Last Glacial and earlier, of sustained climatic amelioration and deterioration at Milanković-scales, of shorter-lived events. Some of these correlation targets will work better than others, and case-to-case differences in performance are expected, as the presentations and discussions in the further session hopefully will sho

Study of the discharge gas trapping during thin film growth

Discharge gas trapping in thin films produced by sputtering is known to be due to high energy neutrals bouncing back from the cathode. Qualitatively, the phenomenon is enhanced by raising the discharge voltage and is strongly dependent on the atomic masses of the discharge gas and of the cathode material. In addition to these known effects it is shown that, for a given gas, the trapped amount decreases with increasing the melting temperature of the deposited material. The results obtained both by sample melting and laser ablation are presented and discussed

Middle to late Holocene environmental evolution of the Pisa coastal plain (Tuscany, Italy) and early human settlements

A cross-disciplinary (sedimentological, geochemical, micropalaeontological and archaeological) examination of 12 continuous cores, up to 20m long, integrated with stratigraphical, geomorphological and historical investigations, allows for reliable delineation of the middle-late Holocene environmental evolution in the Pisa old town area, with special emphasis on the Etruscan age transition. Depositional facies were identified through integration of sedimentological and micropalaeontological (benthic foraminifers, ostracods, phytoclasts and palynomorphs) data, while sediment dispersal patterns were reconstructed on the basis of geochemical analyses. Facies architecture was chronologically constrained by combined archaeological and radiocarbon dating. The turnaround from early Holocene, transgressive conditions to the ensuing (middle-late Holocene) phase of sea-level highstand is witnessed by a prominent shallowing-upward succession of lagoonal, paludal and then poorly drained floodplain deposits supplied by two river systems (Arno and Serchio). This 'regressive' trend, reflecting coastal progradation under nearly stable sea-level conditions, was interrupted by widespread swamp development close to the Iron-Etruscan age transition. The expansion of vast, low-lying paludal areas across the alluvial plain was mostly induced by the intricate, short-term evolution of the meandering Arno and Serchio river systems. These changes in the fluvial network, which occurred during a period of variable climate conditions, strongly influenced the early Etruscan culture (7th-5th century BC) in terms of human settlement and society behaviour. Conversely, a strong impact of human frequentation on depositional environments is observed at the transition to the Roman age (from the 1st century BC onwards), when the wetlands were drained and the modern alluvial plain started to form. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction fits in with the original geographical descriptions mentioned in Strabo's Chronicles, and provides chronologically constrained data of fluvial evolution from the Pisa old town area. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA

Assessment of Tunneling Induced Damage on Historical Constructions Through a Fully Coupled Structural and Geotechnical Approach

The development of urban mobility implies the construction of tunnels, often interacting with valuable historical structures. It is thus necessary to develop rational and reliable procedures to estimate the potential excavation-induced damage, dealing with complex soil-structure interaction problems. Classical approaches are often characterised by relatively simple schematisations for either one or both components of the problem, as, for example, springs for the soil or equivalent plates for the structure. Such simplified assumptions prove to be appropriate for simple soil-foundation cases, while show several limitations when tackling more complex problems, as those involving the excavation in the vicinity or beneath historical masonry structure. In such cases, the need for reliable prediction of the potential damage on surface structures induced by construction activities justifies the adoption of advanced numerical approaches. These need to be based on realistic constitutive assumptions for both soils and masonry elements and require the definition of the three-dimensional geometry as well as an accurate modelling schematisation of the excavation process. In this paper a 3D Finite Element approach is proposed to model in detail the excavation of twin tunnels, accounting for the strongly non-linear soil behaviour, interacting with monumental masonry structures, carefully modelling their geometry and non-linear anisotropic mechanical behaviour. The work focuses on a specific case-study related to the ongoing construction of the line C of Rome underground

MAPPA cores: an interdisciplinary approach

In the urban and periurban area of Pisa, 18 cores ranging in depth between 7 and 15 m were performed and analysed through an interdisciplinary approach, which led to an improved stratigraphic log representation. The acquired data also improved our knowledge about the palaeoenvironmental and human settlement evolution of Pisa area over the past 6000 years, evidencing the mutual interaction existing between landscape and human activities

I carotaggi MAPPA: un’integrazione interdisciplinare

Una consistente campagna di acquisizione di dati di sottosuolo (18 carotaggi con profondità da 7 a 15 m) condotta con approccio interdisciplinare, finalizzato a una rappresentazione integrata del log stratigrafico, ha permesso di incrementare in modo significativo le conoscenze del contesto paleoambientale ed insediativo della zona urbana e suburbana della città di Pisa durante gli ultimi 6000 anni circa e di valutare il reciproco condizionamento fra l’ambiente naturale e le caratteristiche dell’insediamento uman