Académique Documents
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italiana
del Cemento
ISSN 0019-7637
ISSUE 30,00
ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIANA
TECNICO ECONOMICA
DEL CEMENTO
SPECIAL ISSUE
854
854
Anno/Year LXXX
Aprile/April 2010
Direttore responsabile
Managing Editor
Laura Negri
lindustria italiana
del Cemento
Contents
3 Foreword (M. Menegotto)
RESEARCH
SEISMIC BEHAVIOR
Collaboratori
Assistants
Marco Veronesi
Grafica e Impaginazione
Design & Editing
Studio Mariano - Roma
Editore
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CONSTRUCTION
CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS
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lindustria italiana
del Cemento
Contents
BUILDINGS
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Edited by A.I.C.A.P. (Associazione Italiana Calcestruzzo Armato Precompresso) and lindustria italiana del Cemento ii C
Foreword
he 3rd fib International Congress takes place during (hopefully towards the end of) a global downturn in the economy.
The impact was felt in all fields, including construction industry, and in all countries.
Crises are opportunities for rethinking activities and habits. The need to face high costs of materials and production stimulates
the search for improvements. This parallels the awareness of further needs, not of immediate return, such as saving resources,
building more durable constructions, recover for reuse or recycling at least of materials, or better yet of whole structures or parts
of them.
Design and construction usually take account of safety and economy but more and more they consider too service life
requirements, products life cycle assessment, resource saving and other environmental issues, in one word, sustainable
development.
CEB and FIP, now fib, were accompanying and leading the progress of structural concrete design and construction during the
past half century and have been a great partner in cultural interchange for our country.
AICAP, the national association for structural concrete, mirrors fib and takes advantage also of its actions to contribute in its
turn to the dissemination of knowledge and the improvement of practice. Among other initiatives directed toward encouraging
engagement in better design and execution, AICAP launched for the first time a national award for the best concrete structures
for buildings and civil engineering works, that will be given every second year, and edits this National Report, where a
selection of works using structural concrete and completed in Italy in the last four years is illustrated, among which both 2009
award winners. Romes Pantheon is the exception, with its record 43.4 m dome shown on the cover, cast altogether 20 centuries
ago, using a lightweight concrete quite similar to the modern one.
Research is playing a decisive role in advancing techniques to fulfil new requirements and has progressed in Italy during these
years, promoted also by the industry, more sensitive to it while under pressure of the crisis. Therefore, this Report also describes
some results related to the national state of the art.
Italy is a highly seismic country, thus most researchers in recent past have worked in the field of seismic engineering, aiming at
better design of new structures as well as at assessing and retrofitting older ones.
Unfortunately, one year ago this science was called to prove its ability after the LAquila earthquake. The authors of the articles
in this Report were personally involved also in the field operations. Their contributions helped the surveys in the immediate
post-event days, the directives for the repairs and the implementation of the CASE project. The latter has represented quite a
successful system response, up-to-date and praised worldwide, that provided a large population of homeless with sets of
permanent houses, built in few months on seismically isolated platforms, located in sites purposely selected and equipped in the
city neighbourhoods.
AICAP is then glad to present the 2010 National Report, which comes in to being too thanks to the renowned magazine ii C,
which is publishing this special issue, in spite of the difficult times.
Marco Menegotto
Head of the Italian delegation to fib
iiC4/2010
RESEARCH
2FC:
Calibration of Confidence Factors
3IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
4MIX: Assessment and Strengthening of Mixed-type (Masonry/RC)
Buildings
5TAMP: Influence of Infills on Structural Response
6SCALE:
Behavior and Strengthening of Stairs
7NODI: Behavior and Strengthening of Beam-Column Joints
8BIAX: Behavior and Strengthening of Columns under Combined
Axial Load and Biaxial Bending and Shear
9PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
For the sake of clarity of exposition, given the large variety of different
subjects, the structure of the paper, in each of its sections, follows the
Task organization above.
1.1 MND: Non-Destructive Methods for the Knowledge of Existing
Structures
Task MND specifically focuses on the knowledge of the constituent
material properties of Reinforced Concrete (RC) existing structures.
Particularly, Task MND is devoted to the estimation of the in-situ concrete strength by using destructive and non destructive methods. Data
on material properties from several in-situ and laboratory investigations
were collected and analysed with the major objective of defining reliable as well as not very expensive procedures and criteria for the estimation of the in-situ concrete strength. Further, methods for the treatment of the uncertainty that characterizes experimental data obtained
through in-situ and laboratory investigations were analysed and some
theoretical simulations of the influence of material properties on the
seismic capacity of existing buildings were carried out.
1.2 FC: Calibration of Confidence Factors
A fundamental phase in the assessment of existing reinforced concrete
buildings and in their strengthening design is the knowledge process
that one has to follow to acquire the necessary information. This is
based on the collection of different kinds of information regarding: a)
the structural system configuration, b) the materials strength, c) the
reinforcing steel details, and d) the conditions of the structural elements.
The Italian Code (OPCM 3431, 03-05-05, Annex 2) as well as the most
advanced International Codes (FEMA 356, EC8 Part 3) specifies data
collection procedures about the configuration of the structural system,
as well as material strength and condition of the structural elements
comprising the building, and ensuing Confidence Factors (CF) to apply
to the mean values materials properties, based on the quantity and
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
Luigi Ascione1, Edoardo Cosenza2, Giuseppe Mancini3, Gaetano Manfredi2, Giorgio Monti4 and Paolo E. Pinto4
Universit degli Studi di Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy
degli Studi Federico II, Naples, Italy
Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
4 Sapienza Universit di Roma, Rome, Italy
1
2 Universit
3
bibliographic research on the experimental investigations on beam-column joints and on different repairing/strengthening techniques as well
as experimental researches on different joint specimens have been carried out.
1.8 BIAX: Behavior and Strengthening of Columns under Combined
Axial Load and Biaxial Bending and Shear
Modern approach to safety assessment of existing reinforced concrete
structures and design of strengthening interventions, in particular those
aimed at increasing ductility of columns, are based on enhanced and
complex methods for structural analysis (seismic demand), but also on
the availability of data concerning performances of members at failure
(seismic capacity).
On the other hand, common constructions are not necessarily affected
by regular shapes and/or regular distribution of seismic resistant substructures, so that seismic actions result in complex deformation paths
on columns and in general on compressed resisting members.
This is the reason why Task BIAX research activity has been devoted
to provide an insight on the response of r.c. members subjected to biaxial bending and axial load. In particular, some aspects have been
analysed in detail. In compliance with the overall objectives of the
research programme as a whole, Task BIAX duties were the definition
of a set of reliable and well documented data and procedures concerning: (a) rotation capacity of r.c. members subjected to generalised bending and axial forces; (b) development of simplified methods of analysis
for general r.c. cross sections for design safety checks; (c) development
of refined methods for assessment of generalized moment-curvature
relationships of cross sections; (d) extension of results to r.c. members
reinforced with FRP materials.
1.9 PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
The assessment and reduction of seismic vulnerability of a widespread
category of precast structures typically used for industrial buildings is
a topic of high importance. The production of these structures starts
since from the years 50s of last century with elements and construction
solutions which had a relevant evolution through the subsequent times.
It is a social important interest to know the state of this wide building
heritage with respect to its seismic vulnerability so to address, following rational criteria, possible interventions of upgrading of inadequate
structures.
2. BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION
The essential motivation for each Task stems from recognizing some
8
rials strengths.
Difference in the knowledge procedure about the single structural parameters and the actual possibility of propagation to the structure as a
whole of information gathered on single members unlikely can be
accounted for by a single CF to be applied to mean materials strength
values.
Material strength is characterized by, both, an intrinsic spatial variability and an epistemic uncertainty, caused by either workmanship (for
instance not compliance with the original project, execution of structural elements in different times with different materials strength), or
reliability of testing methods, or degradation of material properties with
time, or a combination of the former. On the other hand, amount and
detailing of reinforcement, defective detailing, etc., neglecting the
intrinsic uncertainties, are characterized by epistemic uncertainties
only, mainly due to lack of the original project and/or not compliance
with it; collected data on one structural element are certain but do not
allow to eliminate uncertainties about other elements.
Objectives of recent studies (Franchin et al. 2008, Jalayer et al. 2007)
have been the evaluation of the effect of CF on the assessment of the
structural reliability and new proposals for calibration of a CF.
2.3 IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
Many of the existing RC structures were built without accounting for
seismic actions, thus much attention has been paid in recent years to
the development of reliable methods of analysis and assessment. Linear
methods seem inappropriate in most cases; many current seismic codes
and guidelines include provisions for nonlinear analysis (Eurocode 8,
2003a, EuroCode 8, 2003b, FEMA 356, 2000, ATC-40, 1996), which
seems to be the natural choice for existing structures subjected to moderate and strong design earthquakes. This is obviously a big issue in
Italy, a seismically active country where many buildings were erected
in the 60s, 70s and 80s usually accounting for only gravitational
actions. Furthermore, the new seismic zonation classifies areas previously considered non-seismic as seismic, thus new assessment are
needed even on recently built structures.
Following the publication of the most recent Italian Seismic Codes, the
ReLUIS program of the Italian Department of Civil Protection intends
to validate and improve the new code, to propose alternate procedures
when deemed necessary, and to provide practical examples to practicing engineers. These activities are particularly important for new
methodologies, such as nonlinear methods of analysis. Focus of these
studies is not only the application of the nonlinear methods of analysis,
but also the use of the results of the nonlinear analyses to assess the
seismic vulnerability of structure.
9
a
Fig. 1- a) Main published papers ; b) Ratios w/d proposed by different authors.
rational basis of the research and above all the actual usefulness of its
results.
2.9 PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
Precast structures passed through the check of weak and strong earthquakes and have been submitted to a wide specific experimental and
theoretical investigation performed in the main international research
centres. From these experiences some key aspects turned out to be
determinant for the good seismic behaviour of precast structures. These
key aspects are listed below:
- dry friction supports, not suitable to avoid the loss of bearing;
- diaphragm action, important to avoid joint distortions;
- lateral supports, necessary to avoid the overturning of beams;
- 2nd order effects, to be considered to avoid early collapses;
A positive condition of the existing buildings of concern is the possible
presence of a bridge-crane which required a structural design with relevant horizontal forces and a proportioning of the columns which could
be adequate also for seismic action even in the presumption of low ductility.
The regulation in force for the design of structures in seismic zones at
the time of construction is obviously a conditioning aspect which affects
the seismic capacity of existing buildings. Actions and rules for design
have been taken from that regulation which may result inadequate on
the base of the today knowledge. The problem concerns the seismic
zoning on one hand and the design criteria on the other.
3. RESEARCH STRUCTURE
In the following sections, the objectives pursued in each Task are
described.
3.1 MND: Non-Destructive Methods for the Knowledge of Existing Structures
Research has been mainly focused on the evaluation of the role of the
main factors affecting the estimation of the in-situ concrete strength
through destructive and non-destructive tests, on the determination of
the design concrete strength, on the evaluation of the possible damage
on core specimens due to drilling and, finally, on the load bearing
capacity of structural members subjected to drilling before and after
restoration interventions. Other activities were mainly devoted to analyze the correlations between the various methods and the possible spatial variability of concrete properties throughout the surveyed members.
Regarding data collection, a large amount of experimental data from
destructive and non destructive in-situ investigations on real strucures
were collected and analysed, also through treatment of uncertain vari11
ables with different mathematical nature. In addition to the above topics, the seismic behavior assessment of buildings with structure composed of unidirectional RC frames was carried out by means of nondestructive in situ tests, with the objective of estimating their horizontal load-carrying and dissipative capacity. Finally, another important
objective was the evaluation of the dispersion of experimental results
from non-destructive measurements based on a critical review of data
reported in the literature.
3.2 FC: Calibration of Confidence Factors
This Task had two objectives. The first one was to propose a methodology for the calibration of the CF for materials strength, taking into
account the uncertainties characterizing existing building and the
effects on the reliability of the assessed structural performance. A
methodology was also sought for the evaluation of material strength by
destructive and non destructive in situ testing methods taking into
account the relevant reliability. The procedures were meant to be based
on the application of the Bayesian method. The proposed methodology
and the equation developed for FC have been validated on several simulated cases and on tests made on several buildings. The second objective was to develop a probabilistic methodology for seismic assessment
of existing buildings taking into account explicitly the uncertainties in
the material properties and the structural detailing parameters and
implementing the available test and inspection results. This methodology may be used for determination of confidence factors.
3.3 IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
The main objectives are:
Validation of available modelling alternatives for RC buildings, mainly
lumped-plasticity and distributed plasticity models, both in commercial
and research software.
Validation of current methods of analysis for the seismic assessment of
existing RC buildings, with emphasis on nonlinear methods and their
applicability to plan-irregular buildings.
The above validations were carried out through the analysis of several
buildings selected by the different research units. Three buildings
(shown in Figure 2) were selected as common tested structures: one is
a doubly symmetric rectangular building, one is an L-shaped building,
and the third is a rectangular building with an internal court. These
buildings are representative of the structural buildings commonly found
in Italy. Several commercial and research programs were used for the
nonlinear analyses, including SAP2000, OpenSees, Midas, etc.
The final objective of this task is the compilation of a document that
contains: an introduction to nonlinear modeling of RC buildings and to
12
on different and progressively refined modelling assumptions and criteria has been performed in order to investigate the principal failure
modes. A critical study has been conducted on the different shear
strength formulations present in literature (Biskinis et al.2004; Sezen et
al. 2004; Zhu et al., 2007), in order to simulate potential shear failure
in squat columns, which can be easily found in most buildings. The
pushover analysis by using a lumped model has been performed to evidence critical zones and possible failures.
With reference to the third point, a test set-up has been defined in order
to investigate the experimental behaviour of a building sub-assemblages, including a stair substructure.
3.7 NODI: Behavior and Strengthening of Beam-Column Joints
A wide experimental campaign on beam-column joints representative
of typical members present in Italian existing buildings was planned,
designed and carried out. In particular, the research activities were
devoted to outline the influence of some parameters on the mechanical
behaviour and the failure mechanism of the joints, such as axial force,
amount of reinforcing steel and earthquake design level. Furthermore,
the research focused on the code expressions for the evaluation of the
ultimate rotation of RC elements in order to highlight possible discrepancies between the theoretical and experimental results. Another
research objective was the analytical modelling of beam-column joints
by using DIANA software to analyze the main parameters affecting their
seismic performance and, specifically, the analytical modelling of
experimental tests conducted on external joints. Other experimental
tests on beam-column joints relevant to existing buildings were performed as well, following an experimental program complementary to
the above-mentioned one, that is, in this case specimens reinforced with
smooth bars were tested and, in some cases, after the first test, joints
were retrofitted to evaluate the effectiveness of some retrofit systems.
Finally, supplemental activities followed two main branches: on one
hand, a series of either reinforced or unreinforced base joints were tested thus evaluating the performance of several strengthening systems,
and, on the other hand, a wide database of tests on beam-column joints
was built and analyzed.
3.8 BIAX: Behavior and Strengthening of Columns under Combined
Axial Load and Biaxial Bending and Shear
The activities have been planned to cover four main objectives: (1)
review of technical literature with specific reference to available experimental data; (2) development of refined and simplified models for bare
and FRP reinforced members; (3) experimental activity on columns
subjected to cyclic actions; (4) drafting of a technical report summarizing the main applicative aspects of the work.
13
Fig. 3- Role of past applied loads on in-situ measurements: (a) qualitative bending moment due to vertical loads (a), and (b)
test results along the lower part of the extracted beam (rebound number S, direct velocity V, surface velocity Vs, core strength
fcore).
Regarding the treatment of uncertainties in determining the characteristics of materials and more generally of existing building parameters, a
fuzzy-logic based approach for uncertainty treatment has been set up
and a computer code for its implementation has been developed.
In addition, the prediction capability of some formulations provided by
the current technical literature was verified based on experimental
investigations through non-destructive and destructive tests on existing
structures.
Based on a a critical review of available literature, a database was prepared that collects literature data on non-destructive tests on concrete
specimens for concrete grade assessment. Dispersion of experimental
results has been estimated and the influence of uncertainties coming
from the concrete grade estimation on seismic capacity of RC existing
buildings has been investigated.
Some results obtained during the project have been reported in papers
published on journals and in proceedings of Conferences (e.g. Masi and
Vona, 2008; Marano et al., 2008; Olivito et al., 2008).
3.11 FC: Calibration of Confidence Factors
A first aim of the task has been the evaluation of the confidence level
on structural safety of existing buildings given by seismic structural
assessment carried out according to the indications of the Italian OPCM
3431, 03-05-05, Annex 2.
Uncertainties in reliability structural analysis are due to material properties, structural details and condition of the structural elements. The
prior distribution of the considered uncertainties takes into account
their mechanical effects. The proposed probabilistic models are subsequently updated by in-situ information.
A parameter describing the structural performance is defined as the
demand/capacity ratio and its probability distribution is assessed by a
Monte Carlo simulation. Each realization corresponds to an application
of the capacity spectrum method and needs the execution of a structural linear static analysis. The Bayesian up-dating of the structural reliability is carried out by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. The
structural performance prior probability distribution function is evaluated in two different cases: 1) taking into account the uncertainties
about material properties and structural details; 2) updating the structural assessment based on in-situ tests and inspections.
The updating process consists of two different levels: in the first,
destructive tests and relating errors are taken into account; in the second, non-destructive tests and relating errors are taken into account.
Structural seismic performance has been evaluated in three cases: a) by
using the mean material strength values (CF=1); b) by using the mean
material strength values scaled by the CF for a Normal knowledge
(CF=1.2); c) by using the mean material strength values scaled by the
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
(2)
where xDM and xNDM are the sampling mean of the destructive and non
destructive tests, respectively; nDM and nNDM are the corresponding
sampling dimension.
Generally, if Mi is the i-th testing method adopted, the material strength
15
(3)
where xMi is the sampling mean of the i-th testing method and nMi its
dimension.
The CF can be expressed in an explicit form as a function of the
Bayesian coefficient of variation Vm for the median value of the material strength:
(4)
FC = a+cVwm
The parameter Vm, which estimates the reliability of the available information, is defined as:
n
i 2 Mi 2
ss,Mi+st,Mi
sm
Vm = m =
(5)
n x
m
i 2 Mi M2 i
ss,Mi+st,Mi
where s2s,Mi and s2t,Mi are the sampling variance and the variance of the
regression curve of the i-th testing method, respectively.
The Eq. (4) has been calibrated for concrete strength by applying the
least squares method.
A Monte Carlo method has been used to simulate sampling with
destructive and non destructive testing and the resulting equation for
the CF is:
FC = 0.9 + Vm
(6)
The Eq. (6) is effective if samples have been extracted from homogeneous zones of the structure. If in the structure potential non homogeneous zones are identified, the t-Student test can be executed on the
mean values extracted from the two zones. If the t-student test identify
non homogeneous zones these must be separately evaluated considering two different median values for concrete strength with two CF.
A method has also been investigated for the evaluation of reliability of
the correlation function for the assessment of material strength by in
situ tests.
3.12 IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
The main results of the project are as follows:
Regarding the validation of the modified pushover procedure proposed by Fajfar (2002), it was found that it is conservative for plan-regular framed structures with respect to NTHA, while it is unreliable for
shear wall structures. For irregular frames, multi-modal procedures
have to be used in order to improve the accuracy of static non linear
analyses. Furthermore, predictions drawn from non linear static analy16
Fig. 4- Pushover analyses on L-building: Influence of seismic input angle on the demand: displacements (left) and rotation
ratios (right).
Total
22
Total
79
Total
8
Total
51
The main conclusions inferred by the study can be summarized as follows. In many codes the confined masonry structures are taken into
consideration, even though usually just empirical dimensional rules are
given, while methods for assessment and design are lacking and, when
present, they differ substantially from a code to another. Concerning the
mixed structures (unconfined masonry), only a small number of codes
gives some indications, which are usually about the behaviour factor
and/or the distribution of horizontal forces among different structural
elements. A similar trend was found also when gathering papers on field
observations, experimental tests and analytical studies: a lot of data
were found concerning confined masonry structures while just a few
were gained about other kinds of mixed structures. In general it is possible to state that confined masonry can withstand to seismic actions,
given that materials are of good quality and good constructions rules are
followed. On the contrary, some deficiency, such as small amount of
transverse steel in columns, high thickness of mortar joint, lack of RC
element near the openings, can generate the bed behaviour of this kind
of structures. Concerning the mixed structures (other than confined
masonry), the main problems which arise in the assessment and design
are related to the distribution in plan of the horizontal actions, to the
determination of the behaviour factor and to the study of the connections between masonry and reinforced concrete elements. In literature,
indications about these points are few and further studies are needed.
With reference to the second goal, the main problems concerning the
non-linear analyses on RC-masonry mixed buildings have been highlighted. Particular attention has been devoted to the seismic action distribution between different technology elements. The results of the
analysis carried out on 3D RC-masonry mixed building (see Figure 5)
with external walls and internal frames, underline the fundamental
masonry role to withstand horizontal action, while a significant translation increase could be offered by introducing RC frames. This research
has shown the growing capacity offered by mixed building to bear the
seismic action by increasing the RC elements stiffness. The increasing
17
related masonry samples lead to the following main conclusions: i) calcarenite masonry exhibits middle compressive and shear strengths, and
ductile behaviour up to the collapse for each of the three considered
loading directions; it behaves like an orthotropic material in which the
ratio between the two elastic moduli depends on the mortar properties;
ii) clay brick masonry is about twice resisting in compression, but ductile behaviour was observed only under diagonal loading, when the
shear behaviour of the mortar joints is involved; iii) lightweight concrete
masonry has very low resistance capacities along all the loading directions; the results obtained from this kind of masonry were rather scattered, because vertical mortar joints are not provided for, due to the vertical profile of the resisting elements. The experimental values of elastic moduli and resistances showed that the values deduced by the M.D.
87 provisions are not always reliable. In particular, the shear strength
values are strongly underestimated by this code for all masonry tested.
The cyclic tests on the infilled meshes of RC frames have made it possible to verify that the cross-section of an equivalent strut can be determined by using the procedure and parameters shown in Amato et al.,
2008, where a not negligible role is exerted by the transverse strain
ratio in the diagonal direction and the compression level transmitted to
the columns after the masonry infills have been constructed. The lateral resistance of the infill can be deduced from the masonry shear
strength; this can be translated into a compressive strength to be conferred to the equivalent strut, by means of a suitable criterion taking
into account mainly the disconnection arising between frame and infill.
Finally, these tests showed that the calibration of the adopted model
leads to sufficiently approximate results (Figure 6).
The shaking table tests on the 3D scaled building (Figure 7) have been
carried out by assuming a natural input accelerogram (Herceg-Novi,
b
a
Fig. 6- Cyclic tests on infilled RC frames: a) test set-up; b) experimental results; d) validation of model.
Fig. 7- Results of shaking table test (PGA = 0.3 g): a) 3D building; b) crack distributions.
Fig. 8- Stair typologies: (a) stairs type A with steps as cantilever beams, (b) stairs type B with simply supported steps.
Fig. 9. Results of the push-over analysis in terms of base shear versus roof displacement (Cosenza et al., 2008).
design of the steel bars: a reinforcing bar should not bend to form angles
that favour pull-out of the concrete cover (Pagano, 1963).
The Italian stair design practice during the period 1954-1980 has been
analyzed in order to identify the most common typologies and the effective adopted design criteria. As already remarked, according to the
dated technical manuals and codes stairs could be designed for only
gravity load. The predominant stair type in the studied building sample
is type A; the flight steps are cantilever elements constraint to inclined
beams having one point of discontinuity in the 53% of the cases, two
points of discontinuity in the 37% of the cases and is directly connected to the column without any discontinuity in the 5% of the cases. The
stair type B is present in the sample with incidence of 3%. The design
practice of the most common type of stairs, composed by flight steps
constrained into a beam, is herein studied. The static design scheme
has a great scatter; beams were designed considering a maximum
moment M+=qL2/a in the midspan with a=12 (30% cases) or a=8
(30% cases), while the minimum moment at the extremes of the beam
is obtained with a=12 in most cases (76% cases).
Regarding the influence of stairs on the seismic capacity, this preliminary study on the structural typologies of the building sample has evidenced the following problems related to the presence of stairs: distribution of seismic forces (not considered in the design), different modelling design of stair structure, material strengths, element detailing.
The structural typology of stairs generally introduces discontinuities
into the typical regular reinforced concrete skeleton, composed by
beams and columns; in fact, the sub-structure stair is an assemblage
of inclined elements as slabs or beams. All these elements contribute to
increase the stiffness of the stair due to the elastic behaviour of inclined
elements and of squat columns. For these reasons the elements that
constitute the stair are often characterized by a high seismic demand:
the squat columns are subjected to high shear demand that can lead to
a premature brittle failure; the inclined beams, differently from the horizontal beam, are defined by high variation in axial forces that can modify the resistance and deformability of all these elements.
All these aspects are discussed with a series of analysis on a RC build-
ing representative of the studied sample; non linear static analyses (static push over analysis) finalized to the evaluation of the role of the stairs,
of their elements and modelling is performed.
The building without any stair is defined as reference. Two models have
been considered to study stair type A with inclined beams and stair type
B having reinforced concrete slab. For each structure, different modelling have been adopted to evidence the influence on the global response
of: biaxial bending modelling in the beams of the substructure stair;
bending moment-axial force (M-N) interaction into the inclined elements (beam and slabs); bending moment-shear (M-V) interaction into
the inclined elements and columns.
In general, the presence of stair brings to an increase of lateral strength
and to a reduction in displacement capacity with respect to the building without stair (Cosenza et al., 2007a). On the contrary, the results
have confirmed the need to utilize biaxial bending modelling and to
account for the interaction of the different internal forces (Cosenza et
al., 2008) as: bending moment-axial force interaction that characterizes
the inclined elements, and the bending moment-shear interaction that
governs the behaviour of squat columns. Shear failure becomes predominant in the squat columns and in the reinforced concrete slabs and
precedes the conventional ductile failure (see Figure 9).
20
Fig. 10- Test results on a Z2 joint (design for medium seismic zone, low axial load): a) damage pattern at drift=7%, and b)
force-drift relationship.
F.E. software DIANA, validated by means of experimental test campaigns available in literature (e.g. by the Shiohara working group) as
well as some of the tests performed. In particular, many non linear
analyses have been performed on typical existing external beam-column joints as they can be found in real buildings built in the past. The
definition of typical deficiencies found in real beam-column joints and
the analysis of the main parameters governing the structural behaviour
of such joints allowed to highlight some effective strengthening solutions, especially for external joints. Further, such work allowed to validate some theoretical models able to predict the behaviour of both
external and internal joints, as well as to validate the expressions proposed by some codes to predict the failure of the joint panel.
Some results obtained during the project have been reported in papers
published on journals and in proceedings of Conferences (e.g. Masi et
al., 2008).
3.17 BIAX: Behavior and Strengthening of Columns under Combined
Axial Load and Biaxial Bending and Shear
The presentation of the results follows the research outline that has
been above discussed. In particular, methodological and numerical
contributions are presented separately from the main experimental
findings. This choice is actually related to the nature of the results and
their impact on applicative aspects of structural seismic design, namely codes and design and assessment practice.
In particular, the detailed review of technical literature that has carried
out during the early stages of the research pointed out the relevance of the
type of reinforcement used for construction of existing buildings. In fact,
it has been demonstrated that experimental response of r.c. members can
be affected by type of reinforcement, smooth or deformed, and by bond
interaction between steel and concrete especially in post-yielding phase.
As a consequence, a concrete effort has been devoted to perform a comparative analysis of inelastic performances of members depending on
type of reinforcement; this means that both numerical and experimental
activities have been calibrated in order to cover at local -strength and
ductility of cross sections, bond under static and cyclic loads of rebarsand at global stiffness and rotation capacity of members-.
Results of both theoretical and experimental activities have been published in the context of National and International conferences and
meetings. Specific attention has been paid also to continuous education
of young engineers and technical updating for practitioners. Diffusion
of software packages (free download of executables and tutorials) and
research results has been supplied on Reluis website.
The first set of results refer to the development of methods for numerical analysis of cross sections subjected to generalised bending and axial
22
Fig. 11- Effect of biaxial bending on cross section local deformation (Di Ludovico et al. 2008a, 2008b).
Fig. 12- Comparison between exact (fibre method) and approximate approaches for bare (left) and FRP reinforced r.c.
members (right) (Monti and Alessandri, 2008).
Fig. 13- Fibre model of the cross section (left), force-displacement curve for a column (center), normalised equivalent stiffness
(right) (Verderame et al., 2008a, 2008b).
dation interface (fixed end rotation), while a more diffused crack pattern
along the column end was observed in columns reinforced by using
deformed steel rebars. The significant influence of P- effect on the
global behavior of specimens has also clearly emerged by the experimental tests; if such effect is neglected, the ultimate rotation recorded
on columns reinforced by deformed steel rebars is clearly less than that
observed in columns reinforced by using plain rebars. However, due to
P- effect the ultimate rotations related to the two different columns
typologies is very close. Such result can be explained by considering
two main aspects: the higher strength of members reinforced with
deformed rebars and the higher slope of the softening branch of the
shear-drift curves, if P- effect is considered. A calibration of a numerical model able to take account of specific aspects related to bond of
smooth rebars and anchoring end details has been also developed
(Verderame et al., 2008c).
3.18 PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
The first activity consisted of a wide survey of the existing buildings
produced from the 50s up to today and of the rendering in a reasoned
way of the investigation results. This activity enjoyed the support of the
National Association of prefabrication industries Assobeton which
involved ten member companies to provide the design documentation
of a number of constructions built in different times. So about 150 project documentations have been collected covering some decades of production. Since information about far times were lacking, this survey has
been integrated with the historical memory of some experts, exploiting
their knowledge together with the old bibliography of specific journals.
From the examination of the project documentations a synthetic
description for any building has been recorded in a standard format,
summarising its features in a specific form of easy reference. This work
led to the printing of the booklet Precast structures: list of projects of
existing buildings which provides a good evidence of some decades of
precast production.
A complete catalogue of the different types of precast structures has
24
Fig. 15- FrontPage cover of two produced catalogues on precast concrete buildings.
been drafted and published in a specific booklet (Figure 15). Every type
has a short description with sketches and indications about the years of
production, the regions of destination and the relative diffusion with
respect to the global precast production. Some notes are added with
indication of possible behaviour deficiencies for seismic destinations.
Being a key point of precast construction, special attention has been
addressed to the seismic behaviour of connections. Some tests have
been performed to quantify their seismic capacity following a standard
approach.
Five principal categories of connections have been considered:
- floor-to-floor connections between adjacent floor or roof elements;
- floor-to beam connections between floor or roof elements and the supporting beam;
- beam-to-column connections between the beam and the column;
- column-to-foundation connections which provide the base support to
the columns;
- cladding-to-structure connections for the support of the wall panels.
Two level of tests have been performed:
- particular tests: referred to the qualification of single connectors
inserted between two overdimensioned blocks and subjected to the
principal action expected in the structural system (Figure 16, left);
Force
Displacement
Fig. 18- Push-over test: comparison of the two different solution (traditional vs. slightly modified).
25
sponds to a light decrement of the friction coefficient, as the compressive stress increases.
On the base of experimental results, the following relationships for neoprene-concrete friction coefficient are proposed:
m= 0.49
if s
0.15N/mm2
Fig. 19- Comparison between compressive-shear stress curves provided by PCI Handbook, CNR 10018 and UNI-EN 1337:3
and tests regression
4. DISCUSSION
4.1 MND: Non-Destructive Methods for the Knowledge of Existing
Structures
The research activities scheduled within the Task have been to a great
extent carried out without significant delays or anticipations, and the
main objectives have been achieved.
4.2 FC: Calibration of Confidence Factors
The results obtained agree with those expected, concerning the development of a Bayesian procedure for material strength evaluation and
the calibration of confidence factors.
4.3 IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
The results obtained by the Task are in line with the objectives originally established. Several papers by the different research units have
been published or are in press in international journals or conferences.
The only problems encountered by some of the units originated from
convergence issues in nonlinear codes. This is a well-known problem,
but some software failed to converge on a regular basis, thus delaying
advances in the research. However, overall, the task followed the schedule of work originally outlined.
4.4 MIX: Assessment and Strengthening of Mixed-type (Masonry/RC)
Buildings
The Task has pursued the proposed objectives. In particular, aspects of
modelling the behaviour of mix-type buildings through non linear analysis have been investigated. These analyses have highlighted the different
steps in which the resistant elements withstand the seismic action.
The analyses performed allowed the identification of the main parameters affecting the structural behaviour of mixed building and gave indications on feasible modelling and verification criteria.
Fig. 20- Comparison between compressive stress friction coefficient curves provided by PCI Handbook, CNR 10018 and
UNI-EN 1337:3 and tests regression curve.
26
table tests.
4.6 SCALE: Behavior and Strengthening of Stairs
The Task has pursued the proposed objectives. A detailed investigation
of the main stairs typologies and of the most used design procedures
have been performed; in particular, a report including the main results
was developed (Cosenza et al., 2007b). Numerical investigations have
been performed in order to understand the seismic behaviour, and the
possible failure mechanisms of buildings having the most common stair
typologies. The results have confirmed the need to utilize biaxial bending modelling and to account for the interaction of the different internal
forces as: bending moment-axial force interaction that characterizes the
inclined elements, and the bending moment-shear interaction that governs the behaviour of squat columns. Shear failure becomes predominant in the squat columns and in the reinforced concrete slabs and precedes the conventional ductile failure. An experimental set-up has been
designed on the basis of some simulations performed by using different
modelling: dimensions of a single span frame with inclined beam, loads
and resisting-wall have been defined.
4.7 NODI: Behavior and Strengthening of Beam-Column Joints
The research activities scheduled within the Task have been to a great
extent carried out without significant delays or anticipations, and the
main objectives have been achieved.
4.8 BIAX: Behavior and Strengthening of Columns under Combined
Axial Load and Biaxial Bending and Shear
Summary of results reported in the previous sections leads to recognize
that the development of the work basically complies with the initial
schedule. In particular, as numerical analyses and software deliverables are considered, a good agreement with the program can be
addressed.
In fact, different approaches and numerical procedures have been set
and made available to technical community. They cover at different levels the need of tools for checks required by modern codes in terms of
strength and local deformation. This applies both to design and assessment of existing un-strengthened concrete structures and to seismic
upgrading using FRP materials. Interaction between groups involved in
the study of irregular structures and of use of FRP for seismic upgrading of structures is another positive aspect of the work.
When experimental program are concerned, it is worth noting that a relevant contribution to the knowledge of bond mechanisms for smooth
bars has been given and an approach to the comparative analysis of performances in terms of rotation capacity of full scale r.c. members with
smooth and deformed bars has been accomplished. The work is not
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
actually exhaustive, since trial biaxial tests have been designed depending on the findings of the theoretical work, but not completed. This
results in the need to extend and validate the results obtained in the
context of the present task and give a direct contribution to the development of specific design recommendations for members under combined axial load and biaxial bending.
4.9 PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
The research activities scheduled within the Task have been to a great
extent carried out without significant delays or anticipations, and the
main objectives have been achieved.
5. VISIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS
5.1 MND: Non-Destructive Methods for the Knowledge of Existing
Structures
A large amount of RC buildings, both private and public, now placed
in seismic zones, were originally designed taking into account only
gravity loads and without explicitly provide ductile detailing. An
extraordinary rehabilitation program needs to be implemented on
such buildings, where an accurate evaluation of the available seismic
capacity is important to set up cost-effective interventions.
Investigations have a crucial role to adequately know the structure to
be evaluated. For this reason, there is an increasing need to set up
and put at disposal of technicians and other involved stakeholders
sufficiently reliable as well as not very expensive methods to estimate
in-situ material properties. Number of tests required to suitably apply
these methods have to be as low as possible, thus making the total
required budget sustainable to building owners and thus further
encouraging their use. To this purpose, the results obtained in this
Task confirm that a smart combination of NDTs and direct tests (such
as core extraction) gives effective solutions from both the economical
and technical point of view.
Future research work should be devoted to the following:
Provide methods more and more capable of achieving effective
results in terms of prediction capability of concrete properties taking
into account both intrinsic randomness and epistemic uncertainty.
NDTs currently available on concrete do not provoke damage on
structural members but on some other building components (e.g. partitions, infills, plaster, etc.) thus determining remarkable repair costs:
new methods are necessary to make them really not very expensive.
As for reinforcement, taking into account the heavy damage caused
by the extraction of steel bars, non destructive methods to estimate its
mechanical properties need to be set up.
27
fruitful approach to the development of tools for the theoretical estimation of strength and curvature ductility of members has been carried
out. Flexural mechanisms are clearly identified both at local and global scale and an encouraging capacity of simulation is demonstrated by
both static and cyclic proposed models of members with smooth bars.
This means that numerical sensitivity analyses can give a positive contribution to an optimized design of an experimental program able to
confirm numerical forecasts, show possible points of weakness of the
theories and/or give an insight on specific aspects of the behavior under
severe cyclic loads. The large variety of existing constructions and the
diffusion of smooth bars in many very urbanized areas exposed to seismic risk point out the need to continue the investigation on such type of
members and even develop customized strengthening techniques using
advanced materials.
Despite such positive feedbacks of the research, it is worth noting that
further work is strongly recommended to assess:
the behavior of short columns, and
the flexure-shear interaction in presence of smooth reinforcement.
In fact, the observed deformation mechanisms can produce effects on
the strength and ductility of members subjected to complex forces, like
those generated on columns of irregular constructions.
5.9 PREFAB: Behavior and Strengthening of Prefabricated Industrial
Structures
The experimental campaign and the numerical investigations carried
out have highlighted that the most vulnerable buildings are those with
disarticulated diaphragm behaviour. However, as emphasised in
Palermo et al. (2008), an accurate study on the modelling of connections needs to be done in order to correctly predict the overall response
of precast concrete buildings.
6. MAIN REFERENCES
6.1 MND: Non-Destructive Methods for the Knowledge of Existing
Structures
- Masi A., Vona M. (2008). La stima della resistenza del calcestruzzo
in situ: impostazione delle indagini ed elaborazione dei risultati,
Progettazione sismica, Anno I, No. 1, IUSS Press, ISSN 1973-7432.
- Marano G.C., Morrone E., Mezzana M. (2008), Approccio ibrido
fuzzy per lintegrazione e linterpretazione delle prove non distruttive,
Atti del convegno Valutazione e riduzione della vulnerabilit sismica di
edifici esistenti in cemento armato, E. Cosenza, G. Manfredi, G. Monti
editors, Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher, Roma, Italy.
- Olivito R.S., Spadea G., Carrozzini A., Spadafora A.R. (2008). Strutture esistenti in cemento armato: controlli e verifiche mediante tecniche
29
non distruttive. Atti del convegno Valutazione e riduzione della vulnerabilit sismica di edifici esistenti in cemento armato, E. Cosenza, G.
Manfredi, G. Monti editors, Polimetrica International Scientific Publisher, Roma, Italy.
6.2 FC: Calibration of Confidence Factors
- Franchin P., Pinto P. E., Pathmanathan R., (2008). Assessing the
adequacy of a single confidence factor in accounting for epistemic
uncertainty, Convegno RELUIS Valutazione e riduzione della vulnerabilit sismica di edifici esistenti in cemento armato, Roma 29-30
maggio 2008.
- Jalayer F., Iervolino I., Manfredi G., (2007). Influenza dei parametri
di modellazione e dellincertezza associata nella valutazione sismica di
edifici esistenti in cemento armato, Proceedings XII Convegno ANIDIS, Giugno 2007.
- Jalayer F., Iervolino I., Manfredi G., (2008). Structural modelling
uncertainties and their influence on seismic assessment of existing RC
structures, submitted to Structural Safety, 2008.
- Monti, G., Alessandri S., Goretti, A., (2007). Livelli di conoscenza e
fattori di confidenza. Proceedings XII Convegno ANIDIS, Giugno 2007.
- Monti G., Alessandri S., (2008). Confidence factors for concrete and
steel strength, Convegno RELUIS Valutazione e riduzione della vulnerabilit sismica di edifici esistenti in cemento armato, Roma 29-30
maggio 2008.
6.3 IRREG: Assessment of the Nonlinear Behavior of Buildings, with
Emphasis on Irregular Ones
- EuroCode 8 (2003a). Design of Structures for Earthquake Resistance,
- Part 1: General Rules, Seismic Action and Rules for Buildings, Draft
no. 6.
- EuroCode 8 (2003b). Design of Structures for Earthquake Resistance,
- Part 3: Strengthening and repair of buildings, Draft no. 3 (Final
Project Team Stage 34), 2003.
- Fajfar P. (2002). Capacity Spectrum Method Based on Inelastic
Demand Spectra, Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on
Earthquake Engineering, Paper 843, London (UK).
- FEMA 356 (2000). Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic
Rehabilitation of Buildings, Prepared by A.S.C.E., Washington, D.C.
(U.S.A.).
- ATC 40 (1996). Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Concrete Buildings.
6.4 MIX: Assessment and Strengthening of Mixed-type (Masonry/RC)
Buildings
- D.M. Infrastrutture, 14 Gennaio 2008. G.U. 4-2-2008, N.29, Norme
30
32
On the other hand, it can be observed that this delay in the appreciation of the risk is not exclusive to Italy. For example, it is enough to
mention that it took twelve years after the spectacular failures of quite
modern bridges (Figure 1, left) during the San Fernando (1971) earthquake, for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to publish a
first document titled Retrofitting guidelines for Highway Bridges
(FHWA-ATC, 1983). Still, in 1989, despite of the large retrofit program
set up (later proved to be fully inadequate), the Loma Prieta earthquake
exposed substantial deficiencies in bridges in California (Figure 1,
right).
Fig. 1- Damage to bridges during the San Fernando, 1971 (left) and Loma Prieta 1989 (right) events.
tasks according to the table below. The table also shows the progress of
activity over the whole project duration of three years. The progress
achieved during the second year is briefly summarised in the following
Table 1.
4. MAIN RESULTS
The main results of the research activity are summarised in the following
according to the research structure described in the previous section.
4.1 Task 1: Identification of bridge typologies
The main bridge typologies on several seismic-prone portions of the
Italian railway and road/highway networks have been identified during
the first year of activity. In summary, the data collected from various
sources (mainly national/regional administrations) pertain to the TorinoBardonecchia-Frejus (TBF) and the Parma-La Spezia (PLS) highways
(Politecnico di Torino), the Firenze-Bologna (A1FiBo) portion of the A1
Milano-Napoli and the Apennine portion of the A16 highways (Universit
di Roma La Sapienza and Universit di Roma Tre), the Adriatic portions of the A14 Bologna-Canosa highway and of the SS16 Adriatica
state-road (Universit di Chieti-Pescara), the Roma-Viterbo (RMVT) and
Roma-Sulmona (RMSu) railways (Universit di Roma Tre), the regional
railway and roadway networks of Calabria (Universit di Cosenza).
Structural typologies characterizing the TBF and the PLS highways are
quite different. The first highway, built in between 1983 and 1992,
includes rather uniform typologies: a) about 300.000 m2 of precast segmental box girder bridges with pier heights up to 90m and span lengths
between 40 and 100m, b) about 200.000 m2 of girder bridges in concrete and in composite steel-concrete with pier heights between 5 and
30m and span lengths between 20 and 80m. Representative bridges
are: the Borgone viaduct (20+2640+20 m), the Ramat viaduct
34
bridges crossing wide valleys in the mountain tracts of the Central and
Southern Apennine (A1FiBo, PLS, A3) represent a negligible percentage of the total bridge stock, made up essentially of bridges with simply-supported decks (prestressed or reinforced concrete girders plus
slab) with single stem of frame piers. For this reason a special effort has
been devoted to devising a simplified non-linear method suitable for the
analysis of bridges with simply-supported decks (Universit di Roma
La Sapienza). As it regards statically indeterminate bridges (continuous
decks) a distinction was made between those with special configuration,
for which inelastic dynamic analysis is in most cases the method of
choice, and simpler bridges, for which two methods have been thoroughly explored: the Modal Pushover Analysis (MPA) method
(Universit di Roma La Sapienza) and the Secant Mode Superposition
(SMS) method (Universit di Pavia). Finally research has also focussed
on two more issues, namely the always debated problem of directional
combination rules (Universit di Chieti-Pescara) and the non linear
modelling of seismic protection devices (Universit di Cosenza).
(1)
(m + 0.3mpila)Hp + mimpHimp
H pulv
m
(2)
y = 1 yH2 / 3
(3)
(4)
T = 2 mi / k = 2 miy / Vy
(5)
max= SDe(T)
max= SDe(T) 1+(q1) Tc
q
T
T Tc o q
1
(6)
T < Tc
4.2.1 SIMPLIFIED NON LINEAR METHOD FOR BRIDGES WITH SIMPLY-SUPPORTED DECKS
For these bridges it is possible to set up an ad hoc assessment procedure which represents a convenient trade-off between simplicity and
accuracy. The reference model is that of a vertical cantilever with a continuous distribution of mass, on top of which rest the pier cap and the
deck masses. As long as the pier height is not such as to make higher
mode contributions significant, in the transversal direction each pier
represents a single-degree of freedom oscillator (see Figure 2a). In the
longitudinal direction the entire bridge can also be represented as a
SDOF system if seismic restrainers are provided that minimise the relative movements of adjacent decks on top of the pier caps (see Figure
2d). In this case the system has mass equal to the sum of the tributary
masses of the piers and resisting force sum of the resisting forces of the
piers (assuming that maximum displacements are permitted by the
abutments joints).
The method consists of a simplified non linear static analysis in which
the force-displacement laws are constructed based on the results of
moment-curvature analysis of the pier bases (see Figure 2b). The following equations give the tributary mass, Eq.(1), the effective height in
the transversal direction, Eq.(2), the yield and ultimate displacement
(see Figure 2b and c), Eq.s (3) and (4), the period, Eq.(5), and the corresponding demand displacement, Eq.(6), as for single-mode conventional pushover analysis. The effective height equals the piers height in
the longitudinal direction. Displacement capacity follows from ultimate
displacement with appropriate safety factors.
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
The MPA method by Chopra and Goel (2002) has been devised for the
analysis of tall buildings. Its applicability as an alternative to inelastic
dynamic analysis and adaptive pushover methods for the assessment of
Fig. 2- Simplified non linear method for the assessment of bridges with simply-supported decks.
35
The variation of the lateral load distribution, from one based on the
modal (elastic) displacement shape to another based on the (plastic)
displacement shape at failure, does not affect appreciably the results.
The best estimate of the displacements by the MPA (i.e. the one
derived taking the optimal reference DOFs) matches reasonably well
that from TH. It is worth noting that a comparable amount of approximation on the response of the structure is obtained both in the elastic
and in the plastic response regimes. This observation, together with the
previous one, indicates that the main approximation of the method, i.e.
being based on the initial elastic modal vector, may not represent a
major limitation.
Differences between the nodal displacements estimated by the MPA
with respect to those by the TH are found to be in the order of 15%,
independently of the intensity level of the ground motion. Analogous
results are observed also for the curvatures at members end-sections,
resulting in almost coincident patterns of plastic hinge location and predictions of members failures.
Fig. 4- Two piers of the Rio Torto viaduct (A1FiBo).
bridge structures has been investigated through its application to the Rio
Torto viaduct (see Figures 3 and 4), one of the case studies selected for
the project. The structure, built at the end of 50s, is characterized by
thirteen-span twin decks realized with two girders and top slab. The
twelve supports consist of a pair of framed piers, one under each deck.
Each pier is a multi-storey reinforced concrete frame with variable
height, realized with two circular columns of diameter D =120160 cm.
The results from inelastic dynamic analysis have been taken as benchmark for the purpose. The response has been compared for several
intensity levels (to assess the influence on accuracy of the level of nonlinearity in the response) and in terms of different response quantities,
both local and global (section curvatures and element displacements).
The comparison provided the following indications:
The location of maximum modal displacement is the best choice as
the reference degree of freedom (DOF) for estimating the demand on the
structure. Each significant mode is therefore characterized by its own
reference DOF.
36
For the considered case, the application of the MPA method has shown
to lead to fully acceptable results. Such a favourable conclusion still
awaits substantiation from a larger number of applications. These
results have led to the introduction of the method among the allowed
methods in the draft guidelines.
4.2.3 SMS METHOD
The Secant Mode Superposition method consists essentially of an iterative multi-modal response spectrum analysis on a structural model
with secant stiffness properties and equivalent viscous damping. The
procedure can be summarised in the following steps:
Step 0: A starting displacement profile and stiffness distribution are
assumed;
Step 1: The stiffness matrix of the equivalent linear structure is
assembled;
Step 2: Modal analysis is carried out;
Step 3: Displacement in each vibration mode are obtained either from
an over-damped elastic or from an inelastic displacement spectrum;
Step 4: Modal contributions are combined to yield displacement proRESEARCH - Seismic behavior
Four 1:2 scaled bridge piers were designed with an insufficient overlapping length of the longitudinal bars across the critical zone that
should lead to an early loss of the lateral strength due to bar slippage.
The built specimens (see Figure 5 left and middle) have the following
characteristics:
Hollow-core rectangular cross-section (see Figure 5, right) with external dimensions 800x1500mm and wall thickness of 150mm;
Table 2. Considered retrofit materials
Material
Description
SRP 3x2
High Density
SRP 12x
High Density
CFRP
High Modulus
GFRP
Alkali Resistant
AFRP
High Modulus
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
fu[MPa]
1167
948
3000
1700
2800
e[MPa]
77773
64811
390000
65000
105000
eult[%]
1.50
1.46
0.77
2.62
2.67
the performed tests: here the lateral load carrying capacity drops quite
quickly because of the bars sliding. The red curves are the result of the
numerical model.
4.3.2 FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING CALIBRATED TO THE EXPERIMENTAL TESTS
RESULTS
adopted finite element model, the behaviour of 1:4 scaled square hollow section piers from previous experimental campaigns (Calvi et al.,
2005 and Pavese et al., 2004) has been reproduced through push-over
analysis.
Fig. 7- Base shear-top displacement diagrams of the two as-built pier (a) N = 1000kN (b) N = 2000kN.
38
Fig. 11- Failure mechanisms of the transverse beam in the three tests.
39
4.4.1 A
ABUTMENTS
Fig. 13- left: Comparison between theoretical and numerical force-displacement curves; right: base column rotations.
The differences between the failure mechanisms of the three piers, however, have a little influence on the global behaviour, as shown in Figure
12, which compares the global force-displacement cycles of the three
specimens.
The experimental results have been compared with the results of a
numerical model, which was set up using the non-linear code
OpenSEES. Shear failure has been introduced using a shear forcedeformation relationship with a tri-linear backbone and an appropriate
degradation law, included in a fiber non-linear element, using the section aggregator command. The yield-penetration at the base of the column effect is particularly relevant due to the presence of plain steel
bars. This phenomenon, if neglected, can induce an overestimation of
the structural stiffness. This effect has been taken into account using a
zero-length element placed at the column base with a properly modify
stress-strain law of the steel bars. Finally, the buckling phenomenon
has been taken into account using a corrected constitutive law of steel.
The FE model used was able to reproduce accurately both the global as
well as the local behaviour, as shown in Figure 13.
A simplified model for the dynamic analysis of diaphragm walls retaining dry cohesion-less soils with horizontal back-slope subjected to seismic excitation has been developed (Franchin et al, 2007a). The model
is based on the well-known one-dimensional Winkler approximation
and on the non-linear shear-beam model for the ground layers on both
sides of the wall (see Figure 14). The model can include anchor-ties and
can account for non-linearity in all of its elements (retained soil,
anchors and wall). According to preliminary numerical applications,
which include validation of the proposed model results versus those of
a refined plane-strain nonlinear finite-element analysis carried out with
a commercial code, the model appears to yield quite accurate predictions of static and dynamic bending moment distributions and permanent wall displacements.
Next the developed model has been applied for the analysis of the
response of a diaphragm abutment prior and after upgrading intervention with change of the support conditions and insertion of tie-backs
(Franchin et al 2007b). The analysed structure is represented in Figure
15.
The application of the model has shown its versatility in assessing the
system response in its existing state and in progressive states of upgrad-
40
Fig. 16- Results of the abutment analysis: left, moment diagrams; right, top displacement time-histories.
ROTATION
TRANSLATION
CAMPING
STIFFNESS Kq
CAMPING Cq
4.4.2 CRITICAL
soil-foundation system, consisting of the stiffness and damping functions (of the frequency) to be assigned at the pier base. This impedance
includes the evaluation of the frequency dependent dynamic group
effect, i.e. the modification of the impedance obtained as a simple summation of the individual pile impedances to account for the interaction
of the wave-fields produced by each pile.
Evaluation of the response in the frequency domain. This has been
done both with a purpose-made code and with a commercial finite element software that implements frequency-domain analysis (Sap2000).
The resulting power-spectrum of the displacement components can be
integrated to yield the root-mean-square (RMS) or standard deviation of
response, from which maxima to be used in verification are readily
STIFFNESS
Fig. 18- Complex impedance at the pier base: stiffness (top), camping (bottom), translation (left) and rotation (right).
1.5m diameter. Pile length is 20m. The bridge has 6 spans and a pier
of height 20m has been considered. Soil can be classified based on the
available information as type D. The structure has been modelled as
shown in Figure 17e, i.e. as a three-degree of freedom system (including horizontal and rocking component of the base).
The analysis has been carried out in the frequency domain using the
substructuring approach. The steps of the analysis include:
Evaluation of the modification of the surface free-field motion (supplied as an acceleration response spectrum) due to the kinematic interaction between soil and pile group. This step provides the power spectrum of input displacement at the pier base.
Evaluation of the complex frequency-dependent impedance of the
Figure 18 shows the real (stiffness, top) and imaginary (damping, bottom) parts of the complex impedance at the base of the pier, for the
translation (left) and rocking (right) displacement components. These
are reported for two different values of the shear wave velocity Vs, both
compatible with the soil type D. The figure also reports the stiffness/damping obtained by simple summation of the single pile contributions. Comparing the latter with those of the group allows to appreciate the frequency-dependent effect of the pile-to-pile interaction. This
effect reduces, by more than 50% in this case, the total stiffness.
Finally, Figure 19 shows the power spectral densities of the response in
41
Fig. 19- Results of SSI analysis on a bridge pier: power spectral densities of the response in terms of total displacement (left)
and structural deflection (right).
Analysis
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Elastic RS analysis
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Elastic RS analysis + q-factor
Inelastic time-history analysis
Modal pushover analysis
Simplified
Simplifiednon-linear
non-linearmethod,
method,pushover,
pushover,
linear
dynamic
linear dynamic
Inelastic time-history analysis
Inelastic time-history analysis
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
North carriageway
South carriageway
Chapter 4: contains the numerical examples that illustrate the application of the methods presented in the guidelines. There are four applications covering:
assessment, by means of the simplified non linear method, of a typical simply-supported bridge with single-stem cantilever piers in its present state;
assessment, by means of linear and pushover analyses, of the previous bridge in two different configurations, with a new continuous, wider,
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
STATIC SCHEME
44
The guidelines admit linear analysis of two types only: modal analysis
with unreduced elastic spectrum and verifications in terms of deformation/forces (subject to stringent conditions on the response regularity),
and modal analysis with a spectrum reduced by a limited value of the
behaviour factor of q=1.5.
The main methods put forward by the guidelines are non linear static
and dynamic analyses. As already anticipated in 4.2.1, a simplified
non linear static method is proposed for the very frequent case of
bridges with simply supported decks. For continuous irregular bridges
the use of more recent pushover variants (adaptive and/or multi-mode)
is introduced as an alternative to full-fledged inelastic time-history
analysis. The allowance for more than single-mode invariant pushover
represents a small step forward with respect to Eurocode 8 Part 2,
which builds upon the results of recent wide-ranging studies on the performance of such methods in the analysis of bridges [see for ex.
(Casarotti 2005), (Kappos et al, 2005), (Isakovic and Fischinger, 2005),
(Lupoi et al, 2007), (fib, 2007), as well as the draft document Inelastic
methods for seismic design and assessment of bridges by Task Group
11 of the European Association of Earthquake Engineering].
Within the framework of the definition of the reference life one aspect
that deserves particular consideration in the case of existing bridges is
45
(
)( )
(7)
where Dx and Dy denote the demand quantities along the two orthogonal axes x and y, with Cx and Cy denoting the corresponding capacities.
This format becomes, in terms of chord rotations and shear forces:
(x/u,x) + (y/u,y) 1
(8)
(Vx/Vu,x) + (Vy/Vu,y) 1
2
(9)
In the above equations the demand terms are understood as the combined effect of both orthogonal components of the seismic action. For
example, with reference to chord rotation, for the case of multi-modal
non linear static analysis one has:
N
x=xG [(
xEx,iG) + (xEy,iG) ]
i=1
2
(10)
where the directional combination is of the SRSS type and the summation is over the modes.
4.6.4 APPENDICES
The matter covered in these two appendices, i.e. the response of bridge
structures to different motions at the piers bases and the effect of the
soil-foundation system deformability in modifying the input motion as
well as the response of the structure, has been always mentioned in
codes without, however, neither precise quantitative indications on the
instances in which these phenomena have to be accounted for, nor of
physically sensible yet practically applicable methods to do it. The reason for this resides clearly in the insufficient advancement on basic
research. In drafting the guidelines, however, it was considered appropriate to provide a presentation of selected state-of-the-art approaches
which are susceptible of practical application.
For what concerns the effect of multiple-support excitation, the guidelines indicate that the phenomenon should be accounted for whenever
soil conditions along the bridge belong to different soil categories. The
guidelines also present:
A stochastic model of the motion at the supports (Der Kiureghian,
1996) that can be used either to generate samples of correlated motions
to be used in time-history response analysis or in linear random vibration analysis;
The multiple response spectrum method (Der Kiureghian and
Neuenhofer, 1992), which provides a solution for the random vibrations
problem of a system subjected to multiple inputs based on the use of the
corresponding input displacement response spectra;
A simplified proposal for time-history analysis employing indepen46
The main objective of the project, which was the production of the draft
guidelines and their application manual, has been met. In this respect
the Research Line was successful, since the product has been delivered
and its quality is believed to be high.
Though it wasnt explicitly included into the remit for the Line, it must
be noted that the research group initially intended to cover in the guidelines both structural concrete and masonry bridges. In spite of the
research carried out, however, this more ambitious goal could not be
achieved.
Research on this front was essentially under the responsibility of the
unit of Genova. This unit has produced during the three years of the
project a considerable amount of high-quality research that has been
regularly documented in the annual as well as the final reports, and it
is also available in research reports from the unit uploaded on the project website. Quoting from the final report the issues dealt with by the
unit cover the following: i) statistical characterization of the Italian
bridge population; ii) mechanical models for solid clay brickwork,
needed for detailed and simplified structural models; iii) in field testing
of masonry bridges, aiming at the identification of the main mechanical
properties of the materials and of the bridge as a whole; iv) laboratory
testing of brickwork prisms; v) reduced scale testing aiming at identifying the load carrying capacity and the collapse mechanisms of shallow
and deep arches taking into account the fundamental collaboration of
the so called non structural elements; vi) reduced scale testing aiming at identifying the dynamic properties of shallow and deep arches
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
tion of expected loss related to any given bridge. Looking now at the
problem of bridge protection from an higher perspective, the attention
should be directed at the bridges as components of road links forming
a transportation infrastructure. The seismic performance of the single
bridge would then be put in relation with the performance of all other
bridges to be able to estimate the overall decrease in functionality of the
whole infrastructure. In this respect the very challenging problem of
determining the loss in traffic capacity of a damaged bridge represents
an essential element.
48
provided by CNR-DT200-2004.
FRP are ideal products for structural retrofitting and seismic upgrading.
Nonetheless the small knowledge on the durability of the system is one
of the main drawbacks to the use of FRP reinforcement in Civil
Engineering. In particular, structural adhesives usually represent the
weakest point of the reinforced system and their mechanical behaviour
and durability performance need to be investigated. The first problem
in using composite materials for structural reinforcement is the determination of their mechanical properties. The bond between FRP and
concrete is a very important issue because the debonding is a very brittle failure mechanism and must be avoided.
According to performance-based design or seismic evaluation of RC
buildings, it is crucial to provide a correct evaluation of the strength and
ductility capacity of the RC columns and beams as well as of beam-column joint. Experimental and direct observation of damages occurred
during recent earthquakes strongly highlighted this need.
The effectiveness of FRP systems for seismic vulnerability mitigation of
masonry structures is still in debate, despite it has moved a huge interest, becoming the outstanding system in the market for this type of
applications.
Indeed CNR DT 200/2004 has been the first guideline to provide
design criteria for the FRP seismic strengthening of masonry buildings.
However, the retrofit design of masonry structures is still not a completely solved problem. This is due to the fact that the masonry structure is load dependent and thus the FRP could be placed in an inactive
area of the resistant mechanism. Furthermore, masonry can activate a
large number of local mechanisms which interact with global behaviour
of masonry buildings. The non linear seismic assessment of FRP reinforced masonry structures is included also in the D.M. 2008 rule. The
non linear analysis requires the knowledge of the constitutive law of the
masonry material both in the unreinforced or strengthened situations.
In the recent years, the scientific research has been focused on the safeguard of historical buildings. Accordingly, CNR DT 200/2004 has been
published in order to provide design criteria for the use of FRP systems
for strengthening existing structures and to avoid their incorrect application. The Guidelines deal with different types of FRP applications to
masonry and reinforced concrete structures and take into account the
important phases of quality control and monitoring that should follow a
strengthening application. Several aspects affect the effectiveness of
FRP systems such as the surface preparation and FRP installation.
Moreover, once FRP strengthening intervention has been carried out,
monitoring by non-destructive or semi-destructive tests should be performed to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the strengthening system. It is worth noting that due to the increased number of composite
material applications and in order to get a better understanding of the
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
Fig. 1- a) Execution of the punch-tool test and specimen after collapse, b) execution of the torsion test and specimen after
collapse.
Fig. 2- a) Anchor system for large diameter GFRP bars, b) numerical analysis.
riences for testing steel ropes and prestressing steel tendons and the
shape of the resin head from test investigation. Numerical analyses
were also performed to investigate the effects of anchor parameters such
as cone slope angle, thickness of resin head and friction coefficient
between the anchor body and the resin head. Pull-out and beam tests
were also executed.
Experimental studies and numerical analyses were developed to define
practical tests for the characterization of FRPs and adhesives mechanical properties. The main aim of this action was to provide the
Composites Kit Test - COKIT; a practical tool for professionals and
engineers operating in the field of FRPs applications and dealing with
FRP materials for structural retrofitting and rehabilitation. The technical document Istruzioni per la caratterizzazione ed il controllo di
accettazione di materiali fibrorinforzati per il rinforzo strutturale
COKIT was thus published and could represent an annex of the CNR
DT 200/2004 Recommendations.
Refinement of the safety factors proposed in Design Recommendations
The environmental conversion factors provided in the guidelines of the
Italian National Research Council (DT200) were analyzed on the basis
of the results of artificially aged adhesive specimens tested under tension. Exposition to deicing salts, freeze-thaw cycles and moisture leads
Fig. 3- Stiffness and tensile strength retention for the structural adhesive subject to freeze-thaw cycles of five hours each
between 18 and +4C for a total duration of about 2 months (FT), to salt spray fog for one month or three months (SF)
and to one month humidity (HU).
Fig. 4- a) Steel-CFRP specimen b) Reduction in stiffness of retrofitted specimens during fatigue tests; c) S-N curve and
comparison between the fatigue resistance of the steel-CFRP bond for a stiffness reduction of 5% (blue circles) and of 15%
(red squares) and that of EC3 welded detail categories.
Fig. 6- Specimen geometry; Temperature and relative humidity exposure profiles; test setup.
Fig. 5- Statistical distribution of the coefficient kG for specimens subject to a) salt spray fog and b) freeze-thaw cycles.
4.2 Task 8.2: the delamination under cyclic actions and design of
anchorage mechanical devices for FRP systems
Different experimental set-ups can be found in the scientific literature
dealing with FRP-concrete bond tests and it has been observed that different test methodologies may give different values of the debonding
force. This task research intended to define a standard FRP-concrete
bond test to be used to evaluate the maximum transmissible force by an
FRP anchorage, to be included in the new version of the Italian code for
design of strengthening interventions with FRP.
single shear push-pull test. All the tests have been performed under
displacement control of the FRP free end. In order to evaluate the variability of the results when different set-ups are adopted, the coefficient
of variation (COV) for each set of homogeneous experimental tests has
been calculated. The scatter of the results is in general small (COV
about 10%), lower than that of the tension strength of the concrete, usually equal to 20-30%. For the plates, the scatter of the results is similar for the different Labs, whilst for the sheets the dispersion is usually
higher. The results obtained by Lab 3 are very stable in both cases and
close to the mean values. This study allowed to define a set of rules for
the standardization of bond tests to be used to evaluate the maximum
transmissible force by an FRP concrete anchorage.
ket, could allow to overcome one of the main limit of FRP laminates
related to their poor performances under elevated temperatures.
LAB4
Fig. 7- Experimental set-ups adopted by the five different Laboratories.
52
Fig. 8- Debonding force for sheets with anchorage length (a) L=400 mm, (b) L=100 mm, and for plates with anchorage
length (c) L=400 mm, (d) L=100 mm.
Fig. 9- Coefficient of variation (COV) of the debonding force for (a) sheets and (b) plates.
Fig. 11- Columns strengthened by means of glass (a) and basalt (b) FRP.
54
impregnated with epoxy resin or latex and then bonded with a cement
based mortar; 4) cement based mortar jacket. The main objectives of the
experimental program were: a) to investigate on the effectiveness of
confinement based on basalt fibres pre-impregnated in epoxy resin or
latex and then bonded with a cement based mortar (BRM); and b) to
compare the performance (in terms of peak strength and ultimate axial
strain gains) of different confinement techniques using advanced materials with respect to GFRP laminates jacketing.
The investigation was carried out on 23 concrete cylindrical specimens
with a diameter of D = 150 mm and a height of H = 300 mm.
schemes were experimentally analyzed in order to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening techniques: 1) uniaxial glass FRP laminates (GFRP) wrapping; 2) uniaxial carbon FRP
(CFRP) laminates wrapping; and 3) uniaxial basalt FRP (BFRP) laminates wrapping. In particular 9 tests, were performed on square tuff
masonry (external tuff blocks and inner core filled with tuff chips and
mortar) scaled columns (mass density equal to about 1530 kg/m3): side
average dimension equal to 220mm; and average height of about 500
mm corresponding to 8 courses of tuff bricks (height-width ratio equal
to 2.27). Masonry was made by scaled yellow Neapolitan tuff bricks
(50x50x100mm) and a pozzolan (local volcanic ash) based mortar
(thickness of 12mm). Further 9 tests were performed on square clay
brick masonry scaled columns (mass density equal to about 1700
kg/m3): side average dimension equal to 260 mm, and average height of
about 560 mm corresponding to 8 courses of clay bricks (height-width
ratio of 2.20). Masonry was made by clay bricks (55x115x255 mm) and
a pozzolan (local volcanic ash) based mortar (thickness of 13 mm).
Fig. 16- Specimen details (dimensions in mm): (a) tuff masonry; (b) clay brick masonry.
Masonry columns were tested through monotonically applied axial compressive loading under displacements control mode with a rate of 0.005
mm/s.
The experimental outcomes showed that:
GFRP and CFRP jackets led to similar compressive strength gains
on tuff masonry columns under axial loads.
GFRP and BFRP confining system led to similar compressive
strength gains of brick masonry columns under axial loads. BFRP wrapping was more effective in terms of global ductility increase (i.e. ulti55
Fig. 17- Stress-axial strain relationships and specimens failure mode: (a),(c) and (e) tuff masonry; (b),(d) and (f) clay brick
masonry.
mate strain gain equal to 413% and 259% for BFRP and GFRP wrapping, respectively) even if the mechanical external reinforcement ratio
of FRP laminates was lower then GFRP ones; such result could be
explained by the higher values of ratios efl/efu recorded on BFRP laminates.
The use of high values of laminates unit height may significant reduce
the effectiveness of FRP wrapping systems since it could be detrimental to the quality of confinement execution.
The presence of voids and protrusions on masonry members reduces
the ultimate transverse strain on FRP reinforcement with respect to that
typically achieved on concrete members.
Another experimental campaign has been carried out in order to show
the behavior of columns built with clay or with calcareous blocks, commonly found in southern Italy, especially in historical buildings.
Rectangular masonry columns were tested for a total of 33 specimens;
uniaxial compression tests were conducted on columns taking into
account the influence of several variables: different strengthening
schemes (internal and/or external confinement), curvature radius of the
corners, amount of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement,
cross-section aspect ratio and material of masonry blocks. Materials
characterization was preliminarily carried out including a mechanical
test on plain masonry. For all cases the experimental results evidenced
56
average-available-bond-length NSM strip confined to the corresponding concrete prism whose transversal dimensions are limited by the
spacing between adjacent strips and the beam cross section width
(Figure 20); b) determining the comprehensive constitutive law of the
average system above (Figure 21); c) determining the maximum effective capacity that the average system can attain during the loading
process of the strengthened RC beam by imposing a kinematic mechanism and d) determining the NSM shear strength contribution by summing the contribution provided by each strip. The constitutive law
(Figure 22) and in turn the equations to determine the maximum effective capacity assume different features depending on the main phenomenon characterizing the ultimate behaviour of the average structural system of the specific case at hand. Hereinafter, for the sake of brevity, the main features of that computational procedure are shown only for
the case of shallow concrete fracture (u = 4) and a resulting resisting
bond length whose value is equal to the effective bond length (Figure
23). Further details can be found elsewhere (Bianco 2008).
The predictions obtained by that calculation procedure were also
appraised on the basis of experimental results (e.g. Dias et al. 2007).
The maximum effective capacity for the case of shallow concrete fracture and a resulting resisting bond length whose value is equal (u = 4)
to the effective bond length can be evaluated by:
A Csf
max
sf 2
Vfi,eff = 1 A1C1 Ld f,max+ 2 2 arcsin(1A3f,maxLd)+
Ld
2A3f,max
+(1A3f,maxLd) 1(1A3f,maxLd)2
2
]}
where:
L J l3sin(q+
)
A1= p 3
;
40J1
J
sf
C1=1 0 2 1 ;
l
f,max=1=
21
Ldsin(q+
)
A2=LpJ3l; A3=
C2sf =
0J1
l2
(1)
l2sin(q+
)
;
20J1
(2)
(3)
Actual Vf and design value Vfd of the NSM shear strength contribution
can be obtained as follows:
max
1
1
l
Vfd= Vf = (2Nf,int
Vfi,eff sin
)
(4)
Rd
Rd
where Rd is the partial safety factor divisor of the capacity that can be
assumed equal to 1.1-1.2 according to the indeterminateness of the
input parameters.
Bond between NSM bars and surrounding concrete: experimental and
analytical investigation
Fig. 21- Main features of the calculation procedure: a) average-length NSM strip and concrete prism of influence, b) adopted
local bond stress slip relationship, c) NSM strip confined to the corresponding concrete prism of influence and semi-pyramidal
fracture surface, d) sections of the concrete prism.
Fig. 22- Possible comprehensive constitutive law of an NSM CFRP strip confined within a prism of concrete: (a) concrete
that reaches the free extremity (u=1) or strip tensile rupture (u=2), (b) superficial and/or absent concrete fracture and
ultimate resisting bond length smaller (u=3), equal (u=4) or larger (u=5) than the effective bond length and (c) deep concrete
fracture (u=6).
Fig. 23- Maximum effective capacity along the CDC for the case u=4: a) comprehensive constitutive law; b) capacity
Vfi,CDC (;); and c) imposed end slip Li,CDC (;); distribution along the CDC for different values of the CDC opening angle
and d) effective capacity as function of the angle .
58
Pull-out test were carried out to investigate both the qualitative and
quantitative influence of some of the involved parameters on the bond
performance (De Lorenzis and Galati 2006, Galati and De Lorenzis
2006). Those parameters encompass: ratio between depth and width of
the slit, kind of epoxy-based adhesive used as binding agent, distance
of the NSM bar from the edge of the concrete prism, distance between
adjacent bars and employment of external FRP strips used to confine
the joint. Tests were carried out by means of a tangential-pull device to
apply the load, LVDT transducers to measure the slip at both the loaded
and unloaded extremity and strain-gauges throughout the adhered
length of the bar to measure the deformations along the joint. The measured quantities were processed to obtain the local bond stress-slip
relationship for the different values of the test parameters. Cyclic tests
were also carried out subjecting the joint at a limited number of cycles
whose maximum load was assumed equal to different percentages of the
peak static load. The cyclic tests were useful to evaluate the joint residual strength such as the one following a seismic action.
An analytical investigation has followed the experimental program
above (Rizzo and De Lorenzis 2007-2009b). In fact, the local bond
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
contribution to a RC beam.
Experimental investigation on full-scale prestressed concrete beams
strengthened by means of CFRP
Every year, several prestressed concrete (PC) bridge girders are accidentally damaged by over-height vehicles or construction equipment
impact. Although complete replacement is sometimes deemed necessary, repair and rehabilitation can be far more economical, especially
when the time and the social cost of the method are drastically reduced.
The numerous advantages provided by the use of FRP laminates are
leading in a sharp increase on their use for bridge construction
strengthening. Experimental investigations were conducted in order to
validate such strengthening technique on PC damaged members and
accurately assess the upper limit of damage amount beyond which FRP
laminates are no longer adoptable as repair solution.
Starting from such purposes, an experimental campaign was conducted
on five full-scale (13.0m long, 1.05m high) PC double T-beams with a
reinforced concrete slab, designed according to ANAS (Italian
Transportation Institute) standard specifications. One beam was used as
control, and the other four were intentionally damaged in order to simulate a vehicle impact by removing the concrete cover and by cutting a
different percentage of tendons (17% on two specimens and 33% on the
remaining two). The repair, by using externally bonded carbon FRP
(CFRP) laminates, aimed at restoring the ultimate flexural capacity of
the member, taking particular attention to the laminates anchoring system. In particular, one test was performed on the control beam (referenced as S1), two tests were carried out on intentionally pre-damaged,
to simulate an over-height vehicle collision, beams (named S2 and S3,
respectively) and the remaining two on pre-damaged specimens
upgraded by using two and three plies of CFRP laminates anchored by
using U-wraps (named S4 and S5, respectively).
In Figure 24 and Figure 25 the test setup and experimental load deflection curves are reported.
The experimental study has shown that: 1) a loss of strands equal to
17% and 33% caused a flexural capacity decrease equal to 20% and
26%, respectively; 2) to restore the ultimate flexural capacity of the
undamaged PC specimen by using CFRP laminates it is necessary to
prevent fibers debonding; 3) U-wraps (width wf= 100mm spaced at
pf=150mm) were able to significantly delay debonding but if damaged
existing concrete is patched by cementitious mortar, a perfect bond has
to be guaranteed during the cross section restoration to prevent localized debonding of longitudinal reinforcement and thus fully exploit the
potential effective FRP strain increase; 4) CFRP laminates increased
59
(1)
(2)
where T and T'are the tractions in the longitudinal bars at the joint section, respectively; C'c is the compression force in concrete, while C's is
the compression force in the bars. Vj is the joint shear; and Vc is the colRESEARCH - Seismic behavior
Fig. 26- Details of the forces due to the elements converging in the joint panel.
umn shear. In Figure 27 the joint division is shown: there are four rigid
and interacting bodies. Each body can be associated to three equilibrium equations. The symmetry of the joints allows the system to be
reduced to six equations. Moreover, Figure 28 shows the relation between the column shear, Vc, and joint shear, Vb, based on the equation
Vb = m Vc, where m = lc / lb.
The independent equilibrium equations are five. Horizontal and vertical forces equilibrium and moment equilibrium based on point o (the
middle of the joint panel) can be expressed as follows:
Fx=0,
Fy=0,
Mo=0,
F1F2F3+C1sinq+C2sinqNbF6=0
F3F4+C1sinqC2sinq+mVc=0
1
1
lj
lb
mV + j (F F )+ j (F F ) C =0
2 c 2b 1 2 2c 3 4 2 2
(3)
(4)
(5)
Where Nb is the horizontal force in the beam; F1, F2 are tractions in the
longitudinal bars of the beams at the joint section; F3, F4 are tractions
in the longitudinal bars of the columns at the joint section; F5 is the
traction in the stirrups spread along the height of the joint and reduced
to an equivalent force; F6 is the traction in the FRP reinforcement in
the x direction and reduced to an equivalent force; C1, C2 are compressions as shown in Figure 27b; jb, jc are the internal lever arms in the
beam and column respectively; q is the inclination angle of the main
cracks and assumed equal to 45; Vc is the column shear; lc is the colRESEARCH - Seismic behavior
F1F2+C1sinqC2sinq+Vc=0
F3F4+C1sinq+C2sinqNcF7=0
(6)
(7)
tively. The design of the rehabilitation was based on deficiencies underlined by both the test on the as-built structure and the theoretical
results provided by the post-test assessment. They indicate that a retrofit intervention was necessary in order to increase the structural seismic
capacity; in particular, the theoretical results showed that the target
design PGA level of 0.30g could have been sustained by the structure
if its displacement capacity was increased by a factor of 48%. In order
to pursue this objective, the retrofit design strategy focused on two main
aspects. First it was decided to increase the global deformation capacity of the structure and thus its dissipating global performance; such
objective was pursued by confining column ends with two plies of
GFRP laminates. Moreover, the second design key aspect was to allow
the structure to fully exploit the increased deformation capacity by
avoiding brittle collapse modes. To achieve this goal corner beam column joint panels were strengthened by using two plies of quadri-axial
GFRP laminates as well as a wall-type column for its entire length with
two plies of the same quadri-axial GFRP laminates used for the above
joints (see Figure 30).
Fig. 30- Column confinement and shear strength of corner joints (a); shear strength of wall-type column and retrofitted
structure overview (b).
Fig. 29- (a) Plan view and (b) 3D view of the SPEAR structure.
The structure in its original configuration was subjected to experimental tests with maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.20 g. Since
both theoretical and experimental results showed that the as-built
structure was unable to withstand a larger seismic action, a retrofit
intervention by using FRP laminates was designed. Once the design of
the GFRP retrofit was provided, the structure was subjected to a new
series of two tests with the same input accelerogram selected for the as
built specimen but scaled to a PGA value of 0.20g and 0.30g, respec62
Fig. 31- Base shear top displacement curves for as-built and FRP retrofitted structure.
Fig. 32- Theoretical seismic performance comparison at 0.3g PGA between as-built and FRP retrofitted structure.
This aspect has revealed the important role of the FRP system to
increase the energy dissipation capacity of masonry structures. The
increase both in terms of strength and ultimate deformation capacity of
strengthened elements has been confirmed by all the modelling
approaches evidencing the capability of the simple frame model to capture the global response of masonry elements strengthened with FRP
and consequently the possibility of using this simple model in a design
process of the FRP strengthening system for masonry structures.
4.9 Task 8.9: the strengthening of masonry vaulted with FRP systems.
The aim of the research task is the development of models and procedures for the analysis of vaulted structures reinforced with FRP. In particular the behaviour of arches, vaults and domes subjected to seismic
action is studied in order to investigate the behaviour of these typologies as built and strengthened with FRP materials.
The study is performed with simplified analytical procedure and with
numerical methods. Experimental tests are further expected for the validation of the models.
The research activity has been focused on the experimental tests on the
topic available in literature for a comparison with the analytical and
numerical results.
On the basis of the acquired data, a simplified analytical model for the
evaluation of the ultimate load of arches and portal frames reinforced at
the intrados and/or extrados has been developed.
The main results are related to the definition of a methodology for the
evaluation of the ultimate load of one-dimensional vaulted structures
reinforced with FRP and subjected to vertical and horizontal forces.
Starting point of the procedure is the assessment that the FRP presence
does not allow the formation of the collapse mechanisms, which characterise the ultimate behaviour of the un-reinforced structure. As a consequence the cinematic approach of the limit analysis, usually adopted
for this kind of structure cannot be applied. The proposed analytical
model, starting from the analysis of the ultimate behaviour of the unreinforced structure, identifies the location of the hinges, up to make the
structure statically determined, and then to be solved with equilibrium
condition. Obviously in this case and contrarily to the limit analysis, the
mechanical characteristics of the masonry and of the FRP and mainly
the debonding phenomenon of the composite material, significantly
influence the structural response.
The model has been developed and applied to assigned geometries of
arches and portal frames, subjected to static vertical and horizontal
loads, with FRP reinforcement at the intrados. The obtained results
have been expressed in terms of interaction domains in the plane of the
vertical and horizontal forces.
Afterwards, the procedures for the evaluation of the ultimate behaviour
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
plate to the FRP and isolating it from the surrounding FRP with a core
drill, taking particular care in avoiding heating of the FRP system while
a 1-2 mm incision of masonry substrate was achieved. The test consists
in pulling off the steel plate by means of an ad hoc device (Figure 36a), obtaining the ultimate pull-off strength value expressed in kN
(Figure 36-c). Whereas, shear tearing tests are used to assess the quality of bond between FRP and masonry substrate. These tests can be
conducted only when it is possible to pull a portion of the FRP system
in its plane located close to an edge detached from the masonry substrate. The tests have been carried out using the same ad hoc device
used for pull-off tests. In particular, metallic elements have been set up
onto the masonry wall and through the FRP strip, with the aim of connecting the entire test device. Then, the FRP element has been tightened until collapse (Figure 36-b), obtaining the failure tearing force,
expressed in kN (Figure 36-d). For what concerns in situ tests, 16 reinforced concrete structures and 17 brick and stone masonry building
have been considered, for a total number of more than 300 tests. The
FRP materials have been applied in the form of strips having the
dimensions of 500x200 mm and 50x200 mm in the case of r.c. structures and the dimensions of 500x300 mm e 50x300 mm in the case of
masonry structures for the execution of pull-off and shear tearing test,
respectively. Both carbon, glass and natural fiber composites have been
utilized.
According to CNR DT 200/2004, FRP application may be considered
acceptable if at least 80% of the tests return a pull-off stress not less
than 10% of masonry support compressive strength, or not less than
0.9-1.2 MPa in the case of reinforced concrete structures, provided that
failure occurs in the support itself. For what concerns shear tearing
tests, FRP application may be considered acceptable if at least 80% of
the tests return a peak tearing force not less than 5% of masonry support compressive strength, whereas it has to be not less than 24 kN in
the case of reinforced concrete structures.
For what concerns masonry structures, taking into account the compressive strength of the support, both pull-off and shear tearing experimental results respect the limit values suggested in CNR DT 200/2004.
In the case of concrete structures, pull-off results are in accordance to
CNR DT 200/2004, whereas in shear tearing test results the limit value
of 24 kN suggested for reinforced concrete structures, has never been
reached. This is probably due to the small dimensions of the FRP
strips. In fact, CNR DT 200/2004 Guidelines dont provide any instruction about the FRP dimensions that should be utilized to reach the
above mentioned limit value.
In the case of pull-off tests, failure has always occurred in the substrate,
for each type of FRP material applied, as expected.
The semi-destructive tests conducted in the laboratory on concrete ele68
Fig. 36- Pull-off test (a) and shear tearing test (b); Pull-off test result (c) and shear tearing test result (d).
The first Infra-Red thermographic tests have been conducted in the laboratory of the Department of Structural Engineering of University of
Calabria on brick masonry macro-elements, which have been reinforced by carbon fiber strips placed in different directions onto the
specimen surfaces. From the test a mortar joint was clearly visible due
to the non plane substrate surface.
The in situ masonry and reinforced concrete structures have been utilized for thermographic tests as well, to verify the quality of bond
between FRP and the substrate, before and after the conduction of the
described semi-destructive tests. For instance, some tests have been
conducted on a reinforced concrete structure on which FRP strips have
been previously applied for shear tearing tests. From the thermograms,
a crack could be noticed corresponding to the strip subjected to the
semi-destructive test. Such a technique is then useful for the detection
deterioration and damage in the structures.
Influence of roughness surface on the debonding force of FRP
In order to investigate the effect of the concrete surface preparation
method on the roughness surface and debonding force of FRP, an experimental campaign has been carried out. The specimens have been produced with different formworks (staves, panels) and different compaction types (beating, vibration). Moreover, two different concrete
strengths have been used in realizing the specimens in order to evaluate also their influence on the surface preparation method efficacy.
Thirty 15 cm-length standard cubes have been also poured and used to
evaluate the mechanical properties of concrete (according to Italian
standards). Mean compressive strength (Rcm = 15 or 20 MPa) from the
compression tests has been obtained by standard cube at an age of 50
days, corresponding to same period of the first profilometer tests. The
number of specimens considered in the present experimental campaign
and the two different casting processes are shown in Table 1.
After curing, four different methods for surface preparation have been
applied on concrete prisms in order to study the effect of the treatment
on the FRP-concrete bond strength: Grinding the upper surface of the
concrete block has been grinded with a stone wheel to remove the top
layer of mortar, just until the aggregate was visible; Sand Blasting the
concrete surface has been sand blasted in order to remove the whole
mortar over the aggregates, so obtaining a very rough concrete surface;
Brushing the surface has been brushed with a twisted steel cord bonded to a rotating disc; Scabbling impacting the substrate at variable
angle with a metallic tip to create a chipping and powdering action. The
driving mechanism is compressed air.
In order to examine exhaustively the concrete surface, an extensive
campaign of laser profilometer analysis was carried out before and after
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
Formwork
Type of
(wooden) Compaction
staves
beating
panels
vibration
Figure 37b shows some output parameters provided by the profilometer: Rmax maximum peak and valley, rough measure of the vertical distance between the highest peak and the lowest valley; Re measures the
vertical distance between the highest peak and the centerline of the
profile; Rv measures the vertical distance between the lowest valleys
and the centerline of the profile; R measures the average of all individually measured peak to valley heights, Rp roughness profile index,
defined as the ratio of the true length in the fracture surface trace to its
projected length in the fracture plane; iA is the micro-average inclination angle, representing the average of the pixel to pixel angles of the
stripe profile.
In order to define a unique parameter for describing the surface roughness, profilometer parameters were analyzed and correlated. For each
parameter given by the profilometer, average value and covariance have
69
Fig. 38- (a) Laser profilometer, (b) geometry of FRP-strengthened prism and (c) experimental set-up.
Fig. 39- Average values (a) and covariance (b) of IR parameter for different surface preparations.
been calculated for evaluating the quantity and quality factors of roughness. The covariance can provide for information on surface homogeneity; both quantities are interesting especially regarding the efficiency of
concrete surface preparation methods. In the following, the roughness
is described by coefficient IR = Ria, where R and ia have been
described before. The parameter IR is used to give information on the
absolute value of the roughness and on its specific shape. Profilometer
analysis allows to correlate the casting methods with various degrees of
roughness. In fact, the specimens casted with staves are more rough
because the disconnection of the staves increase the surface irregularity. The specimens compacted by means of the vibration are more rough
due to different positions of aggregates and the presence of vacuum produced by air bubbles.
The roughness of the concrete surface has been investigated before and
after the preparation; its difference is a way to evaluate the efficiency of
each surface preparation method. In Figure 39a,b are shown the average values and the covariance of the IR parameter for all the different
surface preparation methods. Figure 39a shows that all the surfaces
prior to the treatments have very similar roughness while after them the
mean value of the IR parameter is particularly high in the case of scabbing and sand-blasting. On the contrary, all the surface preparation
methods strongly reduce the statistical dispersion of IR parameter
(Figure 39b); the scabbing and sand-blasting provide for the higher
level of homogeneity.
Delamination tests
Delamination tests have been carried out on bricks reinforced with FRP
materials, with the aim of studying both the collapse load value and the
failure modes that can occur if FRP materials applied during strengthening interventions collapse. In particular, delamination tests have
70
Fig. 40- Failure mode of bricks reinforced with CFRP strips subjected to delamination tests.
71
7. MAIN REFERENCES
- Aprile A., Benedetti A., Cosentino N., (2006), Seismic Reliability of
Masonry Structures Strengthened with FRP Materials, 100th
Anniversary Earthquake Conference, San Francisco, paper n 1677.
- Aprile A., Benedetti A., Steli E., Mangoni E., (2007), Seismic Risk
Mitigation of Masonry Structures by Using FRP Reinforcement,
FRPRCS-8 University of Patras, Patras, Greece, paper n 424.
- Anselmi V., Aprile A., Benedetti A., (2005), Safety and reliability of
structures including ductile and brittle elements, ICOSSAR 2005,
Augusti, Schuller, Ciampoli (eds), pp. 2183-2188, Rotterdam, ISBN
90 5966 040 4.
- Ascione F., Feo L., Olivito R.S. and Poggi C., La qualificazione dellesecuzione degli interventi di rinforzo strutturale con FRP a margine
delle recenti Istruzioni per la progettazione, lesecuzione ed il controllo di interventi di consolidamento statico mediante lutilizzo di compositi FRP, Proceedings of National Italian Conference Ambiente e
Processi Tecnologici La certificazione di Qualit dei materiali e dei
prodotti da costruzione (in Italian), Naples (2005).
- Bastianini F., Olivito R.S., Pascale G. and Prota A. (2005), Controllo
di qualit e monitoraggio dei rinforzi in FRP, LEdilizia (in Italian),
139, 66-71.
- Benedetti A. and Steli E. (2007), Analytical Solution of the Shear
Displacement Curve for Reinforced Masonry Panels, The Tenth North
American Masonry Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, ISBN 1-929081-286.
- Benedetti A., Camata G., Mangoni E., and Pugi F., (2007), Out of
Plane Seismic Resistance of Walls: Collapse Mechanisms and Retrofit
Techniques, The Tenth North American Masonry Conference, St. Louis,
Missouri, ISBN 1-929081-28-6.
- Benedetti A., Mangoni E., Montesi M, Steli E. (2007), Verifiche di
Sicurezza ed Interventi di Consolidamento Della Chiesa di S. Martino
in Casola, INARCOS, 680, pp. 411-423.
- Benedetti A., Steli E., (2008), Analytical models for sheardisplacement curves of unreinforced and FRP reinforced masonry panels,
Construction and Building Materials, 22, pp. 175-185,
doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2006.09.005.
- Bianco V. (2008), Shear strengthening of RC concrete beams by
means of NSM CFRP strips: experimental evidence and analytical modeling, PhD Thesis, Dept. of Struct. Engrg. And Geotechnincs, Sapienza
University of Rome, Italy, submitted on December 2008.
- Bianco V., Barros J.A.O., Monti G. (2009a), Bond Model of NSM FRP
strips in the context of the Shear Strengthening of RC beams, ASCE
Journal of Structural Engineering, in press.
- Bianco V., Barros J.A.O., Monti G. (2009b), Three dimensional
72
mechanical model for simulating the NSM FRP strips shear strength
contribution to RC beams, Engineering Structures, Vol. 31 n. 4, Elsevier.
- Bruno D., Greco F., and Lonetti P. (2005), A 3D delamination modelling technique based on plate and interface theories for laminated
structures, European Journal of Mechanics A/Solids, 24, 127-149.
- CNR DT 200/2004, Guide for the Design and Construction of
Externally Bonded FRP Systems for Strengthening Existing
Structures, Italian National Research Council, Rome (2004).
- De Lorenzis L., Rizzo A., (2006), Behaviour and capacity of RC
beams strengthened in shear with NSM FRP reinforcement, 2nd Int. fib
Congress, Napoli-Italy, June 5-8, Paper ID 10-9 in CD.
- De Lorenzis L., Galati D. (2006), Effect of construction details on the
bond performance of NSM FRP bars in concrete, Proceedings fib
Congress, Napoli, Giugno 2006.
- Dias S.J.E., Bianco V., Barros J.A.O. (2007), Low strength concrete
T cross section RC beams strengthened in shear by NSM technique,
Workshop Materiali ed Approcci Innovativi per il Progetto in Zona
Sismica e la Mitigazione della Vulnerabilit delle Strutture, University
of Salerno, Italy, 12-13 February.
- Galati D., De Lorenzis L. (2006), Experimental study on the local
bond behavior of NSM FRP bars to concrete, Proceedings CICE 2006,
Miami, USA, December 2006.
- Galati D., De Lorenzis L. (2008), Effect of construction details on the
bond performance of NSM FRP bars in concrete, Advances in
Structural Engineering, Multi-science, in stampa.
- Milani G., Rotunno T. , Sacco E. and Tralli A. (2006), Failure Load
of FRP strengthened masonry walls: experimental results and numerical models, Structural Durability & Health Monitoring, 2 (1), 29-50.
- Olivito R.S. and Zuccarello F.A. (2006), Indagine sperimentale per il
controllo dellapplicazione di materiali FRP a strutture murarie mediante prove semi-distruttive e non distruttive, Proceedings of National
Italian Conference on Materials and Structures Experimentation (in
Italian), Venice.
- Rizzo A., De Lorenzis L. (2006), Analytical Prediction of Debonding
Failures in RC Beams Strengthened in Shear with NSM FRP
Reinforcement, Proceedings CICE 2006, Miami, USA, December
2006.
- Rizzo A., De Lorenzis L. (2007), Modelling of debonding failure for
RC beams strengthened in shear with NSM FRP reinforcement,
Proceedings FRPRCS8, Patras, Luglio 2007.
- Rizzo A., De Lorenzis L. (2009a), Behavior and capacity of RC
beams strengthened in shear with NSM FRP reinforcement,
Construction and Building Materials, Elsevier, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 15551567.
RESEARCH - Seismic behavior
73
ver the last two decades an extensive experimental and theoretical research activity aimed to investigate the seismic behaviour of precast structures has been carried out at European scale.
The results of this activity allowed to consolidate a good knowledge of
the seismic behaviour of precast structures and contributed to the
achievement of prefabrication in Europe with outstanding realizations
in terms of both quality and reliability.
Dimensionless values
Half-cycles
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2- (a) Force-displacement diagrams obtained from cyclic tests. (b) Energy dissipated over the half-cycles compared with the maximum value of dissipated energy associated to a perfect elastic-plastic cycle.
74
Fig. 3- Energy dissipation in one-storey frames: (a) monolithic and cast-in-situ; (b) hinged and precast.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4- Prototypes of one-storey frames: (a) monolithic and cast-in-situ; (b) hinged and precast.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 5- Cross-sectional details of the columns.
Fig. 6- Statistical distribution of overstrength ratio k: (a) monolithic and cast-in-situ; (b) hinged and precast.
75
(a)
(b)
Fig- 7- View of the structural prototypes with (a) monolithic and (b) hinged beam-column connections.
sample of incremental nonlinear dynamic analyses taken up to collapse was therefore carried out for each prototype to compute the statistical parameters of the overstrength , ratio of the computed value
over design value of the seismic capacity. Figure 6 shows the distribution of overstrength computed for the two prototypes for a set of
Fig. 8- Displacement time-histories for one of the pseudodynamic tests: numerical (thick lines) versus experimental results (thin lines).
76
(a)
(b)
Fig. 9- View of the structural prototypes with roof elements with axis (a) parallel to the direction of the seismic action (Prototype 1), and (b) orthogonal to the direction of the seismic action (Prototype 2).
The third stage of research developed during the revision of EC8 for
its conversion to the final EN version. The preceding analytical
demonstration was effective, but an experimental confirmation was
still necessary. Therefore, taking advantage of the Ecoleader programme for the free use of the large European testing facilities, two
pseudodynamic tests on full scale prototypes have been performed at
ELSA Laboratory. The aim was the direct experimental comparison
(a)
(b)
Fig. 10- Experimental tests carried out on a connection. (a) Test set up. (b) Failure mechanism.
77
(b)
(a)
Fig. 11- Tree-storey full-scale prototype. (a) Transversal and (b) longitudinal section.
Figure 8).
The fourth stage of research was developed within the Growth programme. Two further prototypes consisting of six columns and a mesh
of beams and roof elements were designed to investigate the seismic
behaviour of precast structures with roof elements placed side by
side. Figure 9 shows a views of these prototypes and of the testing
plants. The prototypes differ only for the orientation of the beams and
roof elements with respect to the seismic action. Common hinged connections are used between roof elements, beams and columns. The
control of the pseudodynamic test is based on two degree of freedoms,
associated with the top horizontal displacements of the lateral frames,
and of the central frame. Also the effects of cladding panels on the
structural response has been investigated.
The measured top displacements of lateral and central columns
during the pseudodynamic tests resulted practically coincident. This
result proves that double connection between beams and roof elements gives a rotational restraint in the roof plane which enables the
activation of an effective diaphragm action, even if the roof elements
are not connected among them. After the pseudodynamic tests both
prototypes have been subjected to a cyclic test under imposed displacements up to collapse. With a ultimate displacement du360 mm and
a yielding displacement dy80 mm, a global displacement ductility
equal 4.5 is deduced, as assumed by the new final version of EC8 for
the behaviour factor of precast frame systems.
The results of the investigations carried out under the Ecoleader and
78
Athens, ITU Istanbul Technical University, and the private laboratories LABOR and LUGEA (I). The users were some producers of
precast structures (Magnetti Building I, Gecofin I, Civibral P,
Prelosar E, Proet GR), and some auxiliary companies (Halfen D,
DLC I).
What described in the present report refers to the series of European
79
1.INTRODUCTION
he research activity carried out in Italy on the structural concretes
is very busy in both the academic compartments and in the industrial operations. The present report summarizes some of the most important works in this area including three aspects of this activity:
- shrinkage compensating concrete in the absence of wet curing;
- properties of concretes with recycled aggregates;
- use of bottom ash from municipal solid wastes incinerators.
lary tension caused by the formation of water menisci developed in capillary pores and responsible for the shrinkage of the cement paste
(Figure 1).
Fig. 1- Water menisci interact with C-S-H fibers determining the shrinkage on cement paste,The New Concrete.
Recently [3], the combined addition of a shrinkage-reducing admixture
with a CaO-based expansive agent has been found to be very successful in producing restrained expansion of laboratory specimens protected from water evaporation for just 1 day by using a plastic sheet and
then exposed to air (60% R.H).
The influence of the SRA on the length change behaviour of a shrinkage-compensating concrete includes two different aspects:
- the effect in Fig. 2 due to a reduction in shrinkage when the concrete is exposed to drying, as expected for the presence of a shrinkagereducing admixture;
- the unexpected effect, which is an increase in the restrained expansion when the concrete is protected from drying with respect to that
obtained without SRA, all the other parameters being the same.
By using a combination of CaO and SRA, then, it is possible to reduce
the amount of expansive agent needed to obtain a fixed restrained
expansion. This reduces the risk of residual un-reacted lime in the concrete.
Furthermore, the performance in terms of initial restrained expansion
and final restrained shrinkage (or residual expansion), of SRA + CaObased shrinkage-compensating concretes is less dependant on the curing efficiency so that the practical use of this technique is easier and
the results are more reliable.
The synergistic effect in Figure 2 has been confirmed by Maltese et al
[4] who have found that the use of a CaO-based expansive agent with a
shrinkage reducing admixture allows to obtain mortars less sensitive to
drying. These authors hypothesize that the synergistic effect of the
RESEARCH - Concrete
Mario Collepardi*
* ENCO, collepardi@encosrl.it
Fig. 2- Schematic view of the influence of SRA on the length change behavior of a shrinkage-compensating concrete.
Although this synergistic effect has been confirmed by several authors,
the actual mechanism of action needs further investigations in order to
be completely understood.
Notwithstanding this lack of knowledge, the use of this technology, in
the construction industry, has been growing in the last 5 years with
many successful and very interesting results.
In the second part of this paper, three remarkable case histories of special reinforced concrete structures are presented in which the use of
CaO + SRA-based shrinkage-compensating concretes was successfully
carried out in order to prevent shrinkage-related cracks and/or joints
excessive opening in the presence of adverse curing and thermal conditions.
The difficulties encountered in using this technique, in each case, will
then highlight describing the countermeasures which have been taken
to overtake them.
Fig. 3- View of bent and joint-less walls of the MAXXI, Rome, Italy.
Figure 5 shows the strength development with time of the three compared SCCs (CaO-SRA, only CaO and Plain). The strength of the expansive concretes was higher than that of the plain mix. This is probably
due to the consumption of a small part of mixing water caused by the
transformation of CaO into Ca(OH)2 which happens when the concrete
is still in the plastic state and to the consequent reduction of the actual
w/c.
On the other hand, a slight decrease in the compressive strength of the
SRA + CaO mix was recorded if compared to that of the CaO mix due
to the presence of SRA as experienced in [8].
Although it was specified to protect the concrete surface for at least
three days (to assure a correct hydration of the concrete cover) shrinkage compensating concrete was designed in order to warranty a residual restrained expansion of about 200 mm/m even in case of deficient
curing consisting in just 24 hours of protection by the formwork.
Figure 6 shows the length change of the reinforced prismatic specimens
manufactured with the three different SCCs according to ASTM C 878.
Specimens were not put under water for 7 days as specified in ASTM C
878 test method but were protected with a plastic film for just 24 hours
(to simulate the protection offered by the formwork) an then exposed to
unsaturated air (60% R.H.) at 20C.
This curing condition was later introduced as curing method B in the
last version of the Italian standard UNI 8147 in addition to the curing
method A previously specified, consisting in a total immersion in
water for 7 days as in ASTM C878. Actually, the curing method B
appears to be more realistic and similar to jobsite conditions.
Even under these un-favourable conditions of curing, the CaO-SRA
shrinkage-compensating concrete performed very well since the
restrained expansion after 24 hours of protection with a plastic film was
as high as 560 mm/m and, even after 140 days of exposure to unsaturated air, a residual restrained expansion of about 250 mm/m was
recorded. On the contrary, the conventional CaO-based shrinkage compensating concrete showed a lower initial expansion (at lest 320 mm/m)
which completely disappeared after a week of exposure to air after
which, the concrete started to shrink.
Obviously, the plain concrete showed the worst performance reaching a
restrained shrinkage of about 550 mm/m after 60 days when some
cracks appeared on the specimen surface.
Comparing the behaviour of the CaO+SRA-based mix to that of the conventional shrinkage-compensating concrete, both the and effect of
Figure 6 can be detected.
On the basis of the above results, the customer and the contractor
decided to adopt the SRA+CaO-based shrinkage-compensating SCC
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this type of concrete in offset the formation of shrinkage cracks, its performances were compared
to those of an ordinary CaO-based shrinkage-compensating concrete
(without SRA) and of a plain SCC mixture without expansive component and SRA.
Table 1 shows the composition of these three SCCs having the same w/c
(0.48) and approximately the same cement dosage (350 kg/m3).
Table 1 Composition of three different SCC
Mix
Cement CEM II A/L 42.5R
CaO+SRA
(kg/m3)*
CaO
Plain
350
348
347
150
149
183
847
884
871
Sand 0-4 mm
(kg/m3)
908
916
903
Water (kg/m3)
167
167
166
6.3
6.2
6.3
35
35
4.2
4.1
4.3
4.0
Viscosity modifier
(kg/m3)
SRA
82
RESEARCH - Concrete
of the recycled material used, the most important aspect being the origin of the recycled material such as concrete or demolition, the latter
including waste from brick walls and other type of rubbles. The crushed
and sieved material, must be deprived by contaminating products such
as wood, paper, plastic, and bitumen. This recycled material can be
used for pavement subbase layers.
The process of recycling demolished concrete is based on four steps:
selection of wastes;
crushing concrete blocks;
removing of contaminating products;
mixing with virgin aggregates.
Reinforcing steel and other embedded items, if any, must be removed,
and care must be taken to prevent contamination by other materials, such
as: asphalt, soil and clay balls, chlorides, glass, gypsum board, sealants,
paper, plaster, wood, and roofing materials which can be troublesome.
The mechanical plants where to recycle concrete structures are not very
different from those adopted to treat crushed virgin aggregates.
If the material is devoted to concrete production, further crushing and
sieving are needed before mixing it with virgin aggregate [11].
The crushing characteristics of hardened concrete are similar to those
of virgin rock and are not significantly affected by the quality of the
original concrete. Recycled aggregates can be expected to pass the
same tests required for conventional aggregates. The recycled concrete
can be batched, mixed, transported, placed and compacted in the same
way as conventional concrete. Special care is necessary when using
recycled fine aggregate. Only up to 10% to 20% recycled fine aggregate
is beneficial. The aggregate should be tested at several substitution
rates to determine the optimal rate.
3.1 Properties of recycled fresh concretes
The amount of mixing water of the coarse recycled aggregate is about
5% more with respect to that of virgin aggregate at given size. This
value becomes as high as 15% when the recycled aggregate contains
also the fine fraction. This effect is due to the rough texture of the aggregate and the cement paste surrounding the recycled aggregate.
However, the use of superplasticizers and mineral additions can completely overcome this drawback [12].
3.2 Properties of recycled hardened concretes
Due to the higher porosity, related to the lower density, the recycled
aggregates are responsible for the lower strength of the concrete with
respect to the concrete manufactured with virgin aggregates.
Due to the lower rigidity, recycled aggregates are responsible for the
84
RESEARCH - Concrete
85
REFERENCES
[2]
N.S. Berke, L. Li, M.C. Hicks and Bal, Improving concrete per-
[7]
86
[12]
2001.
[8]
M. Bassan, M. Menegotto, G. Moriconi, Precast Structural Concrete with Recycled Aggregates, Proceedings, the 2nd fib Con-
[11]
[4]
[10]
[3]
[15]
[16]
21/3/2000.
[17]
[18]
Madrid, 2001.
RESEARCH - Concrete
87
1. INTRODUCTION
his chapter summarizes the main findings of a chapter of the special issue of Progettazione Sismica devoted to LAquila earthquake
the author edited and which is about to appear. In particular, in the following the papers of Carocci and Lagomarsino (2010) regarding
masonry buildings, Cosenza et al. (2010) for reinforced concrete buildings, Di Ludovico et al. (2010) about school buildings, Casarotti et al.
(2010) for hospitals, Menegotto (2010), Faggiano et al. (2010) for industrial structures, Dolce et al. (2010) for lifelines, are reported.
2. MASONRY BUILDINGS
Are masonry buildings able to withstand a strong earthquake such as
the one that struck LAquila on the 6th of April, 2009? Is it possible to
repair damaged buildings, guaranteeing an adequate safety level to
their inhabitants in an area with such a high level of seismic risk?
These are the questions asked by researchers and government technicians, but especially by those people who lived through this tragic event
and long to see the restoration of historic centers and return to their
homes but are also afraid.
The answer to these questions must be complex and detailed because
there were so many factors that influenced the seismic behavior of
Aquilan constructions.
In this earthquake, more than others, the effects of localized seismic
amplification played an important role. If one analyzes the macro-seismic consequences of many of the historic centers in the Aterno Valley
(south-east of Aquila), one will immediately observe that the villages
that were struck the hardest (Onna and Villa SantAngelo, I=9-10) were
near other villages where the damage was limited: Onna (I=9-10) which
is only 1500m as the crow flies from Monticchio (I=6). Near the town of
Villa SantAngelo, the distance between the chief town (I=9) and the village of Tussillo (I=8) is less than 700 m. Even within the town of
LAquila, there were zones where the damage was clearly concentrated.
Especially in LAquila, it was noted that most victims were found in
reinforced concrete (r.c.) buildings (135 versus 52 in masonry buildings). In the historic center, damage to churches was severe, in some
cases with extended collapse, but the increased vulnerability of these
structures is well-documented by history (in the past, churches were
often found to have the highest concentration of victims). Some severe
damage was rather diffuse in apartment buildings, but did not lead to
collapse except for localized cases in loggias or stairwells; almost
always found in abandoned or poorly maintained buildings.
Modern criteria for structural safety, based on tests of differing limit states (performance-based design), state that during a rare earthquake the
88
Gaetano Manfredi
Department of Structural Engineering, Universit degli Studi Federico II, Naples, Italy
one pitch towards the street or two slopes with a central ridge (depending on the configuration of the whole aggregate). The wooden beams
are always positioned without overhang; even in the case of buildings
placed on corners or at the head of a block where the configuration of
the pitch is a triangular pavilion shape (therefore with the presence of
two directions of slope). The attention paid to not creating overhanging
structures and nevertheless the wooden elements were almost always
connected to the walls. The attention to the way rooms were constructed for reducing seismic vulnerability is also observed in many small
details, such as the light eaves made from wooden and bamboo structures and the balconies entirely made of wood. Such construction measures were evidently realized in order to limit the lethal effects of damage on the lives of the inhabitants.
To conclude this chapter which focuses on the characteristics of the
buildings in minor centers of the LAquila area, it is necessary to mention two aspects that should be considered in the observation and evaluation of damage: the techniques adopted in recent restorations and
the conservation state of the buildings.
In relation to the first of the two aspects mentioned above, it should be
observed that as long as masonry walls were the dominant technique
used for building, transformations on existing buildings took into consideration this vulnerability and often brought about seismic improvements within the limits of the techniques available, eliminating weaknesses and introducing protective measures.
Unfortunately, recent transformations appear mostly linked to damage
after the earthquake. The most common intervention is the substitution
of the original roof covering with a new one which generally followed the
same configuration of the preceding one, but was at times made from an
r.c. structure with hollow or infill panels or with metal beams instead of
wooden ones. The result of these changes with regards to seismic vulnerability was quite often negative.
As far as the second aspect is concerned, it seems clear that the conservation state of the building played an important role in whether or
not it was damaged, but also with reference to the buildings near it in
the aggregate. In fact, in cases where the adjacent buildings were poorly
constructed due to many decades of abandon, there was less damage
than expected due to the stabilizing contribution of the contiguous cells.
In some of the centers visited, the presence of many restoration work
zones was observed (for example at Villa SantAngelo).
As far as we could discern, in most cases the techniques these workers
were utilizing were far from those that should have been adopted for the
knowledgeable recovery of historic heritage. On a positive note, also in
view of the reflections in the next chapter, we also encountered that the
restoration and reuse of abandoned masonry structures had been going
on for some time, and was probably linked to a search for available
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living space close to the city center but also due to a slightly higher tourism interest (also foreign).
2.2 Damage observations: vulnerability and resistance
The description of the damage observed will be discussed by topic
according to the most important building aspects (at times re-examining
the topics mentioned above) and by referring to the principal damage
and collapse mechanisms.
Subdivision is necessary in order to shed light on the probable causes
that facilitated or more aptly limited damage. In this way, characteristics of vulnerability will be highlighted as well as the strengths which
should lead to further reflection for future reconstruction.
2.2.1 Structural organization of buildings and position in the aggregate
As far as the placement of the building in the aggregate is concerned, it
has been revealed that the configuration of the corner or the head of the
block has proven to be the most disadvantageous as widely noted before. In Figure 1, we can observe three buildings each placed at the head
of a block. All of them sustained the collapse of the front wall and a
great portion of the two side walls. Good organization and regularity of
the vertical load elements of the building represents a point of strength
with regards to seismic action. The orientation of orthogonal walls to the
faade, the placement and quantity of openings and the connection with
the horizontal elements determines the greater or lesser flexional trim
(vertical and horizontal) of the walls. Irregularity or changes introduced
in the configuration of the whole often proves fatal during an earthquake.
One often noted case is that of the buildings created by the fusion of
pre-existing contiguous buildings and the later addition of one or more
Fig. 2- LAquila: the absence of transverse walls on the upper floor of the building.
91
the house, and consequently, the use of spaced trusses are necessary
(Figure 5-6). From a construction point of view, it is clear that the connections between roof and walls were put into place at the time of original construction as demonstrated by the position of lintels which
necessarily implies their placement before mounting the boards and the
subsequent roof covering. Finally, it should be noted that the use of connecting trusses to the masonry walls by means of wooden lintels was
also consistently found in churches in the LAquila region, and therefore one can assume that this technique was generally associated with
construction configurations with great light.
Connections by means of wooden lintels were also observed in larger
and more important buildings like that in Figure 7 which gives an
example of the positive contribution offered by the roof covering. The
corner building shows systematic tie rods between floors and the top of
Fig. 4- Villa SantAngelo: violations: the external wooden connection to the metallic tie rod was cut during fusion when the
wall direction was altered.
Fig. 6- Casentino: masonry cyma of a hayloft and the truss touching the wooden lintel (note how the internal connection is
thanks to a board nailed to the actual lintel).
the wall put into place when the masonry walls were elevated. One can
also observe the presence of wooden tie rods which are connected to the
trusses which create the pavilion roof structure (the presence of a tie rod
may indicate the absence of an orthogonal wall to the faade). In any
case, it is interesting to note how the building has cracked in the floor
with walls (second mode mechanism) while initial cracking is entirely
absent on external walls.
Fig. 9. Villa SantAngelo: diffused collapse of the masonry cyma without involving the window openings.
Fig. 8- Poggio Picenze: local collapse of tympanum walls due to holes punched in the rafters.
the external walls without involving the architrave structure of the openings on the highest floor (Figure 9). In both cases, damage may have
been caused by movement relative to the placement of wooden elements
and the effect of the addition of wall openings which weakened wall
strength.
Localized damage in the tympanum walls (which is one of the most
commonly found types of limited damage observed in the LAquila centers) may be more or less extended depending on the surrounding conditions, where the tympanum wall was placed in the aggregate (differing
height to the contiguous buildings), or in relation to the quality of the
masonry pattern at the top of the wall.
Extensive damage involving the top of the external walls may be attributed to where the wooden mesh elements (primary and secondary)
were not interconnected which led to greater displacement at the top
part of the wall during the quake.
Localized collapse to a portion of the masonry cyma illustrated in
Figure 10 is presumably due to thrust in the rafters of the slope of the
pavilion roof. Localized cracks are also visible near the corners, perhaps caused by horizontal displacement transferred to the walls by the
angular rafters of the pitch. One can also observe the collapse of the
obstruction of an arched opening.
It was dramatic how many cases of damage were unmistakably caused
by the substitution of traditional wooden rafters with structures which
although appeared to imitate the original had vast differences in weight
and rigidity.
Both in the cases of heavy stringcourses as in those where the weight
is due to infill roof panels, the effect produced by the seism was fatal.
The external walls below were seriously damaged and the roof cove93
Fig. 11- Tempera: the heavy substituted roof caused the crumbling of the walls of the floor beneath it.
Fig. 13- LAquila: a second floor and a staircase in r.c. were placed on top of the original one.
Fig. 12- Villa SantAngelo: the r.c. roof with infill panels induced the collapse of the masonry walls beneath it.
94
Fig. 14- Paganica: a thick cement layer for rigidity was posed on the horizontal diaphragm.
walls may have been determined by the rigidity of the floor panels
which formed a diagonal point which tended to expel at the corner.
The case documented in Figure 15, merits some attention due to the
fact of its common reccurrence within the complete range of damage.
The deformation localized in correspondence to the size of the horizontal diaphragms, absent at the top of the external wall, may indicate
excessive floor weight and/or the lack of any connection between the
horizontal diaphragms such as a barrel vault or flooring built on beams
parallel to the faade.
Fig. 16- LAquila: the vaults remained intact notwithstanding the collapse of the facade and the upper horizontal diaphragm.
Fig. 15- Poggio Picenze: evident deformation of the masonry walls of the facade with the worst damage at the level of the
horizontal diaphragm.
Fig. 17- Paganica: collapse of two thinly laid brick vaults (horizontal diaphragm on the first floor and a false ceiling on the
second floor).
95
these vaults collapsed due to the fall of the roof covering structures or
single elements placed above them should be excluded.
2.2.4 Out of plane and in plane response in masonry walls
The topic of masonry quality in the Aquilan territory is the center of
much debate, and not only technical, due to its relevance for interpreting damage but also and most importantly in the choices that must be
made for reconstruction. It is the authors opinion that judgment on the
quality of masonry cannot be expressed in a univocal manner as of yet.
However, one can certainly attest that most of the building patrimony
was built based on earthquake knowledge, in particular for the systematic use of clamping and tie rods between walls (besides the previously mentioned use in the connections of non-thrusting roof coverings).
The organization of construction systems and the realization of masonry
techniques in many cases calls for the presence of tie rods put in place
while the wall is raised. The construction of such tie rods is easily visible today by the mass of partial collapse dating back to the reconstruction after the earthquake in 1703, when the technique now used for over
two centuries was first put into use. The clamping consists in the placement of a wooden element built inside the wall and connected at the
extremities by an iron plate and nails (Figure 18) and then anchored
externally to the corner by way of a small tie rod (Figure 19). It is very
efficient as long as the wooden element is not placed under too much
tension causing weakness nears the nails.
Obviously, the necessity of balancing costs and the availability of materials called for the elaboration of variations which were not always efficient (Figure 20).
More often than not, the progressive deterioration of these elements was
in correspondence to connections between the wood and the iron plate,
especially in abandoned or poorly maintained buildings.
Generally speaking, the limited presence of out of plane displacement
Fig. 18- San Demetrio: metallic tie rod with a nail connecting the rod to the wooden beam.
96
Fig. 19- LAquila: an elegant 17th century tie rod connects to a wooden beam placed within the masonry thickness (note the
adjacent strengthening tie rod, inserted after construction on the internal side of the wall).
Fig. 20- Villa SantAngelo: a poor example of wooden beams placed in the middle of the wall thickness without external
clamping.
within the vast array of damage found can be attributed to the systematic use of tie rods in building walls.
Nevertheless, it was possible to encounter certain types of out of plane
displacement after this earthquake. Figures 21 and 22 show cracks
which caused detachment from the faade. Both were caused by poor
clamping at the corners and involved of a portion of the orthogonal
walls. In both cases, the portion of the isolated faade was limited to the
height of the horizontal diaphragm.
Figure 23 illustrates a case of the start of overturning of a wall portion
relative to the two floors laid over the ground floor; here the out of plane
displacement seems to have been caused by a lack of clamping with the
masonry adjacent to the contiguous building and a lack of efficient connections at the level of the second floor.
Also damage ascribed to localized displacement of portions of the
masonry cyma were common, both in the form of fractures (Figure 24)
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Fig. 21- Castelnuovo: detachment of a wall caused by defective clamping to the lateral wall.
Fig. 24- San Demetrio: localized fractures above the lintel of an opening.
Fig. 22- Paganica: overturning which involved a portion of the orthogonal wall.
97
Fig. 27- SantEusanio Forconese: shear cracks limited to the masonry piers.
Fig. 28- Castelnuovo: masonry buttress built without clamping to the pre-existing wall.
Fig. 29- LAquila: a building where an overturning mechanism initiated but was effectively contrasted by the connections at
the summit thereby causing in plane resistance behavior of the walls.
but as a positive consequence of the anti-seismic measures which produced a box-like behavior, impeding out of plane mechanisms. In a
well-built stone wall, the formation of even deep shearing following
such a violent earthquake is inevitable and allows the activation of
significant dissipative capacities, limiting the risk of collapse.
Over all, much of the damage observed can certainly be attributed to
insufficient quality of the masonry pattern, whether in ruinous collapse
or the loss of only the external faade. In general, the root of the problem is a lack of building quality: bad equipment for the faade, poor
quality cement (and its excessive proportion to stone elements), absence of transverse connections between walls. Such cases are commonly
caused minor damage to adjacent buildings.
Figure 30 illustrates the case of a building where the entire upper floor
collapsed. One can observe how the seismic activity disarranged the
walls to such a point that it crumbled to the ground in rubble notwithstanding the light roof covering (and therefore not able to induce the
shearing particularly prevalent in upper floors). On the contrary, it
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Fig. 30- Castelnuovo: total collapse of the top floor due to defective masonry quality.
should be noted that the external wall of the building to the left was left
whole.
In Figure 31, the very common case of the collapse of only the external
wall is shown. In these cases, the modality of damage declared its
cause: the lack of transverse compactness of the masonry panels. Small
or badly placed stone elements, lack of regularity in the pattern and
clamping between the facing sections rendered the walls vulnerable to
horizontal displacement and set off autonomous behavior in both walls
that then very often led to collapse of this kind.
The collapse of a single wall occurred more frequently where r.c. string-
Fig. 33- LAquila: localized collapse around the borders of the openings.
Fig. 31- Villa SantAngelo: collapse caused by the lack of transverse clamping in the masonry mesh.
courses were found at the top of a building, in particular when the entire roof covering was heavy and rigid. The detachment of the wall at the
level of the stringcourse is linked to the local increase of compression
which originates in out of plane flexion from the condition and blocking
vertical displacement (caused by the flexional rigidity of the roof covering).
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99
Fig. 35- San Pio alle Camere: localized collapse of the top portion due to scarce thickness.
the masonry buildings behaved well, it was natural that there was some
small specific vulnerability.
A frequent case observed was the constructive vulnerability of hewn
stone above doorways and windows. The hewn stone elements used to
border openings were rarely clamped to the masonry walls within the
wall thickness which inevitably led to their detachment (Figures 32 and
33). This glaring omission to the attention given to seismic vulnerability in local anti-seismic construction deserves to be examined more
closely. The problem was probably overlooked considering that such
elements do not determine the stability of the building as a whole.
Further damage was found in consequence to local irregularities of
various types, such as continuity solutions which weaken masonry walls
locally, or the presence of wide parameter walls with no structural function for the building.
In the case shown in Figure 34, one can observe the collapse of the closure of a chimney along the external wall. Figure 35 shows the collapse
of a portion of the top of a wall characterized by scarce thickness, since
it did not bear the load of the roof and was conceived as a simple light
closure.
3. REINFORCED CONCRETE BUILDINGS
3.1 LAquila reinforced concrete building stock
ISTAT 2001 data, representing the official source for information about
a
Fig. 36- 2001 census ISTAT data for LAquila town: (a) building typology, (b) age
of construction, (c) storey number
100
high flexural and shear demand. Maximum flexural demand joined with
axial force produced by gravity loads and seismic loads are located at
the end of the element; in these zones (critical regions) rotational ductility demand can concentrate. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an
adequate rotational capacity and to avoid buckling phenomena on compressed longitudinal reinforcements.
Actual Italian seismic code provides prescriptions aimed at increasing
section rotational capacity: upper limit on longitudinal reinforcement
percentage, fixed the flexural resistance of the section, leads to a higher
ultimate section curvature; a proper spacing between hoops and crosstie presence give, by a more efficient confinement action on concrete,
an additional increase in section deformation capacity. Additionally, a
proper hoop spacing avoids buckling phenomena in longitudinal
reinforcement or at least fixes an acceptable upper bound limit for
which this phenomena occur.
On the other hand, prescriptions and structural detailing presented
above are typical of modern design concepts that in Italy appeared for
the first time in 1997 with explicative document to the 1996 code but
were adequately ruled only in 2003 with OPCM 3274, and finally officially adopted in 2008 by DM 14/01/2008 and its subsequent explicative document.
So, according to codes that were in force before 1997, it is possible to
find RC columns with longitudinal reinforcement percentage that
exceeds 4% limit, section dimensions not conforming to actual limitations, hoops with a not sufficiently thick space (15-20 cm) and closed
with 90 hooks.
Figure 37(a) presents a corner column of a RC building in LAquila
historical centre, probably realized between 1950 and 1960, where
damages occurred at the bottom end section of the element. Presence of
smooth bars and small diameter of the hoops (6 mm) closed with 90
hooks can be observed, but most significantly the absence of any transversal reinforcement in the first 30.40 cm of the elements immediately
adjacent to the beam-column joint region.
a
Fig. 37- Column with smooth bars and poor transversal reinforcement (a); damage to a column due to axial - bending
interaction (b).
Fig. 38- Shear failures of rectangular (a) and circular (b) columns.
101
Fig. 39- Shear failures of column adjacent to partial infilling panels (a), shear failures of squat column adjacent to basement
level concrete walls (b).
102
Fig. 42- Joint failure with evident longitudinal bar buckling (a), diagonal cracking failure in concrete joint panel (b).
103
b
c
104
zontal sliding in the central zone of the infill panel, (ii) diagonal
cracking due to tensile stress in the central zone of the infill panel, (iii)
corner crushing in the direct contact application zone.
Figure 44 reports two building facades in which infill panels are characterized by a diagonal cracking mechanism. In the first case, see
Figure 44(a), it is worth to note how cracking diffusion involves infilling
adjacent to window openings and damage is concentrated at the first
levels of the building; in the second case, Figure 44(b), diagonal
cracking is more emphasized by plaster layer because the external layer
of the infill is composed by solid clay bricks. Figure 44(c) shows a typical corner crushing mechanism. Out of plane failure of the infilling
external layer gives the possibility to detect corner crushing mechanism
of the internal layer; other evidence is the crack, that visibly involves
the plaster but probably is deeper, localized at the top of the column
adjacent to the infill panel as a consequence of column-infill local interaction.
The great majority of external infill panels are composed by double
layer infill panel, internal layers are generally realized with clay bricks;
connections between the two layers are realized by the interposition of
brick elements discretely, Figure 45(a), or lined up, Figure 45(b). Not
reliable efficacy of this system should be stressed.
Furthermore, in most of the observed cases, internal infilling layers are
restrained at the four corners of the RC frame while external ones are
constrained only by the upper and lower beam by means of a little pawl.
This executive solution leads to a reduction in the interaction mechanism
between RC frame and external infill panel in both plane and out of
plane seismic forces. In fact, the low efficacy of the restraint applied to
the external panel, coupled with ineffective connections or complete
absence of connections between the two layers, produces a damage
restricted to the external infill panel, which shows an out of plane failure due to seismic action in both directions as it can be detected in
Figure 46.
Windows or door openings represent a discontinuity in the infill panel,
modifying its performance and capacity by a reduction in terms of stiffness contribution and by a modification in the failure mechanism.
Figure 47 shows damages detected in LAquila RC buildings characterized by a different opening position in the panel or a different opening
percentage respect to the total area of the bay.
Both local and global interaction effect between infill and RC structure
are not negligible. As it was previously emphasized, local interaction
between infill panel and adjacent column can bring to (i) a reduction in
the effective length of the column, an increase in shear demand and a
consequent brittle failure of the column when the panel partially fills
the frame bay; (ii) to a concentration of shear demand at the end of the
column and to a consequent brittle failure when diagonal compression
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Fig. 45- External infill panel failures and discrete (a) or lined up (b) connections between layers.
b
Fig. 46- External infill panel failures without connection between layers (a) and with ineffective connection (b).
Fig. 47- Infill failure mechanisms differing form opening position and percentage.
105
Fig. 48- Soft storey mechanisms examples in LAquila: Porta Napoli street (a), (b), Dante Alighieri street (Pettino) (c), (d), (e)
and (f) before and after collapse occurrence.
106
107
Fig. 53- Cracks and plaster spalling on partitions of elementary school of Paganica.
108
Fig. 62- Investigation on masonry corner of elementary school Villa Grande of Tornimparte.
109
Fig. 63- Evidence of the reinforced concrete frame structure through the damaged partitions: Building 9 (a); Building 10 (b).
In all the buildings of the complex there are also several structural joints
of sizes and characteristics not appropriate to shock induced movements. The resulting local pounding between adjacent bodies caused
localised damage, somewhere particularly evident. Figure 66, for example, shows the damage to a structural joint ending on the top of a column,
which have caused an abnormal concentration of pressure on the joint.
Figure 67 shows the cracking continuing in the ceiling from the damaged joint in the wall, found in a connecting walkway (Building 2).
Some local damage have been caused because of improper construction
Fig. 65- Damage to the coating of Building 2 (a), Building 9 (b) and Building L3 (c).
111
Fig. 68- Examples of improper transversal reinforcement and insufficient concrete cover in Building 2A and in the external
connecting walkways.
a
Fig. 70- Damage of the stairs of Building 2 (a) and Building Delta 8 (b).
Buildings 2B and 3B can be made usable with short term countermeasures, like those described in the previous paragraph. At the last flight
of the inner stairs between portions 2A and 2B, mild localized structural damage was detected, probably due to concentrated rotation of the
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Fig. 71- Structural damage (plastic hinges and shear failures) at the top of columns (ground floor of Building 2A) caused by insufficient transverse reinforcement.
113
Fig. 74- Structural damage caused by the presence of belt windows, which make
the columns squat in Building 10.
Fig. 75- Connecting walkways: hollow clay block collapse of the intrados of the basement at 3 metres below ground.
significant damage. There are rare and limited examples of hollow clay
block collapse in the ceiling of basements at 6 and 3 metres below
ground (Figure 75).
At the level of 6 metres below the ground there are unused spaces,
accessible only by technical personnel, without significant damage,
except for localized seepage and settlement/shrinkage cracks.
At the level of 3 metres below the ground, in the underground passage
connecting the buildings, the damage is predominantly non-structural
and not very extensive. It mainly consists of the damage to existing
joints and the formation of natural joints after the event, with limited
plaster and coatings detachments, and some hollow clay blocks collapse.
In such basement levels the damage is more significant towards Building 1, where some localized modest damage is present.
At the first floor level (3 metres above ground) there is damage to existing joints, formation of cracks, primarily to the completion of incomplete joints, and the subsequent detachment, sometimes only partial, of
plaster, false ceilings and coatings.
At the ground level the most critical situation is found since the connection walkways between the various buildings are not protected,
sometimes there is just a covered porch. The risk of falling of loose parts
of partially detached coating or new portions of coating falling off, even
after minor shocks, makes the need to remove partially detached or
already collapsed coating urgent, to protect all the paths adjacent to the
buildings (when there is no covered porch) from falling objects and to
close off the riskiest paths. At this level there is some structural damage: a column behind Building 9 stressed by a structural joint, and
another column on the corner of Building 2 with a plastic hinge at the
top.
6. INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURES
6.1 Building-like industrial structures
Industrial buildings were built for many years as an assemblage of precast reinforced concrete elements. The April 2009 LAquila earthquake
has struck, for the first time in Italy, industrial structures on a large
scale. In fact, the Irpinia 1980 earthquake hit an area with few industrial sites; and similarly happened in the Umbria and Molise earthquakes, which moreover were felt within a limited area. On the other
hand, the Friuli 1976 earthquake damaged industrial structures, but
they were designed with no regard with respect to the seismic action; if
any design rule was used, this however belonged to inadequate seismic
codes. LAquila and its surroundings are instead undergoing a rather
strong industrial development. Precast reinforced concrete buildings,
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with a column-beam structure, are the usual type in the industrial areas
in Pile, Bazzano, Monticchio and Ocre (AQ). Buildings have generally
one storey; two storeys are seldom observed, moreover only on a more
limited area than the first storey. Beam supports on the columns may be
of the saddle or bracket type. Deck beams are usually transversally aligned (with respect to the longer side of the structure plan) and they are
I-shaped, with variable depth; longitudinal alignment and inversed Tshapes are less commonly observed. In the latter case, the shape is used
to support the tiles. The roof is generally built with tiles -shaped; less
often U-shapes are observed. Skylights are sometimes present. -tiles
are also used for the intermediate deck, when there is one. External partitions are either made with bricks, or with precast reinforced concrete
shells, with no stiffeners.
Structural nodes are those typical of the Italian constructions: beaker
footing for the foundation to column nodes, simple support for the beam
to column nodes (with neoprene bearings and steel pins). Tiles are
generally directly resting on the beams, with neither horizontal restraint
nor neoprene bearings. Pin connections are seldom present. Tiles may
be connected each other with the upper reinforced concrete layer, or
simply linked via steel restrainers (partly poured within the tiles concrete, partly welded with the next tile restrainer). Partition panels are
either supported by the eaves beam or by the column, via links of many
types. They are also sometimes supported by the deck tiles. A typical
shell-eaves beam connection is via a steel plate partially put within the
concrete shell during pouring. A bolt connects the plate and a steel
angle, which is restrained to the eaves beam edge. The shell to column
connection is often built with a steel plate within the column and a
bayonet with bushing linked to the shell, via a long bolt. This technology is used also to connect the partitions to the deck tiles; the steel
angles and bolts connection is less frequent. It is worth to note that
structural shell buildings are much less common than beam-column
buildings. A few precast industrial buildings were under completion on
April 6th, 2009, when the earthquake struck; so it was possible to verify
the seismic behaviour of these structures under variable degrees of
completion.
6.2 Damage and seismic performance analysis
The response of the structural elements of the industrial buildings to the
April the 6th 2009 earthquake was generally in accordance with their
design level: no column collapsed, even though, in many cases a plastic
hinge was observed, due to the high intensity of the seismic action
(Figure 76). In some cases such plastic hinge was not observed at the
column base, i.e. at the column-foundation joint, but even one meter
above, where the longitudinal reinforcement decreases. Furthermore no
115
Fig. 76- Plastic hinge in columns of industrial buildings: (a) FIAT garage at Pile; (b) building used for bovine-breeding at Fossa.
Fig. 78- Collapse of beams due to loss support of a building at Fossa used for bovine-breeding.
ve the collapse of the beam due to support loss at the side without joint
bar, caused by too large displacements, and the pounding between the
beam and the column top fork (Figure 78).
The phenomenon of the joint bar cover splitting can be also noted at the
intermediate level of some two-storey precast buildings, where, as
already written, the beam-column joint is on corbel. The same phenomenon has also characterised the collapse of some tiles. In this case,
indeed, even where the joint had been fastened by a steel bar, the little
thickness of the bar cover of the beam, also characterised by the lack of
stirrups, collapsed, causing the tile support loss (Figure 79a).
Obviously, such support loss easily happened where the tile-beam connection was not fixed and/or there was no connection between tiles; particularly unlucky situations were characterised by buildings in phase of
assembly, where the floor slab, joining the tiles, was not made yet.
Fig. 77- Effects of pounding between the cover tiles and the beam.
a
plastic hinge was observed in beams or tiles due to the increment of the
vertical action. However, the damage of the precast industrial buildings
should be well analysed; indeed, it was characterised by collapse of
parts of the buildings, which, if the mainshock had happened during the
working time instead of at 3 a.m., it would have caused victims.
The static scheme of such structures is characterised by large deformability; consequently, the most of the observed damages of structural elements (made by reinforced concrete) depend on the relative displacements between the elements. Indeed, many cases of pounding between
elements of the same structure were observed. Furthermore, pounding
between adjacent buildings was frequent, in the case of both precast
and cast in situ structures, due to the insufficiency of separation joints.
In Figure 77 the pounding between the tiles and the beam of an industrial precast building placed at Bazzano is shown.
Confirming the numerical studies performed in the last years, the connections represented the weak parts in terms of seismic performance of
both old and new precast buildings. Some buildings have shown damages at the beam-column connection: the only observed case of precast
beams collapse was due to the damage of such connection and to the
following support loss. Indeed, as shown by numerical analyses, the
splitting of the joint bar cover happened where the thickness was minimum. In other frames of the same structure, it is also possible to obser116
Fig. 79- (a) Tiles collapse due to cover splitting and support loss of a FIAT garage at Pile (b).
position. Some other failures where due to the going out of the whole
profile from the panel where it was drowned. A better seismic response
was shown by panels joined to the structure by angle stirrups and bolts.
In the case of perimeter elements made by bricks, the seismic action
determined their out of plane deformation, in many cases up to the
expulsion of bricks and the consequent partial or total collapse of the
perimeter element. Finally, among the carrying out mistakes, it is
noteworthy, for precast structures, the local failure of the beam support.
In Figure 80, a near collapse condition is shown, caused by the large
column cover due to the fire protection provisions; indeed, due to such
provisions, a volume of concrete without reinforcement works as beam
support.
Fig. 82- Pictures of the sili after the seism (Figure by G. Verderame, ISPRA, F.M. Mazzolani).
6.3 Non-building-like structures: the case study of the Sili Vibac at Bazzano
The sili of the Vibac multinational (a chemical company which produces plastic films), located at Bazzano, close to Onna (Figure 81) represent an exceptional case of damage to steel constructions. They also
represent an emblematic case of damage induced by the earthquake of
April 6th. The sili are used for the storage of polypropylene pearls, and
they were full when earthquake struck. Some sili collapsed, some other
remained standing even though strongly deformed, both locally at some
rings and diffusely (Figure 82).
A more close visual inspection indicated that the collapses occurred for
overturning due to the crushing of the base rings and the hopper.
Moreover, along the sili height, deformations induced by buckling phenomena of the wall panels are apparent. In some cases an effect of
pounding on the adjacent precast reinforced concrete constructions
took place, the latter have achieved the partial failure of the infills,
a
Fig. 81. (a) Localization of the plant VIBAC in the Bazzano municipality (AQ). (b) Sili before the earthquake.
which have induced strong deformations of the shells of the sili. Such
type of damages are a clear effect of the earthquake vertical component,
whose importance they highlighted (Figure 82).
The Vibac sili have a metallic structure. Generally for their conception
sili have a very low structural weight, normally significantly lower than
the weight of the contained material. Such a characteristic implies a
very slender structure. It is evident that such structures are sensitive to
both local and global buckling phenomena. In fact the most common
failure mode is the instability of the wall panels due to the effects of the
axial force in compression. Such actions are due to the friction between
the silage material and the walls. The horizontal radial pressure, acting
on the cylinder surface from the silage material, has a stabilizing effect
against the buckling of the silos walls, giving rise to a tension stress
field of membrane type. The distribution and intensity of the internal
forces in every constituting part of the silos, the cylinder and the hopper, are strongly influenced by the material extraction behaviour, which
in turn depends on the shape of the silo.
The Vibac sili have an elongated shape typically used for the storage of
plastic material. Therefore the predominant extraction mode is of the so
called mass type, having the characteristic that the first material
coming out is the one inserted as first in the silos, all the material mass
is in movement at the leakage. In case of sili with a stocky shape, the
extraction behaviour of funnel type prevails, it has the characteristic
that a central tube forms in the material mass, which is sucked by the
hopper. Such a tube is fed by the silage material all along the height,
the part of material external to the tube rests during the leakage. In particular, in elongated sili, when completely full, along the height of the
cylinder, from the higher ring bands the radial pressure grows towards
117
Fig. 83- Impact of the earthquake on the road network: (a) SS80 Gran Sasso dItalia road affected by rock falls, but featuring
rock-proof tunnels. (b) Distribution of traffic management solutions (updated to 01/05/09) for the 61 road tracts affected
by the earthquake (red = road closed; dark green = passable with limitations; yellow = alternating one way; light green =
lane and velocity restictions).
Fig. 84- Impact of the earthquake on the water distribution network: (a) Joint slip-off in a main water network pipeline in
Paganica. (b) Repair on a cast iron pipe in a Paganica at the moment when some of the evacuated people were returning
home.
were the slippage/breakage of the joints and the breaking of cast iron
pipes (Figure 84b). It is important to emphasize, however, that in large
part of the red zones (damaged zones with prohibited access) the
water network is still closed. Because of that, it has not yet been possible to completely estimate the extent and the spread of the damage suffered by the network1.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the drinking water purity and quality has been officially tested and certified daily since the early days
after the seismic event. Because the G.S.A. official testing laboratory
was severely damaged after the earthquake, this service was guaranteed
via mobile laboratories of a neighboring water organization, C.A.M..
The third phase of the emergency management focused on the construction of the water distribution network and connections for the sites
identified for the construction of the provisional accommodation:
Temporary Housing Modules M. A. P, and C.A.S.E project. Both the
design and the new construction of the reservoirs and of the distribution
network for these areas were committed to external organizations and
contractors. The costs for both the design and the construction of the
new reservoirs and networks for the temporary accommodation were
covered by the Civil Defence. The G.S.A. SpA will continue to be in
charge of the management of the water provision for the temporary
accommodation areas.
7.3 Wastewater treatment plant
The technical visits at the wastewater treatment plants serving LAquila
(AQ), in the resorts of Ponte Rosarolo, Pile and Arischia, and at that
located in the City of Corfinio (AQ ) have shown that examined systems
have similar technical characteristics, as they have the same practical
functions. Each plant was equipped both with the structures necessary
for the treatment of wastewater (primary clarifier tank, aeration tank,
digestion tank, settling tank, thickener, sludge dewatering band press
The water consumption was reduced by 30% as a result of water shut off into the red zones.
Mobile water tankers were used to serve the relief camps in the first days after the quake.
120
Fig. 85- Ponte Rosarolo Plant. Digestion Tank: (a) partial collapse of a longitudinal wall and of the pipe connected to it. (b)
Detail of the detachment of the orthogonal walls at the edges. (c) Displacement of the pump in the control room.
it should be noted that this plant has been out of energy for three days
after the earthquake, so it worked through its own backup generator.
The plant located in Arischia (4224'49.02''N - 13 20'25.48''E) presents reinforced concrete structures with the exception of the circular
tanks for leaching, consisting of circular walls of artificial masonry
blocks connected with a RC curb at the top of the tank, and a gravity
retaining wall. The structures date back to the 70s with the exception
of RC curb which was more recently constructed. Cracks on the walls
of a distribution trap and damages to the retaining stone wall, which led
to the partial obstruction of the hydraulic groove drain at the base of the
tank, were observed. With regard to the circular tanks, one of the two
rotating distributors was put out of service for damage to its support; the
cracks found on some blocks of the structure were dated before the
earthquake. Therefore, the inspected facilities were functional, although
the restoration of the full functionality of the hydraulic facility required
some minor rehabilitation and repair of the tank distributor. In any case,
the age of the plant suggests a constant monitoring even after the remedial action.
The treatment facility in Corfinio (AQ) situated not far from the center
of the same town (427'25.74''N - 1350'31.78''E) is a RC construction
built in the 90s. The central part of the longitudinal walls of the aeration tank, separated from lateral walls, shows a rotation very probably
occurred in large part before the seismic event, as witnessed by the
comparison of the positions of monitoring slides before and after the
earthquake; such slides were applied two years before the event: the
displacements due to the earthquake did not compromise the hydraulic
seal of the joint, nor the functionality of the structure.
A comprehensive analysis of the observed damages was carried out in
relation to the position of each facility with respect to the epicenter of
the earthquake of April 6th, 2009 (UTC 01.32 hours) and to the records
provided by the National Network accelerometric (RAN) available. It
can be observed that:
- Ponte Rosarolo facility is located near the epicenter and close to the
AQK accelerometric station, which recorded ground accelerations
equal to 3.7 m/s2 equal to about 50% of the maximum value recorded
for the same seismic event (station AGV - 6.6 m/s2); after the earthquake, the plant has shown damages to the tanks with rectangular walls
larger than those found in circular tanks of the Pile plant, despite the
geographical proximity. The structural behavior of the circular tanks
was essentially better than that of the rectangular ones, mainly because of the lack of structural details ensuring effective connection between the orthogonal walls;
- Arischia plant lies about 5 km from the LAquila accelerometric stations AQV, AQG and AQA, which recorded maximum ground acceleration values; even if distant from the epicenter (approximately 10 km),
RESEARCH - LAquila Earthquake
122
ted to the action of the earthquake. As for the priorities, those identified
by the Civil Defence were followed; namely, the service was provided
first of all to the strategic buildings, secondly to the manufacturing and
industrial plants, and finally to the residential buildings identified as
safe after the AeDES ispection. As for the testing procedures, in accordance with the procedures used by Enel Rete Gas for routine checks,
an ad hoc protocol was defined in collaboration with the Civil Defence
and the Firefighter Department. It was decided to reconnect each single user following the fulfillment of four conditions: 1) safe dwelling
(classified as A following the AeDES survey); 2) leak-tightness
checking; 3) operative test of the equipment; 4) smoke test. It is worth
mentioning that the Civil Defence fully covered the cost of the whole
procedure to reconnect the individual users to the gas service and that
a dedicated phone line (Line Amica Abruzzo) was specifically set up to
facilitate and support the end-users in this operation.
As a final note it is worth remembering that no damages were detected
to the gas storage facilities.
7.5 Electric power distribution network and telecommunications
It was reported that two substations serving the greater LAquila had
damaged connections between a rigid bus and insulator, Figure 87a.
That was due to shifting of the un-anchored transformers during the
earthquake. Also due to sloshing of the cooling oil within the transformer, cooling oil pressure increased, and actuated the safety shut off feature to avoid costly damage. One of the transformers moved about 14
cm. In the distribution system, 30 posts were damaged causing severed
links that resulted in service disruption. More than 180 pedestal type
connection boxes were dislocated and severed cable connections at the
termination lugs that resulted in localized power failure (Figure 87b).
The Electric Power Control Center at LAquila sustained severe damage, both building and equipment, and it had to be moved to a temporary
building in the yard of the building premise. It took three days to complete the move, while the essential part of the system was functional by
9 AM the day after the earthquake (Figure 86). Transformers in substations were not anchored. We noted that steel angles were welded on the
b
Fig. 86- Impact of the earthquake on the gas distribution network: (a) Onna (AQ),
damaged pipeline. (b) End-user gas connections activeted on June 8, 2009
(Green = end-users that can be potentially reconnected; Bleu = end-user
reconnected with respect to total that can be potentially reconnected).
Fig. 87- (a) Damage to rigid connection of a transformer. (b) Typical damage to pedestal box.
a
Fig. 89- One of the relief campite in LAquila set up by the Civil Defence.
Fig. 88- (a) Steel anchors installed after the earthquake to avoid sliding of transformers. (b) Unanchored batteriesracks in
substation.
tracks that the transformers were supported to stop sliding, Figure 88a.
This was done after the earthquake. However the steel angles seemed
to be under sized. In the control house of substations, the batteries were
not anchored or tied to the racks, Figure 88b. There was no batteries
damage reported at these substations. Some locations were without
power for three days, e.g. wastewater treatment plant.
Telecommunication service performed reasonably well. It went off air
for a couple of hours right after the earthquake. Cellular phones seemed
to be the main means of telecommunication in this small community.
Although there was no reported damage to the physical equipment and
equipment building, we saw a number of temporary cellular sites
deployed within the earthquake impacted areas. The increase of cell
sites might have reduced the circuit overload that commonly occurs
after an earthquake. Both Fire Fighters and Police used their own radio
system as the primary communication tool. Cellular phones were also
used to compliment the radio system. With a good backup power generation plant, their communication was not interrupted. The Fire department had three repeater stations, which were not damaged. A number
of landlines were damaged or severed, as repairs were evident during
REFERENCES
C.F. Carocci, S. Lagomarsino, Masonry Buildings in the historic centers of the
LAquila area, Progettazione Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
E. Cosenza, G. Manfredi, G.M. Verderame, Reinforced concrete buildings,
Progettazione Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
M. Menegotto, Observations on precast concrete structures of industrial buildings and warehouses.
M. Di Ludovico, G. Di Pasquale, M. Dolce, G. Manfredi, C. Moroni, A. Prota,
Behavior of scholastic buildings after LAquila earthquake, Progettazione
RESEARCH - LAquila Earthquake
our investigation. Since tenants were not allowed back to their houses
or apartments, most landlines were not used. Hence the demand on this
circuit became much lighter.
7.6 Temporary housing
The Italian government organizations and NGOs (Non-Government
Organization) were to be commended on a great effort providing the victims with relief services and care. The military and fire brigade set up
service camps to provided needed services to the victims. Some of the
relief campsites provided the victims with Internet services in addition
to daily necessities such as medication, food, and water. In general the
victims were very satisfied with the relief service. Many residents were
afraid to get back to their houses even when their houses (marked as
class A or B) were not condemned, due to their fear of future earthquakes and the potential for damage to their homes. Temporary housing
is scheduled to be completed by September 2009 (before winter arrives)
for the victims, Figure 89. These houses will be on a base isolation
system to protect residents from future earthquakes. There were more
than 30,000 victims settling in more than 160 campsites.
Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
C. Casarotti, A. Pavese, S. Peloso, Seismic Response of the San Salvatore
Hospital of Coppito (LAquila) during the 6th April 2009 earthquake,
Progettazione Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
B. Faggiano, I. Iervolino, G. Magliulo, G. Manfredi, I. Vanzi, Post-event analysis of industrial structures behavior during LAquila earthquake, Progettazione
Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
M. Dolce, S. Giovinazzi, I. Iervolino, E. Nigro, A. Tang, Emergency Management for lifelines and rapid response after LAquila earthquake, Progettazione
Sismica, 2010. IUSS Press, Pavia.
123
THE IDEA
should actually be considered permanent, since they had a lifetime longer than 10 years (ignoring the fact that apparently between 10 and 50
years works can neither be called provisional, nor permanent).
If then the provisional does not exist from a durational point of view, it
would be useful to wonder whether it makes sense that it would exist
looking at energy consumption, sustainable environment or pollution. It
would also be useful to wonder whether buildings could be constructed
with environmental characteristics and safety level similar to that required for permanent ones on a temporary basis and with cost per unit
similar to provisional ones. If this should be the case, it would be logical to propose to build provisional houses with characteristics of the
permanent ones.
These ideas and others were discussed in the days directly following the
Aquila earthquake with Guido Bertolaso for the political, administrative and economical aspects, with Mauro Dolce, Edoardo Cosenza and
Gaetano Manfredi for the technical and scientific aspects.
A first complete conceptual proposal, with 3D-rendering and preliminary calculations was submitted on April 16th, together with several
comments. It was hypothesized to deliver the buildings for 3,000 inhabitants within 5 months, guaranteeing seismic safety by means of an
hat is the time difference that distinguishes a temporary or provisionally home from a permanent or final? It is not easy to
respond to this question, if you consider the seemingly enduring eternity of what in Italy is built with the objective to last for months, or for
a maximum of few years.
With reference to Italy, it is enough to consider what happened after the
earthquakes of Belice and Irpinia (or even in Friuli), there is therefore
no need to further elaborate the concept.
On the other hand, we could refer to the technical code of 2008 [1], in
which the nominal lifetime of a structure is defined as the number of
years in which the structure normally maintained can be used for the
purpose it was built for, it is indicated in a table and it needs to be specified in the design documents.
It is interesting to note that the code only indicates a maximum for provisional works (10 years) and two minima for ordinary and important
works (50 and 100 years respectively). If one sticks to these data, it
should be concluded that all the provisional works that were constructed in the aftermath of the earthquakes that took place after WWII
Fig. 1- One of the first sketches of the project illustrating the logic of the buildings constructed on isolated plates.
Fig. 2- A plan sketch made by architects Ragazzi e Hoffer as to illustrate the logic of the infrastructure in a court
open to pedestrians.
2
124
ring the production capacity of the market. The time programme was
defining in four weeks the date to open the construction sites, i.e. to
start construction by mid-May, to deliver houses to 3,000 inhabitants by
September.
The economic analyses indicated an estimated cost of 120 million euro,
VAT excluded, for 3,000 inhabitants, with a 20% uncertainty rate and
without considering furniture, purchase of the terrain and photovoltaic
installations.
In preliminary calculations it was assumed to use friction pendulum
devices [2-8], with a radius of curvature of 4m, a vibration period of 4s,
a displacement capacity of about 300 mm, a friction coefficient between
Fig. 4- Images used in the preliminary phase to illustrate possible technologies for the assemblage of the buildings.
125
Fig. 5- The personnel and work organization plan set up in the preliminary phase.
126
Fig. 6- A simplified version of the extremely detailed and complex time schedule that allowed daily overviews on each
aspect of the project and the construction.
The architectural project of a building unit, as briefly presented, favoured the development of different types of apartments, as a function of
family compositions, which resulted in 109 different shapes after the
selection of 16 contracting bids, as discussed later.
Regarding the choices on infrastructure, it needs to be highlighted that
a first guiding concept was that of placing the settlements in the neighbourhood of existing villages that had suffered severe damages because of the earthquake, to be able to relocate the people within their own
territory, to preserve the close ties that people have with land and neighbours.
This general principle was confronted with technical difficulties deriving from non-ideal geomorphic, hydrological and geotechnical circumstances of the areas, to finalise the best possible selection of the
areas of intervention.
Once the settlements had been defined and sized as a function of quantitative needs and land capacity, considering the dimensional and
morphological characteristics of the location, the problem of existing
infrastructures (roads, pipelines, sewing system, etc.) and of their
improvement and integration had to be faced.
Finally, the population indices could be defined, starting from figures
between 100 and 150 inhabitants per hectare, for location in more rural
or more densely populated areas. Such figures imply a rather sparse settlement typology, marked by large green areas.
A final infrastructure index had been identified by assigning 30% of the
land surface to services and facilities, such as leisure, sport, shopping
centres or education and religious structures.
Based on these premises the final urban design of the areas was completed, obviously combining the building units previously described
(essentially consisting of three inhabited floors above a covered parking), also considering exposure to sunlight, valley and mountain views,
steepness of terrain.
Driveways and walking paths were kept separated to the maximum possible extent, generally locating vehicles roads on the outer skirts of each
area, with access limited to parking lots and ground floors of the buildings, also used as parking. The walking paths were designed elimina127
128
Fig. 8- Location of the construction sites, all within the municipality of LAquila.
Preturo
Sassa
Bazzano
Coppito 2
129
in which H is the height of the building and Cs is 0.05 for wall structures, 0.075 for reinforced concrete frames, 0.085 for steel frames. It is
however well known that equations of this sort tend to underestimate the
real vibration period resulted from a secant stiffness to yield, that for the
examined buildings could arrive at values between 0.8 and 0.9 s [9, 10].
Based on these considerations, the design period of vibration of the isolation system was selected in the range of 4 s.
It was also preliminarily observed that even an extreme temperature
variation of 30 C, leads to variations in length of about 8,5 mm on
each side of the axe of symmetry, that would not induce excessive horizontal loads into the columns.
Seismic action
Seismic action and in particular spectral demands in acceleration and
displacement are discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume [11].
Here it is however important to note that the fundamental parameter to
be assessed for a proper design of the isolation system is the maximum
displacement demand at a period of about 4 s. The spectra derived from
the registrations of April 6th show generally displacement demand of
less than 120 mm, with one exception, the AQK registration, in which
spectra values are close to 250 mm. The code spectra for events with
return periods of 1000 years, to be used for the design of the isolation
system, have values of about 300 mm for soil type B and 400 mm for
soil type E. These values can be significantly reduced in presence of
energy dissipation, as a function of an appropriate equivalent damping,
according to the factor:
=
10
5+
Fig. 10- Acceleration and displacement spectra of an event with a 1000 year return-period in LAquila, according to the Italian code [1], soil category B and E, damping 5%.
in 1989, Northridge in 1994, Kobe in 1995 and Taiwan in 1999 (one for
each of these events).
Isolation system
The design and the verification of the isolation system was carried out
considering the possibility of adopting two different configurations, characterised by different devices, one based on the use of 12 elastomeric
isolators, together with 28 multi-directional sliding pot-bearings and
the other on the use of 40 isolators sliding on spherical surfaces, universally known as friction pendulum [FPS, 2].
Both choices are compatible with the project requirements, in different
ways. Actually, the smaller dissipation capacity of the system with elastomeric isolators (estimated to be equivalent to 12% damping) with
respect to the one with FPS isolators (estimated damping 20%,) requires a larger displacement capacity; in the order of 300 to 360 mm for
the elastomeric isolators, versus 260 mm for the FPS, depending on the
soil properties.
Obviously other combinations may be possible, also related to the
various displacement demands for isolators placed in different positions
(because of the eccentricity of the loaded mass, even only accidental,
the demand at the perimeter is larger than that closer to the slab central area). It was therefore allowed to bidders to propose different solutions, provided that they were respectful of design performances and
input. The result of the call for bids, in which FPS systems were preferred, should not be considered as a general demonstration of superiority with respect to elastomeric devices, but rather as a consequence of
the specific conditions of this project, characterised by relatively large
horizontal displacement demands, low vertical forces on the devices
and relatively low horizontal stiffness (as discussed, vibration periods of
the order of 4 seconds were assumed). This was the reason why elastomeric isolators had to be coupled with pot bearings: the use of rubber
bearings alone would have resulted in stiffness values incompatible
with the requirements of the project.
In the case of the FPS devices, the force corresponding to a displaced
position is defined by the following equation:
F = Mg + Mg d
R
( )
Fig. 11- Comparison of several spectra recorded on April 6th on soil type B, code spectra for an event with a 1000 year
return-period according code [1] and results of a recent research project (DPC-INGV-S5 [2]).
Fig. 12- Force displacement response of a system of 40 isolators and heavy superstructure.
Fig. 13- Force displacement response of the system considering axial force variation due to vertical acceleration and global
interaction response [2, 4].
M =3.29s
Keff
Fig. 14- Examples of displacement histories for an elastrometic isolator (left) and for a FPS isolator (right), subjected to events with a 1000 year return period derived from 3 registrations in LAquila, compared with capacity circles of 360 mm (left) and
260 mm (right).
132
technologies and thus reducing the operation time. For the same reason
steel columns were in general preferred, even if more expensive, using
concrete only when no steel elements were ready to be mounted.
Prescription for building design
As already mentioned, the final design of the home buildings was left to
the bidders, to allow the use of any building technology. However, the
specifications to which the projects would have anyway to conform needed to be defined as to assure an appropriate safety level to the global
structural system.
The seismic demand was defined in terms of design acceleration of the
building masses, calculated with reference to the maximum value of the
ratio between base shear and weight of the building, obtained in the
worst loading conditions, corresponding to those of a stiff building (T =
0.19 sec) with the lowest mass (1500 t).
For analyses performed with accelerograms compatible with the design
spectrum at a collapse limit state (SLC, return period 1000 years), the
base shear always resulted less than 0.11 times the weight of the building. It was therefore prescribed to assume a design acceleration equal
to 0.1 g to verify the buildings at a life safety limit state (SLV, return
period 500 years).
For the same conditions, the average inter storey drift resulted on the
range of 0.1%, a value that certainly allows a full use of the buildings
even after a high intensity event.
Together with these extremely simple design data, a series of prescripRESEARCH - LAquila Earthquake
Fig. 16- Example of bending stresses in the foundation plate, for gravity
loads (1st row, moments around the two axes of symmetry in kNm/m)
and for seismic loads (2nd row: maximum values, and 3rd row: minimum
values).
18
Fig. 17- Example of local reinforcement of the foundation plate at column bases.
Fig. 18- Example of bending moment axial action strength domain, for a section of plate (at
columns centres).
Fig. 19- Example of bending action on the isolated plate during bearing substitution at different
locations.
17
19
134
Fig. 20- Reinforcement in a foundation plate with concrete columns and steel columns with isolators on a casted plate.
for bids for excavations, supply of concrete (initially about 200,000 m3,
with peaks in delivery of more than 5,000 m3 per day, self compacting
and aerated), supply of welded wire meshes (initially about 260,000 kN,
in general with diameter 14 mm at 100 mm), supply of steel columns
(initially 180,000 ton, diameter 800 mm), supply of isolators (initially
6,000 pieces, including assistance to positioning) and supply of casting
forms (initially for about 336,000 m2) and on-site assistance for reinforcement positioning and pouring of concrete. All quantities were later
significantly increased, since the number of buildings passed from 150
to 184. The prices per unit obtained through bidding have been the following:
Contractors for the production of the plates with initial price and offers
135
Fig. 21- Rendering and floor plans of some buildings, proposed by the bidders.
136
Contractors, structure material, number of buildings offered and price per building
Structure
Walter
di
Self-compacting concrete
Welded wire mesh
Steel columns
Isolators
Forms and on-site assistance
82,55
0,49
2,09
1,427
91,7
/m3
/kg
/kg
/piece
/m2
the existing norms (that already represent a high standard). The maximum time allowed for completing each building from the availability
of the upper plate was fixed at 80 days, a proposed reduction was also
considered in the evaluation, together with a reduction of the proposed
price.
Following the presentation of the 58 proposals and an accurate review,
16 contractors were selected, with a total average amount per lot of
about 10,500,000 euro, which means an offered price reduction of
about 5%.
On a total of 150 buildings, timber structures were proposed for 75
(50%), concrete structures for 45 (30%) and steel structures for 30
(20%).
INFRASTRUCTURES, FURNITURE, ELEVATORS, MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS, GREEN AREAS
To complete the project it was necessary to prepare and launch other
5 groups of bids, in order to satisfy various needs:
- The upgrading and integration of the external infrastructure
(networks of any type) with the difficult problem of interacting with the
137
construction sites. Twenty bids were released, one for each area of
intervention, inviting companies located in Abruzzo and preferably in
the province of LAquila. Five companies randomly sorted out were
invited to bid for each site.
- The furniture and supplies necessary to immediately use the apartments. In this case a public competition was set up, on four lots of
about 1,000 apartments each. The foreseen time to assemble the furniture on site was 6 days from the moment an apartment would be finished. 18 companies presented an offer, with the following four resulting winners: Deltongo Industrie spa, Mobilificio Florida srl, RTI
Europea spa P.M. International Furnishings srl Martex spa and
Estel Office spa. The average price reduction offered was about 34%,
which corresponds to an average cost for the interior furnishing of an
apartment of 9,500 euro. It has to be underlined that the specifics of
the bid requested the highest possible standards also for the electrical
and mechanical equipment included in the offer, such as dish washer,
washing machine, tv set, etc.
- 309 elevators to connect the various floors of the buildings and 129
elevators to connect the buildings to the parking ground floor. This
need derived from the specific choice of completely eliminating all
potential architectonical barriers case, in excess of what compulsory
for legal requirement. A call for bids was released for three lots of 146
elevators each; 12 companies participated in the competition.
Marrocco elevators srl, ATI S.A.S. srl Grivan Group srl, Schindler
spa resulted winners with an average reduction of price of about 16%.
- The opportunity of producing electric energy on site, collocating photovoltaic panels on the roofs. An estimate of about 45,000 m2 of roof
surface was considered adequately exposed to sunshine and consequently another bid was released for the design, construction, mana138
gement and maintenance of a photovoltaic system, capable of producing about 4,500 kW. The call for bid assumed that there should have
been no cost to the administration, and was based on technical merit
and on one fundamental economical parameter, i.e. a yearly fee to be
paid, as a percentage of the public incentives provided to favour the
use of alternative, renewable energy sources. The winner and therefore contractor was Enerpoint spa, Ener Point Energy Srl and Troiani &
Ciarocchi Srl., who offered to refund 9,01% of the incentives.
- Finally, two last calls for bids were launched to complete the green
areas, simply grouping the eastern and western construction sites. The
offers should obviously include land preparation, grass, bushes and
trees, walking and cycling paths, but also irrigation and drainage
systems, external furniture, sport and leisure fields. 19 companies participated in the bid and contractors were selected on cost and on evaluation of landscape beauty, environmental sustainability and maintenance and management characteristics of the offers. The selected contractors were 3A Progetti S.p.a, which lowered the estimated price of
39% and the Sestante Consortium, that managed to offer a 35,16%
reduction.
WORK MANAGEMENT, QUALITY CONTROL, SAFETY MEASURES
The extremely limited time available for the completion of the project
required an extreme level of control and programming, with a continuous flow of information between engineering work management and
construction companies and daily reports and checks.
A coordination and management system was therefore set up, focusing
on the definition of priorities and of the main activities consequently
RESEARCH - LAquila Earthquake
139
Fig. 25- Example of a production summary overview daily form (25 October, general overview on the left, production and delivery of plates on the right).
140
Fig. 26- Example of a daily report on the general development of the project
works (19 October).
Fig. 27- Example of a daily report on the general developments of the works in
a specific area (19 October).
141
supply of the order of 5,000 m3, welded meshes and reinforcing bars for
about 10,000 kN, about 200 steel columns (with a diameter of 800 mm),
to be provided in general in 20 different construction sites.
The efficiency of the team that was set up to program and coordinate
the activities, allowed such a proper and precise forecasting of the
work progress that all construction sites proceeded always on time and
actually all works were completed ahead of time, despite of the difficulties inherent in the number of workers (more than 8,000 in some
phases) and in the complex interaction between different work activities. An example of the time schedule programmed for the construction
of the two slabs systems, with foundation and isolation, can be summarised in Fig. 23.
Finally, the great efficiency of the team in charge of controlling all
aspects of safety in the work process should be noted. The extremely
detailed and continuous checks allowed the completion of hundreds of
millions of euro worth of work in just a few months without any notable accident and with the appreciation of all external controlling institutions, from those aimed to assure workers health to the unions.
THE COSTS
The total cost of the project is split in the table below, considering the
different category of work and giving the average cost per building, per
apartment and per square metre of living space.
The total cost of 655 million euro refers to a total of 164 buildings,
while 150 were foreseen at the starting of the project and 184 were
actually built at the end. Applying a criterion of linear proportion it can
be inferred that the original 150 buildings would have cost 599 million
euro, which is in line with the 700 million that were initially estimated, since the sums indicated do not include the cost for land expropriation and V.A.T. The cost of the double slab foundation system is
compensated to significant extent by the value of the covered parking
spots, each one of them have the size of a large garage box (6 by 3
metre). The number boxes exceed that of the apartments. It is thus reasonable to assume that the real cost of the foundation system is actually a fraction of that indicated in about 30,000 per apartment. If a
fraction of 30% would be assigned to the foundation itself, the cost per
square metre of the living space should result to be less than 1,400 ,
including foundations: a reasonable value, especially considering the
compressed time of construction, that was made possible by a continuous work over the 24 hours, with three turns of 8 hours each, day and
night and considering as well the very high quality of the buildings for
aspects related to energy consumption, environment and detailing quality.
Parametric costs of the whole intervention, based on 164,29 equivalent buildings, v.a.t. not included
142
It is interesting to note that the seismic isolation cost only about 1,5%
of the total, or rather just a bit over 2% when only the building cost is
considered.
The modest cost of general and technical activities has to be noted,
made possible by the way the project was managed, extensively
discussed in the previous sections. The real share of the technical
costs of the ForCASE consortium (design, management, security, etc)
has been around 8 million euro, i.e. not much more than 1% of the total
cost. The costs of the furniture includes everything, from TV sets to
bed sheets.
THE FUTURE
At the moment this article is being completed (September) the last 20
buildings are being constructed, with a significantly lower cost because they are built in already inhabited areas. The decision of the Civil
Protection Department to build additional houses was motivated by
upgraded in the population census. It is foreseen that these buildings
Forecast of the number of apartments and beds available in function of the foreseen completion
period (forecast of September 22nd, including the twenty buildings that had just been added, of
which forecasts are cautious)
143
The houses will anyway become part of the citys heritage and in the
future it will be therefore possible to reuse them to host vulnerable categories of population (such as the elderly people) or to host students, a
need particularly relevant in LAquila, where a significant fraction of
bani, Marco Vecchietti, Paolo Verri, Stefano Vitalini (site responsible for plates), Roberta Viviani
REFERENCES
1. NTC (2008) - Norme Tecniche per le Costruzioni, D.M. 14/01/2008, Gazzetta Ufficiale 04/02/2008, Italia.
2. Zayas V., Low S. (1990) - A Simple Pendulum Technique for Achieving Seismic
Isolation, Earthquake Spectra, Vol. 6, No. 2.
3. Almazan J.L., De la Llera J.C. (2002) - Analytical model of structures with frictional pendulum isolators, Earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, Vol.
31, 305-332.
4. Calvi G.M., Ceresa P., Casarotti C., Bolognini D., Auricchio F. (2004) - Effects of
axial force variation on the seismic response of bridges isolated with friction pendulum systems, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 8, SI1, 187-224.
5. Christopoulos C., Filiatrault A. (2006) - Principles of Passive Supplemental
Damping and Seismic Isolation, IUSS Press, Pavia.
6. Priestley M.J.N., Calvi G.M. (2002) - Strategies for repair and seismic upgrading
of Bolu Viaduct 1, Turkey, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 6, SI1, 157-184.
7. Tsai C.S. (1997) - Finite element formulations for friction Pendulum seismic iso-
lation bearings, International Jour. for Num. Methods in Engineering, Vol. 40,
29-49.
8. Wang Y., Chung L.L., Liao W.H. (1998) - Seismic response analysis of bridges
isolated with friction pendulum bearings, Earthquake engineering and structural
dynamics, 27, 1069-1093.
9. Priestley M.J.N., Calvi G.M., Kowalsky M.J. (2007) - Displacement based design
of structures, IUSS Press, Pavia.
10. Crowley, H. and Pinho R. (2004) - Period-height relationship ofr existing
European reinforced concrete buildings, Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 8
(SP1), 93-120.
11. Crowley H., Stucchi M., Meletti C., Calvi G.M., Pacor F. (2009) - Uno sguardo
agli spettri delle NTC08 in relazione al terremoto de LAquila, capitolo 1.7 in questo volume.
12. AA.VV. (2007) - Definizione dellinput sismico sulla base degli spostamenti,
progetto S5 INGVDPC, http://progettos5.stru.polimi.it.
13. Comit Europen de Normalisation, Eurocode 8 part 2 (2006) - prEN1998-2,
CEN, Brussels.
Here and in the next pages, some pictures of the completed buildings areas.
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
CONSTRUCTION
Fig. 1- Italian New High-speed Network: lines under design, construction and the operating line Roma-Firenze, built in the
70s-80s for a design speed of 250 km/h [3].
154
Strategic choices
Traffic analysis carried out on existing Italian railway network at the end of
the 1980 remarked the following needs: quadrupling the main passenger
transport routes, upgrading and increasing freight transport, reducing time
of travel for passengers trains, integrating Italian network with European
network.
So, the first infrastructural choice was the realization of a new mixed passenger/freight high-speed network with a close integration with existing
lines and with interchange centres (interports, ports, airports).
The close integration with the existing conventional network will produce an
increase of freight transport capacity on the historical lines, clearing the
existing network from the long distance passengers traffic, and an increase
of freight traffic using new lines during specific time bands (usually at night).
The choice of a mixed traffic meant low ruling gradients (less than 12 )
and heavy design loads (SW0/SW2) adopted in the new Italian standard
for railway bridges [1]. For this reason, the standard was rewritten in 1995,
then revised in 1997.The old standards had been written 50 years before
and were related only to conventional lines.The Italian standard for railway
bridges [1] has introduced LM71 (passengers traffic as showed in leaflets
UIC 702 and 776-1), SW/0 and SW/2 (heavy traffic) models of loads
according to ENV 1991-3: Actions on structures, Part 3:Traffic loads on bridges (Ed. 1996).
These new standards are in perfect agreement with the European Technical
Standards for Interoperability of the trains in the European High-speed
Network.
One of the main prescriptions asks for a structural design respectful to all
prescriptions for seismic areas (at least III category the minimum considered in the 1996 Italian seismic code), even in no-seismic areas, apart
from Sardinia. A proper standard was written and recently revised for the
design of railway bridges to be built in seismic area [4]. It deserves to be
pointed out that many no-seismic areas became recently seismic, in the
latest proposals of codes, giving interesting confirmation to the conservative railways code approach.
According to general seismic design principles, the adoption of special rules
and technical details is requested to guarantee a minimum ductility of the
structure, and it has direct consequences on the care for the details of
reinforcement design of piers and foundations.
Two main characteristics of the applied national code [1] are the concepts
of train-track-structure dynamic interaction and train-rail-structure static
interaction.
The dynamic interaction analysis is evaluated to check the safety of the
train and the comfort of the passengers, with an analysis of the following
parameters: all decks for high-speed railway must respect the limit value of
2.5 as maximum dynamic amplification of static deflection (impact factor
j real=j dyn /d stat) and the value of the vertical acceleration at deck midspan, induced by real trains running at different speed (from 10 km/h up
to 1.2 maximum speed of the line), must be lower than 3.5 m/s2.
For standard simply supported beam or continuous bridges with total
length shorter than 130 m, a simplified analysis can be adopted according
CONSTRUCTION - Civil engineering Works
to Annex A of [1], with a preliminary check of flexural - frequencies of vibration modes: the simply supported prestressed concrete decks always
respect the limit values specified in [1], being first flexural mode frequency
between 4 and 8 Hz.
For non-conventional structures, as arch bridges, cable-stayed bridges, etc.,
a Runnability analysis is required.The analysis has to consider all dynamic
characteristics of the system: railway structures, suspension system of the
vehicles, rail fasten system etc., track and wheel irregularities.
The static interaction analysis studies the effects on rail and bridge structure due to variation of thermal conditions in the structures, to the longitudinal forces associated to braking and traction, and to the longitudinal
displacements due to vertical loads. For simply supported prestressed concrete decks, which respect a maximum length of 65 m and small variations
of the longitudinal stiffness of piers and foundations, a simplified method
can be adopted as indicated in Annex B of [1].
In any other case, it is necessary to analyse advanced Finite Element models
to evaluate these effects. The analysis has to check rail stress limits with
maximum value of compressive stress 60 MPa and maximum value of tensile stress 70 MPa, the relative displacement between deck bridge and the
rail, and the forces acting on the bearings.
Also reliability under service conditions is required: comfort limit state has
to be verified for a maximum midspan deflection with the load of one
LM71 load model, increased with dynamic factor. This deflection must not
exceed l/2400 for design length of the span l<30m, l/2800 for
30m<l<60m and l/3000 for l >60m. Maximum deformability of structures under train load is checked to keep the contact rail-wheel safe and stable: deck torsion, rotation at supports and horizontal deflection have to be
evaluated. The limits of deformation of the structures are similar to those
pointed out in the same Eurocode, and are widely respected by common
simply supported spans.
Special attention has been put in the concepts of durability of structures for
railway bridges, introduced in [1]. As the subject deserves wide illustration
and details, a full paragraph has been devoted to the scope.
As high-speed network is designed for the use of long welded rail, the structural system for the viaducts must avoid rail expansion devices. In all highspeed network, only along the Milano-Bologna line, for the crossing over Po
River, composed by two continuous bridges and the cable stayed bridge [2],
two joints in the rails have been necessary to keep the expansion length
within allowable limits.
Other rules and prescriptions for design and construction are taken into
consideration in [1] and are illustrated in the following paragraphs. All these
are finalised to have low costs of maintenance of the infrastructure, to minimise the irregularities of the track and to reach a high performance level
in the field of the durability and reliability of the system.
Simply supported prestressed concrete bridges
Simply supported spans of prestressed concrete deck realised more than
90% of the new lines. It is undoubtedly a traditional choice of Italian Railway Company (Ferrovie dello Stato FS) for ordinary viaducts: to better fit
CONSTRUCTION - Civil engineering Works
with long welded rail, to avoid rail expansion devices, to ease maintenance
operations and minimize maintenance costs. Besides, this solution is usually preferred in those cases when bridges have to be designed in areas with
compressible soils or in river channels.
Figures and statistics of this paper are based on more than 600 km long
high-speed lines. Attention will be paid to double-track decks, with a distance between tracks of 5.0 m, designed for a train-speed of 300 km/h, and
for both heavy and passengers traffic load models [1], with rails on prestressed concrete sleepers on ballast.They count nearly 2300 spans of simply supported prestressed concrete bridges, and they are composed of
nearly 6400 precast beams or monolithic decks.
In order to reach this frame of prestressed concrete decks, analysis will concern the structural characteristics such as use of pre-casting, tensioning
systems, bearings, expansion joints, all durability issues as multi-layer protection systems, monitoring, methods of construction and costs.
Deck The pre-stressed concrete elements are realised with both pre-tensioning and post-tensioning systems.The post-tensioning systems are always
designed with bonded internal cables, even if Italian standard for railway
bridges [1], generally speaking and under severe controls, allows also external post-tensioning. According to [1], post-tensioning cables composed by
bars should be preferred for viaducts along railways with electric traction of
direct current, and both solutions with cables composed by strands or bars
can be used in structures for railways with electric traction of alternating
current as the high-speed network.
In [1], special attention for durability and limiting or avoiding cracking of
concrete is introduced: undoubtedly most limiting verifications deal with limitation of maximum compressive stresses and, especially, strong limitation of
tensile stresses during construction and final conditions. In particular, no longitudinal tensile stress in PC structures is admitted, with maximum design
loads and both Allowable Stress or Limit States methods of verification.
Besides, cracking of concrete must be verified towards no decompression
limit state for verification under track equipment, where inspection is not
possible.
The experience of existing railway lines with concrete structures with possible beginning of corrosion of the reinforcement and spalling of the concrete, which leads to easier access to the pre-stressing tendons for aggressive agents, has been translated into design prescriptions.The required concrete cover to reinforcement, tendons and pre-tensioned strands has been
increased, compared to Italian standard for design of structures. Minimum
concrete cover thickness is required to be 3 cm for PC decks, increased to
3.5 cm under track equipment, at least one external diameter of duct in
case of post-tensioning, and 3 strand diameters in case of pre-tensioning.
Mix design of concrete for PC deck has to respect a 0.45 water to concrete
ratio, a S4S5 concrete consistency class of at least 45 MPa characteristic
cubic strength. A quality assurance system and testing before and during
every casting operation reveals the quality of mix design, which is recognised as an important factor for life and durability of PC structures.
Bearings and expansion joints Under simply supported railway bridges, only one kind of bearing is generally present: spherical bearings with
polished stainless steel and PTFE plate.
155
Type a
Weight of one precast box: 455 ton (33.1 m)
19% of total length of viaducts
915 ton one deck weight (34.5 m)
343.196 ton is total weight
Type b
Weight of single precast V beam: 88 ton
40.5% of total length of viaducts
650 ton one deck weight (25 m)
698.476 ton is total weight
Fig. 2- Two box girders deck (a) and four precast V beams and cast in situ slab (b).
Fig. 5- The first precast 25m long single box girder (Torino-Milano), during launching operations.
Type c
Weight of single precast deck: 567 ton (25 m)
Weight of cast in situ box deck: 1043 ton
(43.2 m)
11% of total length of viaducts
173.856 ton is total weight
Fig. 4- Box girder (type a) on carriers towards launching operations, Milano-Bologna line.
Type d
Weight of single precast deck: 970 ton
7.2% of total length of viaducts
145.500 ton is total weight
Fig. 6- Box girder with single cell (c) and Box girder with two cells (d).
157
Fig. 9- Four precast I beams in stocking area, from Roma-Napoli high-speed line.
Fig. 10- Four precast I beams launched over pier caps, from Milano-Bologna high-speed line.
Type e
Weight of single precast I beam:
270 ton (46.2 m)
Weight of four I beams deck:
1.400 ton (46.2 m)
7.6% of total length of viaducts
137.274 ton is total weight
Type f
Weight of single precast
deck: 689 ton
15% of total length of
viaducts
446.472 ton is total
weight
Fig. 11- Four precast I beams and cast in situ slab (e) and Lower way U deck (f).
Fig. 12- The first one of 750 Modena precast decks in stocking area, Milano-Bologna line.
Fig. 13- Beam head of Modena precast deck in stocking area, Milano-Bologna line.
operation to ensure durability of prestressing. Usually, it is difficult to ensure complete filling of the ducts: pathology teaches us that the prestressing
tendons are more vulnerable in the case of post-tensioning than in the case
of pre-tensioning.
Vacuum injection should avoid having air bubbles near high points of tendon profile and in case of simply supported structures high points coincide
always with anchorage locations. Besides, all end caps are filled with grout
and surrounded by concrete held in place by reinforcement, with noshrinking concrete and the same compressive strength as deck concrete.
Latest tendencies about durability of anchorages are High Density
Polyethylene ducts with plastic end cap left in concrete and the use of electrical isolated tendons as a further protection of the tendon and mean for
monitoring: in Milano-Bologna and Torino-Milano railway lines, a large scale
application of plastic ducts and electrical isolated tendons has been undertaken. Italferr has taken the Technical Report from fib (fib 2000) and Swiss
guidelines on electric isolated tendons (2001) as standards, asking for
mechanical and chemical tests, field measurements to be undergone; a
System Approval testing has to be conducted on site on every first application of a prestressing system.
Deck equipment Every bridge deck is furnished of railings on both sides,
anchorages of noise barriers for their future assembly, electric traction
poles, stairs to pier cap and from piers to the ground. Great attention has
been put to deck equipment: every steel finishing is installed with linkages
electrically isolated from deck reinforcement and connected to a dissipative end in the earth for safety reasons. Stainless steel is preferred for the
most sensible connections.
Electrical isolation of structures Every bridge deck is electrically isolated through isolated bearings and expansion joints, from piers and the
other decks, besides, in order to prevent and protect bridge reinforcement
against strain currents, few disposal for every deck are disposed in an
accessible area in order to measure strain current and isolation grade after
traffic activation.
This is probably a minor problem on high-speed line decks, but felt deeply
in every normal bridge deck and in the Junctions of high-speed line.
Whenever problems of potential differences should arise, structures will be
electrically connected to earth or a cathodic protection should be eventually adopted.
In case of post-tensioned structures, all anchorages are electrically connected (when no electrical isolated tendons is adopted) and the terminal is
drawn out of the structure in order to provide eventually in the future the
same provisions as for deck reinforcement, otherwise, in case of pre-tensioned decks, the head faces of the beam are protected with synthetic dielectrical resins.
Monitoring and Maintenance In order to improve decks behaviour
knowledge and control it with time under the influence of external agents
(environmental actions, traffic loads, seismic events or exceptional hydrogeological events), a complex monitoring system integrated with the highspeed line has been designed.
At least one section (deck, pier, foundation, piles) per viaduct and, in case of
long viaducts, one section every 1000 m is instrumented: it means a large
CONSTRUCTION - Civil engineering Works
number of strain-gages, inclinometers, thermocouples, instrumented bearings, load cells, foundation settlement meters, piezometers etc. Seldom
accelerometers are provided in order to evaluate dynamic response of the
structures also in case of seismic actions.
Maintenance program of high-speed lines is essentially based on maintenance actions followings inspection visits: in the code 44/c of Italian railways
about lines maintenance [5], frequencies, ways of inspection and following
check schedules are prescribed. These check schedules have the double
aim to check the safety of structures towards train traffic, and to keep
memory of time evolution of the behaviour of structures. According to [5]
every year a program of action has to be adopted to eliminate anomalies
encountered in structures or to face critical situations.
Construction process
As all bridge designers know, construction process may deeply influence
design choices, also in case of pre-cast prestressed concrete beams, which
compose the majority of our new bridges and viaducts: the construction
scheduling, the technologies of lifting, transporting and lowering over the
piers are investigated.
To improve the overall quality of the infrastructure design and production,
a quality control system is implemented during both the design phase and
the construction phase. In the following, main construction features of each
structural solution are described in the text and representative construction
phases are showed in the pictures.
Precast beams and cast in situ slab When talking about construction
features we must divide our decks in few major families: one of these is the
precast V or I beams with cast in situ slab.The short spans of four V-beams
deck of type b (Fig. 14-15) and the shortest I-beams of deck of type "e",
of an average load of 100 tons each, are the only ones which can be casted
and pre-tensioned in pre-casting plant, moved on ordinary roads and led on
site, where each beam is lifted to its final position.
Then predalles or formworks are assembled, reinforcement is laid and the
concrete slab is casted over the piers. As it is not necessary to pass over
completed decks, ordinary roads can be used and theres no obliged
sequence of spans layout, this method of construction has the important
property of flexibility; besides, relatively simple technology is necessary for
its realization.
Cast in situ box girder In the only case of single box girder Padulicella
viaduct (Fig. 16), the deck is casted and pretensioned over the piers on selflaunching formworks and special casting equipment is used.
To accelerate the production, the reinforcement cage had to be pre-assembled, transported and lowered in the formwork before casting.
Two box girdersTwo precast box girders, each weighting about 450 tons,
are precast and prestressed with pre-tensioned strands, then lifted over the
viaduct where they are transported by two small carriers on tyres, towards
launching operations (Fig.17).
Deck is completed over piers, with second step casting in central slab and
in transversal beams, then transversal strands cables are tensioned and
grouted. The case of two precast box girders is half way between the pre159
Fig. 16- Reinforcement cage transported in the formwork over the piers, Padulicella viaduct, Roma-Napoli.
Fig. 15- Precast V beam towards final position over the piers.
Fig. 17. Launching operations of a box girder of S. Rocco al Porto 2 viaduct, on Milano-Bologna line.
Fig. 18- Modena precast deck lifted and transported on tyres from stocking area, Milano-Bologna line.
Fig. 22- Concrete, Reinforcement and Strands loads of different typologies of deck versus span length, (figures based on highspeed lines: Roma-Napoli; Bologna-Firenze; Milano-Bologna; Torino-Milano).
Fig. 19- Piacenza precast transported on steel wheels from stocking area towards launching, Milano-Bologna line.
Fig. 20- Modena precast lower way U deck during launching operations, on Milano-Bologna line.
and reinforcement and prestressing steel amounts for each span, apart
from few exceptions.
Talking about deck load, first exception to be mentioned is Modena deck:
as a single way deck it results heavy solution for a double line, but, at the
same time, the simple U profile, easy to manage from a design point of
view, doesn't cause similar examples of exception for the load of reinforcement and prestressing steel. Decks composed by beams can never minimize the use of steel because of their transversal connections, while single box
girders seem, even if based on few examples, to behave more efficiently.
Anyway, many other factors are to be considered in the choice of the best
structural and technological solution for a new railway bridge deck: they
may depend on construction method, workmanship factors, number of
spans to be built and required time scheduling of construction, as previously mentioned.
Another factor for evaluating the solution for a bridge deck is, of course, its
aesthetic impact: even if mentioned at the end of the analysis, in some case
it has strictly led the design choices.
Generally speaking, the span length over deck height ratio can be considered one of the simplest measure to evaluate the grade of slenderness: in
case of simply supported PC decks, it ranges between 9 and 12; even for
short spans, the prescription of minimum free height inside cellular decks
causes small ratio.
Anyway considering that the average piers height is not more than 78 m,
usually long spans are not used with very short piers because of aesthetic
reasons too.
Monolithic decks are to be preferred to precast beams decks because transversal beams are always impacting on the sides' prospects.
Finally, a good example of agreeable bridge aesthetics in the field of simply
Fig. 21- Santhi precast single box deck during launching operations, Torino Milano line.
Peak cycle is variable: Modena viaduct has a casting and launching speed
of two precast girders per day. Others, as Piacenza viaduct, have the design of the spans and of the casting yard centred on a target peak cycle of
two double-track decks per week.
Comparison between a-f typologies
Last data about PC simply supported spans are in Figg. 22 and 23 where
the most important figures about double-track decks of the new high-speed
lines are presented.
Theres good uniformity between different typologies dealing with deck load
CONSTRUCTION - Civil engineering Works
Fig. 23- Span length distribution (e) among the a-f typologies (figures based on high-speed lines: Roma-Napoli; BolognaFirenze; Milano-Bologna; Torino-Milano).
161
Fig. 24- First balanced cantilever of Left Embankment viaduct, approaching cable-stayed bridge over Po River.
162
Fig. 25- Continuous PC beam of Modena viaduct over Brennero highway, Milano-Bologna line.
References
[3]
[1]
[4]
[2]
Italian standard for railway bridges: Istruzione F.S. n. I/SC/PSOM/2298 del 2.6.1995 Sovraccarichi per il calcolo dei ponti ferroviari - Istruzioni per la progettazione, lesecuzione e il collaudo,
Final review 1997.
Petrangeli, M. P.,Traini, G., Evangelista, L., Della Vedova, M.The cablestayed bridge over Po River: design and construction. Proc. of the
2nd International fib Congress, 5/8 June 2006, Napoli.
[5]
Project
HS railway cable-stayed bridge over the Po river
Location
Bologna Milano High Speed Line near Piacenza
Client
T.A.V. S.p.A. Concessionaire for the design and
construction of the Italian HS system for RFI
Design
Prof. Ing. Mario Paolo Petrangeli
Structural engineer
Prof. Ing. Mario Paolo Petrangeli
Architects
Prof. Ing. Mario Paolo Petrangeli
Management Contractor
CEPAV UNO- Syndicate formed by ENI per lAlta
Velocit
General Contractor
A.S.G. Scarl Syndicate formed by Aquater,
Snamprogetti, Grandi Lavori Fincosit
164
Winner A.I.C.A.P. Award 2009 for Structural Concrete Works - Category Civil Engineering
The new railway linking Bologna to Milan is part of the High Speed Lines Italian network. It crosses the Po near Piacenza in a section where the river is usually about 350 m wide, up to 1 km
between the main embankments. The bridge will be 1200 m long, 400 m to cross the ordinary
riverbed, an obliquity of 22 resulting between the tracks and the river. Two approach viaducts,
respectively 6 and 4 km long, complete this work, the most important of the whole line.
Four main spans of 96 m were proposed in the preliminary design to satisfy the navigation requirement, and two solutions, both with prestressed concrete decks, were selected after a first study,
but the competent Authority for the Environment insisted in eliminating the central pier, a 192 m
main span resulting for that.
It is one of the longest prestressed concrete railway span in the world operated at a speed up to
300 km/h.
Three types of structure are present in the crossing in addition to the standard 14 km long approach viaducts placed outside the upper banks: the cable stayed bridge, 12 simply supported decks
on the right bank and two continuous p.c. box girders necessary to overpass the main embankments.
The decks are subdivided in such a way that two joints in the rails are necessary to keep the expansion length within the allowable limits. This is the only exception along the jointless HS Railway
Italian Network.
The relevant part of the crossing has a 192 m central span and two 104 m long side spans.
The deck is a p.c. continuous box girder with the fixed point at one tower, sliding bearings at the
second tower and at the transition piers. Expansion lengths of 296 and 104 m derived from this
arrangement of the bearings, joints in the rails so being required.The height of the cross section is
constant and equal to 4,5 m (L/42,7) along the central span; it varies and decreases to 3,70 m in
the side spans, in order to fit with the other decks.
The towers are 60 m high from the footing, 51 m from the deck. The top of the towers, where
the stays are anchored, is a steel-concrete composite structure.
The stays are made of 55 to 91 zinc-coated, singularly greased and sheathed 0,6 super strands.
The total amount of steel for the stays is 410 tons, corresponding to about 66 Kg per square meter
of deck.
The foundation of each tower has the footing (shaped to reduce the drag force) supported by
28 piles, 2m diameter and 65 m long.
Derailment of railway vehicles. Two accidental design situations have been considered with
respect to the stays:
- collapse of two consecutive stays along one side due to the derailment of a vehicle: the bridge
must remain in service with one design train over the track nearest to the injured side and one
passenger train ( 40 KN/m ) over the other, the thermal effects being excluded;
- the consecutive stays collapsed are three: only the effects due to one design train is taken into
account.
Dynamic analysis.Three different trains (ETR 500,TGV, ICE) have been considered for the dynamic analysis considering the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle as well as the irregularities of the
track.
Combined response of structure and track. The effects resulting from variable actions have
been taken into account according to prEN 1991-2 and for two limit stiffness of the foundations.
Seismic analysis have been carried out in the elastic range according to the Italian Railway
Specifications and EC 8. Because of the low seismicity, seismic actions did not influence the design
of the bridge but in a few sections in the upper part of the towers, while they were relevant for the
bearings and the joints.
All the decks have been built by cantilever method with cast in situ segments, but the 13 simply
supported spans.
CONSTRUCTION - Civil engineering Works
A number of physical tests have been executed to assess the theoretical assumption, the most outstanding being: (i) test on a half scale
model reproducing a segment of the deck with a stay anchorage, carried on in the yard; (ii) fatigue test on a full scale model of the steel box
embedded in the upper part of the tower to anchor the stays and (iii)
fatigue tests on three stays (composed by 55, 73 and 91 0,6 strands)
complete of anchorage. Both fatigue tests were carried on in the EC
Joint Research Centre of ISPRA.
Due to the importance of the bridge, a large number of sensors have
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166
Completion of the towers and access viaducts. 3-4 Construction of the deck
by 2-segments.
5- Pouring the crown segment. 6- Tower elevations.
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Piacenza viaduct
Project
Piacenza viaduct
Location
Piacenza, Italy
Client
Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A.
Concessionaire
T.A.V. S.p.A.
Higher supervision
Italferr S.p.A.
Design
Dott. Ing. Villa
General Contractor
Cepav uno
168
In the Milan-Bologna stretch of the high-speed/high load railway line the Piacenza Viaduct runs
a total length of 5103 m. The structure breaks down into two stretches, Piacenza1 and
Piacenza2, their lengths 2522 m and 2581 m respectively.
The first stretch features a two-light caisson deck and a steel-concrete mixed-structure span 50
m long.
The second stretch, like the first, also comprises a two-light caisson deck plus two mixed-structure spans of lengths 38 and 40 meters.
The prestressed-concrete spans consist of monolithic precast two-light caissons with post-tensioned prestressing cables.
The caissons weigh 975 tons each and are 33 meters long.
The section depths/thicknesses are 45 cm for the webs, 37 cm for the deck slab and 30 cm
for the bottom slab with increased depth at 60 cm from the ends.
The prestressing cables are 24 post-tensioned cables, electrically insulated by the use of insulated head ends and HDPE sheaths. Of them, fifteen 19-strand cables are placed in the three
webs, with parabolic trajectories, while the other nine cables, 12-strand, are placed in the bottom slab on a straight-line trajectory. The strands used are class fptk 860 MPa, having a rated
section of 139 mm2.
Maximum pier height is 12 meters.
The foundations, deep, are built on piles.
The caissons were worked up in the plant, in the following phases: creation and placement of
the slack reinforcings and of the forms, a concrete pour carried out with the aid of truck mixers
and of two truck-mixer pumps positioned nearby the head ends, threading and tensioning of the
cables and, finally, hauling the caisson to the launch area. This last phase was carried out by a
special launch car weighing 900 tons.
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Project
Modena viaducts
Location
Modena, Italy
Client
Ferrovie dello Stato S.p.A. (State Railway System Inc.)
Concessionaire
T.A.V. S.p.A.
Higher Supervision
Italferr S.p.A.
Design
Prof. G. Macchi (Final design), Ing. Sangalli
(Construction design)
General Contractor
Cepav uno
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The Modena Viaducts system belongs to the high-speed/high-load Milan-Bologna line and has a
total length of 25,182 meters, of which 23,958 m built with precast segments and 1224 m
with in situ-poured continuous beams. The Table gives the names and the principal characteristics of the viaducts belonging to the Modena System.
All these viaducts have in common a type of deck known as the Omega, featuring a U beam
bearing the track on its flange for each track.This particular cross-section conformation has the
advantage of mitigating noise emissions by partially enclosing the train within the structure
through the bearing walls, which also act as noise barriers.
What is special about these viaducts is the particular precasting process used, which enabled
installation, during full production (between 2003 and 2004) of more than one segment per
day with a peak of 52 segments launched in July 2004.
Besides the 767 plant-precast (isostatic) segments, the structures call for an additional nine statically-indeterminate continuous-beam stretches of length 136 m, with spans of 40-56-40 m
(statically indeterminate), for a total of 27 spans. In the statically-indeterminate stretches too the
cross section is still the Omega type, with projections in the zones where the bending moment
is negative. The statically-indeterminate members are poured in forms hanging from overlying
ribs.
The typical viaduct span in the isostatic stretches is a precast prestressed-concrete member
having an open cross profile.The precasting, for a single-track, is 9 m wide and 3.5 m deep, weighing a total 690 tons of which 33 tons are steel (slack reinforcing and prestressing). The outside surface of the deck features longitudinal channels and four r.c. support elements solidly joined to it, the internal surface is smooth and encloses the trackway.The decks were all built using
an Rck 45 MPa concrete.
The (circular section) piers are 3.5 m in diameter with heights from 5.45 m to 12.20 m.Their
sections display three typologies: hollow with a 50 cm wall-depth, hollow but filled, and full-section. In the statically-indeterminate stretches the central piers are 4.50 m in diameter with full
circular sections.The piers are built of Rck 35 MPa concrete.
The foundations were built in two ways: on 1500 mm diameter piles of lengths between 35 and
50 m, and on diaphragm septums, 120 cm thick and 36 m long.The footings have dimensions
of 9.5 m x 16.7 m x 2.2 m and were built of Rck 30 concrete.
Statically
indeterminate
beams
Viaduct name
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Savena Viaduct
Project
Savena Viaduct
Location
Bologna High-Speed Florence-Bologna Railway Line
Client
T.A.V. S.p.A.
Design
Studio Sintecna Prof. Ing. Giuseppe Mancini
Contractor
IMPREGILO S.p.A.
The Savena viaduct is the crossing of the river of the same name by the Florence-Bologna HighSpeed Railway Line on a single double-track deck.This structures main characteristic lies in the
decks structural depth (below the ballast), which is just 80 cm for a 63.5 m span. To achieve
this slenderness design opted for a through-arch in which the deck is the structural systems tendon. The deck plate is thus so shaped as to create in its central zone the basin containing the
ballast, below which the structural depth is 80 cm. Laterally the depth was suitably increased
so as to correctly house the prestressing-cable heads.
The deck is suspended laterally and two alignments per side of hangers, connected to two r.c.
arches, inclined toward the interior of the bridge and connected in their turn by three r.c. crosspieces. In order to meet the design performance requisites, consisting in total prestressing in service, at the deck edges in the main directions two-way prestressing had to be applied to the
plate. Its effects were evaluated using a finite-elements mathematical model consisting of shell
elements. The hangers are connected to the deck through pre-tensioned prestressing bars and
anchored in the soffit.The bridges construction was carried out in the following phases:
the three-phase deck pour on the embankment behind the abutment and the decks progressive crosswise prestressing on the ground; then the creation of the longitudinal prestressing;
construction of two provisional piers in the river;
a forestarling 22 m long is mounted;
thrust of the deck up to the next abutment;
the mounting of centerings and forms for the in situ pour of the arches;
mounting and adjustment of the hangers, with the deck being detached from the provisional
piers;
demolition of the provisional piers and their foundations.
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174
3- Construction of the provisional riverbed piers. 4-5 Detail of the arch-plate join
and the reinforcing. 6- Installation of the arch reinforcings. 7- Forestarling for the
construction of the deck. 8- Anchorage of the hanger on the deck. 9- Bridge side
view.
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175
For the construction of the Rome-Naples High-Speed line through the municipality of Caivano,
the railway had to be inserted with the least possible environmental impact on the territory. This
led the customer, RFI-TAV, to work out structures that would be an addition to the territory.
The variation, which runs some six kilometers between stations 200 km and 206 km of the
Rome-Naples High-Speed Line substantially comprises three principal structures:
- the conical-capital viaduct;
- the multiple-arch viaduct;
- the two cut-and-cover tunnels Caivano 1 and 2.
Location
Caivano, Naples, Italy
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A.(Italian Railway System Inc.) - T.A.V. S.p.A.
(High-speed Train Inc.)
Design
Prof. Remo Calzona CE
Contractor
Societ Italiana per Condotte dAcqua S.p.A.
Year of completion
March 2006
THE CUT-AND-COVER TUNNELS CAIVANO 1
AND 2
Project
Rome-Naples High-Speed Line
Location
Caivano, Naples, Italy
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A.(Italian Railway System Inc.) - T.A.V. S.p.A.
(High-speed Train Inc.)
Design
Prof. Remo Calzona CE
Contractor
Societ Italiana per Condotte dAcqua S.p.A.
Year of completion
2007
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177
Project
Tunnels in the Florence-Bologna stretch of
High-Speed Line
The design and construction of the tunnels were carried out under the A.DE.CO-RS (Analysis of
Controlled Strains in the Rocks and Soils) design methodology.
This approach was used to make up the base-contract project and then the construction design.
This tunnel design and construction methodology avoids the limitations of traditional approaches, by supplying the possibility of industrializing the tunnel advances even when traditional
driving methods are applied, in complex geomechanical contexts and with covers running from
a few meters to six hundred.The tunnels drive through sundry Apennine geological formations,
consisting mainly of marls, sandstones, scaly clays and limestones. In driving the running tunnels
the following methodologies were adopted:
Traditional driving by the use of traditional machines (jumbos, excavators, jackhammers,
power shovels), except for the Ginori service tunnel, the only stretch in which wholly mechanized driving was carried out (by a shielded TBM). Overall some 17 million cubic meters of material were excavated.
Full-section driving after consolidation of the core-face (where necessary), especially under difficult stress-strain conditions.
Limitation of soil decompression by means of pre-confinement operations on the core-face or
confinement of the cavity (sub-horizontal jet-grouting, fibreglass plastic structural elements in the
core or around the cavity, shotcrete and steel ribs, radial bolts, etc.).The operations were defined
depending on the strain behaviour of the advancing core-face, evaluated during design phase,
described according to the following three behaviour categories: A= stable front, B= short-term
stable front, C= unstable front. Corresponding to each category is a tunnel section type for the
driving and advance.The percentage distribution of the tunnel section types applied is as follows:
type-A sections (35%), type-B sections (53%), type-C sections (12%).
Final concrete and reinforced-concrete lining.The final linings (roof, sidewalls and inverted-arch)
were in situ-cast concrete of class C25/30 in depths of 60-100 cm. On the whole seven million
cubic meters of concrete were applied.
Duration of the construction phase: 13.5 years (from July 1996 to December 2009) with advance rate of one to five meters per day and up to 2000 meters per month on thirty faces at the
same time.
Location
Florence-Bologna stretch
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Garantee
T.A.V. S.p.A. (High Speed Train Inc.)
Higher Surveillance
Italferr S.p.A.
Design
MAIRE Engineering
Rocksoil S.p.A.
General Contractor
FIAT S.p.A.
Year of completion
2009
Main features
Total length of the High-Speed Florence-Bologna
railway stretch: 78.5 km
Underground works:
- 9 double-track driven tunnels having multi-centered
sections with a driven area of 140 m2 and a net
area of 82 m2, their lengths running from 693 m to
18.2 km;
- 13 access windows for a total length of 9.3 km;
- one service tunnel 10.65 km long;
- 2 single-track interconnection tunnels (total length
2.2 km);
- 3 cut-and-cover double-track tunnels 2.8 km long;
- one large underground chamber for switching
space, one underground interconnection chamber.
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1- Pianoro Nord area: Savena bridge and the portal of the Pianoro Tunnel. 2Northern
portal of the Monte Bibele tunnel. 3- Firenzuola chamber. 4- From the
northern Morticine portal to the southern Borgo Rinzelli portal. 5- Southern portal
of the Sadurano tunnel. 6- Southern portal of the Raticosa tunnel.
179
In all cities the construction of a new railway station is a special event, if only in that unlike an airport or other man-made transportation facilities, it
constitutes a port within the heart of the city itself.
In Italy station construction has marked the stages in the modernization of the country; the stations of the main Italian cities were the starting point
of the journey and as such were often constructed as authentic monuments.
The new stations that are emerging due to the advent of high-speed rail transportation are being located in the cities according to different criteria
than in the past, often being designed to reunite parts of the city separated by the railway lines and to contribute to their redevelopment and enhancement. Some of the worlds leading contemporary architects have been commissioned to design stations that are full of life, light and sound -in a
word, stations with a definite soul, and one that they are able to project: no longer an anonymous non-place, a desolate point of transit and metaphor
for lone travel, the new stations are the place, and, similar to how a town square encourages aggregation, dialogue and leisure, they embody the
very concept of urban community life. Railway stations will be home to bookstores, cafes and shops and become venues for music, art and culture
so that they come to be looked on by the public as places in which social relations are played out.
On the horizon are the new HS stations of Naples Afragola designed by Zaha Hadid, Rome Tiburtina designed by ABDR-Paolo Desideri; Florence
Belfiore designed by Norman Foster; Bologna designed by Ricardo Bofill; Reggio Emilia designed by Santiago Calatrava and Turin Porta Susa designed
by Arep Group. Meanwhile, plans and works are in progress for the redevelopment of the historic mainline stations to adapt them to new management and operational requirements and enhance the cultural heritage they represent.
180
HS Bologna Station the map. 2- Structural sketch of the new Bologna1- TheHS new
Station (drawing by P. Bellotti). 3- The transversal section. 4- The new HS
Bologna Station work site.
1. BOLOGNA HS STATION
Project
Bologna High-Speed train station
Location
Bologna
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Design and structural engineer
ITALFERR S.p.A.
Management Contractor
Italferr S.p.A.
Architects
Ricardo Bofill
Contractor
Astaldi S.p.A.
The Bologna HS Station extends under a section of the track array of the existing central
station into a large underground chamber
approximately 640 m long, 42 m wide and 23
m deep. The new underground station will be
split into three levels.The HS tracks will be laid
on the bottom level, passenger services and
1
commercial activities will be located on the
middle level, while the upper level will be reserved for vehicular traffic to the
station and as parking space.The middle level will also be used as an exhibition area for the numerous archaeological finds (including a road, a furnace and burial chambers) found during excavation. The HS Station was
designed by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill who adopted innovative
solutions of high architectural value. The supporting structures of the excavation, for example, are designed as facing arches that transfer earth
thrust to spurs placed at 12 m intervals: this results in large bulkhead sections free of structural obstacles both horizontally (12 m of clear space) and
vertically (24 m of clear space). This innovative solution exploits the facing
arches as architectural elements to project daylight onto the tracks creating
a vertical illumination effect similar to that found in Gothic architecture and
also allows the insertion of vertical communicating elements between levels.
An international design competition for the completion of the central station
and the redevelopment of the urban area in which it is located has been
recently awarded to the Japanese architect Isozaki.
Main features
Plan dimensions: 640m x 42m
Overall height: 23m (underground)
Pile perimetral bulkheads: 20,000 m2
Bulkheads, rider arches and spurs = 37,000 m2
Foundation concrete: 57,000 m3
Foundation reinforcing steel: 10,000 t
Concrete in standing structure: 100,000 m3
Reinforcing steel in standing structure: 15,000 t
Structural steel: 31,000 t
Floor-structure area: 80,000 m2
4
181
tion.1- Overall view. 2- Detail the steel-glass canopy. 3-4- Internal view. 5- Cross sec-
Main features
Plan dimensions: 450m x 52m
Overall height: 26.5m
Bulkheads: 40,000 m2
Foundation concrete: 95,600 m3
Reinforcing steel in foundation: 22,800 t
Standing-structure concrete: 75,000 m3
Standing-structure reinforcing steel:
23,700 t
Structural steel (tons): 8,000 t
Floor-structure area: 35,000 m2
2. FLORENCE HS STATION
Project
Florence High-Speed railway station
Location
Former Macelli/Belfiore area of Florence, Italy
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Design
ATI Foster and Arup
Structural engineer
Definitive design: Arup
Final design: Nodavia
Architects
Foster & Partners
Management Contractor
Italferr S.p.A.
General Contractor
Nodavia, Ati Coopsette-Ergon engineer
182
Contractor
ATI Coopsette / MECoop
Main features
Overall height: 36 m of which 26 m above
ground.
Bulkheads: 29,150 m2
Piles: 62,190 m
Foundation concrete: 42,450 m3
Reinforcing steel in foundation: 14,425 t
Standing structure concrete: 24,675 m3
Standing structure reinforcing steel: 7,415 t
Structural steel: 11,750 t of which 1,475 t for the
roof space-lattice structure
Floor-structure area: 54,000 m2
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1- General view. 2- Transversal section of the first part of the station. 3-4-5-6-78- The
work site.
Project
The Turin Porta Susa High-Speed train station
Location
Turin Porta Susa, Italy
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Design
ITALFERR S.p.A. (Definitive), Ing. Campa (Final)
Structural engineer
ITALFERR S.p.A. (Definitive), Ing. Campa (Final)
Architects
ITALFERR S.p.A. (Definitive), Ing. Campa (Final)
Management Contractor
ITALFERR S.p.A.
Contractor
A.T.I. Astaldi S.p.A. (Mandatary Group Leader)
Vianini Lavori S.p.A. (assignor) - Impresa di
Costruzioni Rosso geom. Francesco & Figli S.p.A.
(assignor) Di Vincenzo Dino & C. S.p.A.
(assignor). Turner & Townsend Group Limited
(assignor)
Main features
Plan dimensions: 465 m x 45 m
Overall height: 12 m
Bulkheads: 2,500 m2
Foundation concrete: 20,000 m3
Reinforcing steel in foundation: 2,4 kt
Concrete in standing structure: 23,500 t
Reinforcing steel in standing structure: 3,4 kt
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9- The new station. 10- The structure completed. 11- Detail. 12- Overall view.
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Design/Structural engineer/Architects
Joint venture of designers: AREP J.M. Duthilleul,
E. Tricaud (Group leader), arch. Silvio DAscia,
prof. arch. Agostino Magnaghi
Contract Management
R.F.I. S.p.A.
Contractor
Joint venture of companies: Guerrino Pivato
S.p.A. (Group leader), BIT S.p.A.
Main features
Plan dimensions: 385 m x 33,60 m
Overall height:
portion below street level: 10.19 m
portion above street level: varying from 3 to
12 m
Floors above ground: 1
Floors below ground: 3
Gross pavement area: 39,800 m2
Underground parking area: 8,700 m2
11
12
10
185
Main features
Plan area: 483 m x 50 m
Overall height: 20 m average, since the roof has a
sine-wave profile and h varies.
Foundation concrete: 16,734 m3
Foundation reinforcing steel: 1,700 t
Standing structure concrete: 2,250 m3
Standing structure reinforcing steel: 430 t
Structural steel: 9,140 t (portals, arches and
beams)
Floor structure area: 7,728 m2 (loading platforms)
and 200 m2 (ground-floor business stalls)
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6. AFRAGOLA HS STATION
Project
Naples Afragola High-speed railway station
Location
Afragola district - Naples, Italy
Client
R.F.I. S.p.A. (Italian Railway System Inc.)
Design
Definitive design - Zaha Hadid arch.
Final Design: SAIR GEIE (European
Architecture, Town-planning and Engineering
Group)
Structural Engineer
Definitive design - Zaha Hadid arch.
Final design - SAIR GEIE (European
Architecture, Town-planning and Engineering
Group)
Architects
Zaha Hadid arch.
Contract Management
Italferr S.p.A.
Contractor
ATI DEC S.p.A.
Main features
Plan dimensions (project area, including parking):
450 m x 350 m
Overall height: 26.45 m
Bulkheads: not present
Foundation concrete: 38,000 m3
Foundation reinforcing steel: 4,000 t
Standing structure concrete: 45,000 m3
Standing structure reinforcing steel: 5,200 t
Structural steel: 4,200 t
Floor structure area: 23,000 m2
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Project
The Colletta cable-stayed bridge
Location
Sangone creek, Giaveno (Turin), Italy
Client
The District of Turin
Design
A.T.I. [GEODATA SpA, Mario Petrangeli & Associati
Srl (Prof. ing. Mario Paolo Petrangeli, ing. L. Fieno,
ing. L. Pinchiaroglio)]
General contractor
A.T.I. (SISEA, COGEIS, FIP Industriale)
Stays (supply and work)
TESIT SpA
Photographs
Mario Petrangeli & Associati Srl
188
After the floods of October 2000 that caused enormous damage, the province of Turin
appropriated funds for setting the riverbeds to rights and for reconstructing damaged
infrastructures, among which the bridge over Sangone creek. The impossibility of changing
the existing highway route, owing to the numerous constructions lined along it, compelled
design to conserve the old bridges position in both line and grade, and this was a heavy
constraint on the design of the new one. In making up the design, the alternatives evaluated had to eliminate the intermediate supports (their presence would mean the construction of deep-lying foundation structures) and increase bridge length by twenty metres, while
meeting the hydraulics clearances required and providing a wide range of choices of construction methods and an architectural value suited to the sites environmental value. At the
end the choice fell on a cable-stayed bridge eighty meters long. The deck cross section, a
total 15.10 m wide, is the classical one for small-span stayed bridges: there are two main
girders, of rectangular section 2.0 m x 1.20 m, in situ-poured and lightly prestressed, on
whose centerlines are anchored the stays, with their heads placed in special places.The two
longitudinal beams bear the secondary crosswise weave, created with adherent-strand prestressed precastings placed at 2.50 m spacings.The pylon, a total 36 m high from its springer, consists of two blade uprights inclined by ten degrees to the vertical and connected by
an upper prestressed crosspiece, placed immediately below the stay anchorages. The pylon
bears eight pairs of stays that sustain the eighty-meter span and is itself anchored to the
ground by another four pairs of stays that are anchored on the mooring block. The pylon
base is a caisson foundation structure, such as to directly transfer the stresses below the
creek bed directly onto the bedrock.
in which is seen too a bridge built for provisional traffic flows. 2- The bridge,1-frontPlan,view.
189
Pour of the deck slab. 4- The completed pylon structure, awaiting removal of
the3-scaffoldings.
5- The stays system in its end configuration: in view are the two
mooring blocks anchoring the stays, since the single-span bridge scheme is dissymmetric. 6- Cross sections through the deck: typical (left) and nearby the pylon
(right).
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191
Project
Road viaduct
Location
Rio SAdde SS 129, Macomer, Sardegna, Italy
Client
ANAS spa
Agency letting contractor
Province of Nuoro
General design
Ing. Gian Paolo Gamberini
Structural design
Ing. Pietro Paolo Mossone
Chief of supervision of construction
Ing. Gian Paolo Gamberini
General contractor
CONSCOOP, Forl Coop. Edile Edile di Orgosolo
s.c.r.l. (awarded contractor)
192
The structure, enabled the elimination of several kilometres of tortuous road that made connections
with the city of Macomer, in the heart of Sardinia, inconvenient. This was effected by a viaduct that crosses a valley 180 m broad. The nature of the place, imposed on design choices
aimed at maximizing the oeuvres harmony with its context.The structure comprises a singlelight box deck of variable section set on two slender piers, each composed of two septums
set close together. The deck breaks down into three spans of lengths 45, 90 and 45 metres.
The deck depth runsbetween 2.30 and 4.50 metres, while the depth of the box soffit slab
varies between 0.22 and 1.00 m.The thickness of the side walls is 0.50 m and the extrados
slab is 0.22 m deep. The crosswise width is 13.00 m at the upper slab and 6.50 m at the
lower. The piers each comprise two septums having a section of dimensions 1.00 m x 7.50
m and heights of 21.70 m and 25 m respectively.
The two septums are connected together at the base by crosswise septums 0.50 m thick.
Deck construction proceeded by symmetric balanced advance cantilevered from the piers
with pours of successive segments; these were then prestressed in pairs by the application of
post-tensioned cables. The deck was built of 43 segments. The two approach spans comprise ten segments each, and the centre span comprises two facing halves, each of which breaks
down into ten segments; there are also the crown segment and the two pier-head segments.
Each segment is 4.20 m long except for the centre span crown segment, which is 1.00 m
long.The deck is prestressed with post-tensioned cables.The pierhead segments were poured
on centerings, to create the base platform for the launch cars. From these segments construction went ahead symmetrically with two isostatic tees being built, joined by the crown
segment.
Deck cross section at the pier. 2- Cross section through deck at midspan. 3The1-procedure
for constructing the deck cantilevered from the pier. 4- The septums
composing the pier structure.
193
194
195
Project
Road bridge
Location
San Martino, Erto (Pordenone), Italy
Client
Erto and Casso Municipality
Structural design
Ing. Paolo Giovenale, ing. S. Rossi, Roma
Geothecnical works design
Prof. F. Colleselli, Padova
Chief of supervision of construction
Ing. P. Sommavilla, Belluno
Safety coordinator
Ing. A. Tenani, Belluno
Impresa costruttrice
Monti S.p.A., Auronzo di Cadore (BL)
The bridge over Vajont creek, which stands five kilometres in an air line from the dam, was
literally swept away by the wave, running uphill, generated by the slide of 260 million cubic
meters of material that detached from Mount Toc on October 9th 1963. Some three years
ago the Erto and Casso city administrations decided to start up reconstruction work of the
bridge and to improve the existing city road on the left bank of the creek.The solution approved was a prestressed-concrete box-girder bridge built cantileverwise by successive segments
starting from the right bank of the creek. In its definitive configuration the bridge is a total
87.25 m long and 7.50 m wide.
The net span of the bridge between its bearings is 74.50 m.The rest of the deck corresponds
to a stretch built on the right bank, that acts as counterweight, and anchorage for the stay
cables.The route in plan is in tangent, and its grade profile lies at 731 m above sea level.The
roadway section has a 4.50 m wide carriageway and a bicycle and foot path 1.50 m wide.
The deck consists of a prestressed-concrete single-light box whose depth varies from 6.94 m
at the bearings on the right bank, to 3.25 m in midspan. The width of the box is a constant
3.00 m. The upper slab is 7.00 m wide. The depth of the extrados slab is a constant 0.25
m in the center, between the (vertical) webs. It descends to 0.20 m in the cantilevered parts.
The soffit slab depth varies from 0.25 m in span to 0.70 m at the starting section of the first
segment. The webs are 0.30 m thick. The statics scheme of the structural system as a whole
is thus a fixed-jointed or simply-supported beam. The deck comprises a total of fourteen in
situ-poured segments.The abutment segment, 14.00 m long and weighing 930 tons, was poured in a specially built form bearing on the ground. The last segment, 2.75 m long and weighing 55 tons, was poured directly on a form mounted on the left-bank abutment.
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1- Longitudinal section through the bridge. 2-3 Phases in the cantilevered construction
of the deck by successive segments. 4- The last segment connecting with
the tunnel.
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Project
Cable-stayed bridge, crossing the Adda river
Location
Between Calolziocorte (LC) and Olginate (LC), Italy
Client
Province of Lecco
Design
Eng. Angelo Valsecchi (Department of Transportation,
Province of Lecco)
Structural engineering
Prof. Carmelo Gentile, PhD, Eng. Roberto Gentile
Management Contractor
Department of Transportation, Province of Lecco
General contractor
Vitali S.p.A., Cisano Bergamasco (BG)
Year of completion
2009
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The Cesare Cant cable-stayed bridge is a roadway bridge, crossing the Adda river between
the municipalities of Olginate and Calolziocorte (about 60 km north-east of Milan).The bridge,
opened to traffic on February 13th 2009, is the seventh crossing of Adda river in the Province
of Lecco and represents an important commercial link between the opposite banks of the
river in a very intensely industrialized area; the conceptual and executive design of the new
bridge were completed in 1999 and 2003, respectively.
The bridge consists of two H-shaped concrete towers, double-plane cables and a pre-stressed
concrete girder deck; the bridge girder is formed by a central span of 110.0 m and two lateral spans of 55.0 m, for a total length of 220.0 m.
The deck, made in C40/50 pre-stressed concrete, was cast in place and post-tensioned. The
deck is 11.50 m wide and consists of 2 two-cell box girders, 1.50 m high, connected by a
central slab and by a series of 24 transverse cross-beams, providing the lower anchorage of
the stay cables. The equally spaced cross-beams are 8.00 m apart and their width exceeds
of 1.25 m per side the width of the deck. The deck was designed to have a depth of 1.5 m,
corresponding to about 1/150 of the total length, so that a good transparency of the bridge
girder was attained from aesthetic stand point.
The deck is suspended from 48 stay cables, arranged in two planes in a semi-fan, held at the
top of the two main reinforced concrete portal towers in special welded steel tower-head
assemblies.The cast-in-place concrete towers (C32/40) are about 38.0 m high and consist of
two concrete piers, a lower concrete wall connecting the piers and supporting the deck, upper
steel devices providing the anchorage for the stay cables and a transverse steel truss connecting the upper part of the piers.
The bridge stays use 19 and 31 16 mm diameter strands of steel cable; each strand comprises seven 5 mm wires and is protected by a high-density polyethylene sheath.
The construction of the deck was carried out by using an unusual technique. First, a series of
large diameter steel pipes were placed on the bed of Adda river in order to allow the water
flow corresponding to the maximum expected flood level. Subsequently a stabilized embankment was constructed over the steel pipes and the river bed, so that the embankment was
used to continuously support the formworks for the casting of the concrete deck. It should be
noticed that the above construction technique, usually adopted for very small spans, turned
out to be cost effective; in addition, the stability of the embankment and the effectiveness of
the water pipes were successfully checked by the severe flood occurred in Italy during Spring
2008.
It is further noticed that, according with the seismic classification introduced in 2003, the seismic hazard at the bridge site was described by the ground design acceleration ag=0.05g and
the importance factor was assumed as gI=1.3. The seismic design of the bridge was carried
out in order to ensure: (a) elastic behaviour in the vertical and transverse directions; (b) nonlinear dissipative behaviour (by using base isolation hysteretic devices) in the longitudinal
direction.
It is worth mentioning that the reception tests of bridge included not only the procedures that
are mandatory in the Italian Code (i.e. extensive characterization of the materials and severe load tests) but, according to the international practice, also dynamic tests (involving deck,
towers and stay cables) during the construction phases and before the bridge opening.
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3-4-5- Construction phases of the bridge. 6- Aerial view of the Cesare Cant
cable-stayed
bridge. 7- View of the bridge central span during the reception load tests. 8- Details of the transverse cross-beams providing the lower anchorage of the
stay cables.
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203
La Maddalena
Caprera
Project
Bridge between La Maddalena e Caprera Islands
Location
La Maddalena Island (Italy)
Client
Italian Government
Design
Prof. Ing. Gian Michele Calvi
Structural detailing
Prof. Ing. Gian Michele Calvi, Lombardi Reico srl (Ing.
Giorgio Pedrazzi, Ing. Carlo Beltrami), Ing. Matteo
Moratti
Architect
Prof. Ing. Gian Michele Calvi
Contract Management
Ing. Valter Frascaroli, Ing. Matteo Moratti
General contractor
A.T.I. Dott. Mario Ticca S.r.l. Sassari, S.C.I.R. S.p.A.
Cagliari, Novaco S.r.l. Sassari
Year of completion
2009
204
The bridge replaces a temporary Bailey bridge connecting the islands of La Maddalena and
Caprera.The design bridge length is 52 meters, with three spans symmetrically arranged (two
lateral spans 13.5 m long and a central one of 25 meters). The rise of the arch is about 5
m. The bridge is composed by double cantilever truss elements, conceived to conceptually
allow the rotation of each side on its foundation to open the central span.The variable thickness of the arches that form each cantilever element is such that the vertical dead loads reaction is centred in each foundation. The steel truss elements connecting the upper and lower
arches have circular hollow sections (D=150 mm).The lower central span arch and the upper
deck merge at the centre in a flexural hinge transmitting shear forces. Axial forces and bending moments reactions are provided at each one of the central arch foundations, by three
bearings with tensile reaction capacity.Tension and compression axial force restraints are provided at each abutment. The use of high performance concrete allowed to reduce the structural thickness and to use post-tensioning tendons in the upper deck, to equilibrate part of
the tensile forces developed in the upper chord of the spatial trusses. The whole bridge has
been protected with white polymeric resin, to provide durability and at the same time to
improve the aesthetics of the bridge.
All design choices are essentially governed by environmental constraints:
1. the geometry of the fixed points derived from the historical heritage, as well as the idea of
an arch bridge and of a conceptually rotating structure;
2. the central span height was the best compromise between deck slope and boat clearance
space (5 m (h) by 8 m (w));
3. the arch shape and the reduced element thickness minimizes the environmental impact;
4. the horizontal reactions at the abutments and foundation had to be limited because of the
soil characteristics;
5. an improved structural durability was dictated by the marine environment;
6. the on-site work duration had to be kept at a minimum to minimize the interference with
the local traffic;
7. two longitudinal concrete ribs (20 x 50(h) cm) have the double purpose of protecting the
pedestrian traffic without inserting heavy guard rail elements, and of contributing to the upper
chord structural capacity;
8. the external light parapet complete the sailing boat reminiscence of the whole structure,
with only white resin and stainless steel used as finishing materials.
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Project
Don Bosco bridge at Arenaccia
Location
Naples, Italy
Client
City of Naples RUP Giuseppe Pulli arch.
Design and yard management
Prof. Antonio De Luca CE
Assistants
Giuseppe Mautone CE, Alfredo Sasso CE,
geom. Corrado Esposito
Architectural consulting
Prof. Fernanda De Maio arch., Gianluca Marangi arch.
Artistic consulting
Mariangela Levita
Structures consulting
Prof. Attilio De Martino CE
Geotechics and foundations
Prof. Carlo Viggiani CE
General proof testing
Prof. Roberto Ramasco CE
General contractor
Joint venture of 3 parties: Fico Costruzioni srl,
Amato Trivellazioni srl, Fico Giuseppe
Concrete supplier
IMECAL s.r.l.
Mosaic supplier
TREND GROUP S.p.A.
Year of completion
2009
The Via Arenaccia is one of the Naples street systems main arteries, a role it has maintained
as the centuries passed.
In 1999 the City of Naples decided to replace the old bridge with a new structure that would
re-establish, in its entirety, the citys old connection as borne witness to by 18th century maps
with its northern districts.
The project is highly complex and has many critical features, arising from the bridges position in relation to other existing buildings, in an old urban area that is today densely populated. A few of its interactions with existing infrastructures may be mentioned: two 1000 mm
pipes under pressure, two sewer trunks six meters wide, 24,000 telephone cables, many electrical cables of medium and high voltage, and gas lines.
The very slender deck (its depth at midspan is 50 cm) has the shape of a strongly depressed skew vault.The net span between the bridge abutments, measured on the skew, is 26.90
m, with a width of 19,85 m. The slenderness coefficient, L2/f, is 1450, a very high value for a
concrete arch, putting it at the top of the list of constructions of this type internationally.
The heavy thrust exerted by the arch deck is taken by the very sturdy caisson-form abutments, which constitute two control rooms needed to create the hydraulic bypass.
Special care was taken with durability, by choosing the best material that could be used for
the purpose: self-compacting concrete, and by seeing to its physical and mechanical protection through the use of a cladding, long-lasting and easily maintained.
The concrete protection was thus converted into a design and architectural point of departure to best fit the infrastructure into its urban context. The choice was to wrap all surfaces:
piers, abutments, vault, shelf girders, etc. with glass-mosaic tesseras forming a design, its purpose also to give the structure uniformity and continuity.
Bridges built in urban areas too often feature elements lacking order, disconnected and
various: beams, crosspieces, bolts, welds, aprons, sails, little shelves, shelf girders, railings, guardrails, meshes. These elements often form a disorderly universe that allows no possibility of
cleanness of form in creating an insertion into the urban fabric. The infrastructure thus becomes, too often, synonymous with poor architectural quality. Concrete, with its vocation for
the continuous structure, lends itself to eliminating the diversity of elements: piers, main and
secondary girders, crosspieces, shearbracings etc. The mosaic thus offered the possibility of
creating a uniform whole.
The decision to clad the bridge with mosaic tesseras gave the new infrastructure complex a
very obvious character, making it readable from the road crossing it even at long distances.
Design had, in this case, set up, after consulting the painter Mariangela Levita, an abstract
design of great size in tones of black, grey and golden-yellow on a white background, the idea
to transform the passageway into a true promenade amid art and architecture.The design
on the down-slope abutment bends then towards the new stairway both to mark the thickness of the abutments (six meters deep) and to suggest the continuation of the walk towards
the citys upper level.
The protection of the concrete surfaces, with a view to the durability and sustainability of a
public work, formed the point of departure for an artistic operation and for the best fit of the
infrastructure into its urban context, where the bridge becomes something that does not arrogantly state its presence but that rather seeks to fit its various parts in, discreetly.The mosaic
is like a mantle in Christos installations, which enwraps all parts of the bridge to give it conformity and continuity. The whole (mosaic, railings and light poles) as white as light.
Project co-financed by the European Union FERS European Fund for Regional Development
P.O.R. Campania 2000-2006 Measure no. 5.1
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project design. 2- Cladding of the upslope abutment. 3- View of the downslope1- Theabutment.
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of the bridge with the stairway connecting Via Arenaccia and Via Don Bosco.4-5-6ViewBridge
longitudinal section and plan.
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211
Project
Road viaduct
Location
Pinerolo traffic circle grafting SS23 to SS589
Client
Agenzia Olimpica Torino 2006
Design
Studio SINTECNA Prof. Giuseppe Mancini CE
Contractor
Torino Scavi Manzone S.p.A. General construction
Year of completion
2006
212
The viaduct is part of the upgrading operation on the regional highway Laghi di Avigliana, the former State Road 589.This secondary extraurban artery (class C in the CNR standards) is being converted into a principal extraurban highway (class B), in the stretch in the City of Pinerolo from station 27+800 km to station 30+250 km, by improving its exchange systems with the main communication ways (principally State Road no. 23). At the intersection between SS 589 and SS 23 the
construction of a traffic circle was envisaged, having three lanes and an internal radius of 91.00 m,
to distribute the traffic into the various directions. Called for too is the construction of an overpass,
SS 23 flying over the new traffic circle, thus freeing the bypass traffic from all the other flows. At the
crossing with Corso Torino there was a grade intersection. Since the object was to free the state
highway's route of the urban fabric, the construction of a high-speed road in cut was proposed, so
as to underpass the crossing.This will be placed above site level and will be a two-lane traffic circle
having an internal radius of 31.00 m. It will comprise two simply-supported viaducts in curve. Both
viaducts display a section involving a ribbed prestressed-concrete plate of maximum depth 1.30 m.
Its outside profile is rounded to make it fit better into the landscape.This solution, which today receives everybody's thorough approval for its safety and durability, offers the following advantages:
it has a significant structural mass that, even with reduced spans, makes it insensitive to the dynamic effects induced by the transit of vehicles;
it can harmoniously take on any form in plan;
it has a high guarantee of durability, because of its massive structure devoid of thin elements, because of the reduced extent of its exposed surface as compared with more traditional solutions (beams
plus slabs), and because of the adoption of HDPE sheaths for the prestressing cables, wholly impenetrable by the chlorides of antifreeze salts, which will certainly be used for a considerable period of
the year;
it provides the possibility of forming the section at designs pleasure, and thus of facilitating its fit
into the surrounding environment. Proposed for the case in question is a crosswise profile having
sizeable curved fairings and a central zone of lower width, which gives the impression of high slendemess to an observer standing on the ground around it, even if his point of observation is but a
short distance from the structures;
there is the possibility of pursuing the structural shape with the finish works (parapets, barriers,
protections for the underlying crossings), so shaped as to harmonize the structure-finishings complex.
The SS 23 viaduct on the traffic circle grafting it onto SS 589 has six spans.The two side spans at
the end are 28 m long, and the four central spans are 33 m long.The structure is continuous-beam
with intermediate bearings. Considering its height (not far above ground) and the reduced interference with the road system during construction phase, its construction was envisaged as in standard
shoring, that is with formwork and strutting bearing on the ground, through a slab to distribute the
forces.The construction methods call for a complex centering involving six successive phases, each
of which involving the tensioning of the prestressing cables envisaged for the construction phases.
Finally, when the pours have been completed, a further prestressing will be introduced into the final
statics scheme through the use of a second series of cables, having two different types of trajectories.The piers have a structural geometry with a profile faired into the decks and a very limited longitudinal dimension (one meter) so as to not form a barrier effect for the observer glancingat the
panorama from below. On the outside of the viaduct a service sidewalk is envisaged with a parapet
whose function is also that of noise barrier. It is composed of metal uprights and coloured polycarbonate panelling having a curved profile so as to fair into the deck section. In order to facilitate
inspection and maintenance of the works inspection spaces are provided for the prestressing head
ends.There is also the possibility of replacing the deck bearings without limiting traffic.
1- Cross section through viaduct at pier centreline. 2- Cross sections through deck
in span
and at abutment centerline: reinforcings.
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View of the structure. 4- General plan. 5- Form for the pour of the deck. 6- Detail,3-showing
slack reinforcing and prestressing cables. 7- Centering to support the
formwork.
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215
Roccaprebalza viaduct
Project
A15 Roccaprebalza road viaduct (North carriageway)
Location
Cisa Motorway A15: upgrading of the motorway
route at the Vigne viaduct
Customer
Autocamionale della Cisa S.p.A.
Design
Studio SINTECNA - Prof. Giuseppe Mancini CE
Contractor
L.A.S. S.c.a.r.1.
Year of completion
2006
216
The viaduct displays a continuous-beam scheme having a single-light caisson section of variable
depth, built cantilevered from the piers with span lengths of 120 m. Only in the end stretch
where it is expected that landslips might take place was a statically-determinate span built, its
length 45 m. On the pier shared with the continuous deck it utilized special adjustable keepers
that permit the pier to freely move without generating stress states in the decks. Design opted
for a mixed steel-concrete solution with steel webs and r.c. slabs that make possible segments
of considerable length, although only relatively light pieces need be handled (the webs), the whole
being completed with in-situ-poured top and bottom slabs. The hollow piers appear as shafts,
running from 15 m to 87 m tall, of square cross section whose dimension varies with shaft height. The minimum width lies at around 25 m from the taller pier tops, so that the piers taller
than 30 m display a trumpet profile that contributes to fining the structure, while at the same
time ensuring for the taller shafts an optimum sizing against instabilities. The section of least
dimensions displays plan dimensions of 6x6 m. For the pier and abutment foundations circular
caissons filled with concrete were used, their diameters varying from 9 m to 14 m.This solution
was dictated by the nature of the soils (fractured and scaly oxylites), by the considerable forces
unloaded by the viaduct and by the need to counter landslips in the viaduct's end area.The viaduct in question is the first structure in Italy in which the caisson deck, built of wed segments
cantileverwise from the pier, is of mixed structure, with the use of both outside prestressing and
bonded-cable prestressing.This choice enabled construction of the 9-meter-long segments owing
to the fact that the elements to be handled consisted of the steel webs only (and were thus of
relatively low weight), a building-construction crane anchored to the pier being used. Once the
webs were positioned they were connected together with a system of provisional guys and struts
that made it possible to obtain the section form desired, the distortions necessary in the stretch in tangent being imposed as well to create the screw-like behaviour of the section tied to the
changing crosswise slopes. Once the webs were blocked in definitive position the lower slab was
poured, using precast predalles as throwaway forms. In the final phase the upper slab was poured, using a metal form sliding within the caisson, precast pilaster strips being used to anchor
the upper prestressing cables. Once the tees were connected the outside continuity cables were
threaded, being deflected by means of two full diaphragms placed at the quarter-spans, and
finally they were tensioned to one-half design value. Thus the construction rises could be reduced. Only when the entire deck had been built and solidized, was the tensioning of all the outside cables completed, starting from the Parma side and ending on the La Spezia side.
1- Cross section through deck in span (a) and at pier centerline (b).
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Project
Sandro Pertini road bridge
Location
Macerata, Italy
Client
County of Macerata
Design
Prof. Gian Michele Calvi CE, Matteo Moratti CE
Structural detailing
Prof. Gian Michele Calvi CE, Matteo Moratti CE
Architects
Prof. Gian Michele Calvi CE, Matteo Moratti CE
Contract management
Studio Calvi s.r.l., Pavia, Italy
General contractor
A.T.I. Rosi Giancarlo Costruzioni Srl, G.S. Costruzioni
Generali Srl, Cagnini Costruzioni Srl, Costruzioni Edili
Sirolesi Srl, DellOrso Perforazioni Srl
220
In June 2005 the masonry bridge spanning the Potenza river near the town of Macerata (92
metres long with five 18 m spans) was closed to the vehicular and pedestrian traffic because
of evidence of structural damage, apparently due to significant foundation settlement.
The importance of the bridge (average traffic 24,000 vehicle/day) required a rapid intervention,
that should have also addressed the problem of seismic safety (with an expected peak ground
acceleration of about 0.25 g for a 10% probability of exceedence in 50 years).
The architectural and historical relevance did not allow signigicant changes in the aesthetics of
the bridge.The proposed solution was to built a new concrete bridge inside the old masonry one,
only emerging with the new deck, wider than the original one to adequate the geometry to the
present prescription for vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
The final design and the work program were developed in ten days. Works were completed in
40 days.
The conceptual design was very simple:
1. two piles (D=1,2 m, length 30 m) were drilled into the three existing piers and at the abutments;
2. all material above the arch structures was removed;
3. five transverse cross beams were casted above each pile couple;
4. thirteen high damping rubber bearings were installed, 2 on each abutment and 3 on each pier;
5. a deck composed of precast extruded beams was placed on temporary supports;
6. top slab and six diaphragm beams were casted in situ;
7. the temporary supports were removed;
8. the structure was completed with a waterproof membrane, protection, finishing, asphalt, parapets, joints, deck drainage, lighting systems, and traffic signals.
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5
LEGEND
1 - Drilling
2 - Water bed
3 - Original concrete foundation
4 - Siffening foundation with micropiles for masonry piers
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Emptying of the bridge, with the heads of the piles already driven. 4- The emptied3-bridge.
5- Longitudinal section through the project sites geology. 6- Longitudinal section. 7- Cross section. 8- Laying the aseismic isolations. 9- Laying the precast beams.
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Project
Cable-stayed footbridge over the Frodolfo river
Location
Bormio, (Italy)
Client
Bormio Municipality
Structural detailing
Prof. Gian Michele Calvi CE, Dario Compagnoni CE,
Matteo Moratti CE
Architect
Prof. Gian Michele Calvi CE
Contract Management
Studio Calvi s.r.l., Pavia, Italy
General contractor
G.A.L. costruzioni, Bormio, Italy
224
The bridge has a single span of about 66 m passing over an important road and a river, is
curved in plan and in elevation, the deck has a variable thickness of about 300 mm and is
sustained by a single pylon, hinged at the base.The main structure has been mounted in four
days, without any temporary support, using six identical prefabricated deck sections, each one
being 12 m long, and a 35 m monolithic steel pylon to which the deck sections are anchored, by means of four cables each. The total construction cost has been approximately
500,000 . The bridge is technologically highly innovative, light, beautifully inserted in the
environment and very cost effective. The design choices were essentially guided by the environmental constraints:
no intermediate support was really possible, and only on the west side topography and building locations permitted a relatively easy construction of foundations; on the same side, an
underground parking under construction provided some appropriate anchoring mass;
the beauty of the valley and the presence of an ancient stone bridge required a light structure, with minimum interference with the surroundings;
the construction time on site needed to be reduced to a minimum, to mitigate as much as
possible traffic interruption on the main road.
It was decided to design an asymmetric steel pylon, rotated both vertically (about 7 degrees)
and horizontally, in order to optimize the force distribution.
The pylon is made of a monolithic 35 m steel pipe (812 mm external diameter) with a
second external co-axial pipe (850-1100 mm variable diameter) welded to the internal one
by six radial steel wings).
The pylon is hinged at the base and its position is essentially governed by the actual loading,
with a variable inclination. Eleven tendons (52 mm maximum diameter) restrain the pylon at
the ground.
The deck is formed by five precast high performance concrete elements supported on 10
couples of thinner cables. Each segment has the same length (12 m) and the same radius
of curvature both in plan (about 300 m) and in elevation (about 1200 m).
The inplane curved shape of the deck is effectively reacting to horizontal loads by arching
action, whilst vertically the deck is free to rotate around a horizontal axis on the west side
and is connected to the east abutments with a double-hinged 6 m long truss that allows vertical free movements and rotations of the deck.
Pylon foundation, abutments and anchor mass for the fixed cables were constructed on site,
taking advantage of the contemporary construction of an underground parking lot.The pylon
was transported overnight in a single piece and mounted with two cranes; within the subsequent three days it was possible to position and anchor the five deck sections, prefabricated
elsewhere. During construction, a temporary connection between the deck sections was provided by steel self centring couplers, later on included in concrete injections that made the
deck fully continuous. The results of the complex nonlinear time-history simulations carried
out during the design phase were later confirmed by in-situ dynamic testing, with induced vertical displacements of 180 mm.
225
Post-tensioned concrete plinth at pylon base. 2- Temporary self centring couplers1- (clockwise:
plan view; section B-B; detail of the steel pin; section A-A RC transversal beam cast on site). 3- Main section of the deck (hatched zone indicates RC,
dimensions in mm). 4- Main geometry of the footbridge frontal view from South. 5Horizontal hinged bearings at the West abutment. 6- Deformed shapes under live
loads of the f. e. model (from left to right: South-East view; East view; plan view).
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227
Project
SS16 Adriatica - Bypass of the settlements of
Montesilvano and Marina di Citt SantAngelo job
segment 1 Road bridge over Mazzocco creek
Location
Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy
Client
ANAS S.p.A.
Design
Prof. M. P. Petrangeli CE, E. Cipolloni CE
Management Contractor
ANAS S.p.A.
General contractor
A&I Della Morte (Naples) - Impresa Martella,
Pescara, Italy
Year of completion
2008
228
The new stretch of the SS16 (State Road) bypass between Pescara and Montesilvano features, besides an 1800 m long tunnel, a new bridge over the Mazzocco creek, described here.
Both the contracting agency and the local authorities considered the arch bridge to be a sine
qua non for the project underway, even though the creek could have been crossed with a traditional prestressed-concrete-beam bridge, built by successive segments.
Another item that could not be ignored was that the projected works had to be compatible
with the future doubling envisaged, which would upgrade this section to the characteristics of
already-existing SS16 alternate, thus obviating future demolitions.
The construction procedures were so worked out as to not need centerings, which would have
had to stay in place for a long time since they would be in the creek bed and there was no
guarantee for the whole period of construction that the centerings ground supports would
not settle differentially, owing to the presence on a creek bank, revealed by soil studies, of
waste material originating from the driving of an old tunnel.
Mazzocco creek was crossed on a four-span bridge a total of 140 m long. The 70 m arch
span founds on circular-section caissons 15m in diameter, of maximum depth 25 m.
Pier 1 and the abutments found instead on 1200 piles up to 30 m in length, which had to
assure, besides the required bearing capacity, a minimum strain so as not to induce drops in
the arch thrust owing to interaction with the not especially good foundation soil.
The piers, of lengths up to 14 m, are two-column frames, since deck width varies between
17.2 and 26.23 m. The decks were built with 4 precast concrete U-beams 1.6 m deep, prestressed with bonded strands, their length between 24 and 24.7 m. The first span was built
instead with 18 double T beams 1 m deep.
The 4 V beams, between piers 2 and 3, bear on the crosspiece connecting the five members
constituting the arch. Each member, its double T section varying continuously from the base
to the minimum section at the crown which is 1.20 m deep, comprises three precastings jointed in place. The central element of the three is prestressed with two post-tensioned cables
of ten 0.6 super-strands, anchored on the two ends of the precasting.
The connection of the members among themselves and to the foundation footing is effected
by prestressing bars.
The precastings were built on site to limit handling. For their launching and mounting two provisional struts 15 m tall were set up, each built with five Innocenti steel-pipe towers connected together and shearbraced, bearing on two provisional footings founded on 800 piles.
In the first phase all 5+5 low elements were launched, bearing by means of supports on the
caisson footings and on struts.
After launching by means of a 300 ton crane of the central elements, the stitches were effected and the provisional struts unloaded, this being carried out progressively by means of the
lowering of a series of large screws and sand-filled boxes placed below the provisional bearings of the precastings, the structures strain behaviour being constantly monitored to check
on the correspondence of the shifts with theoretical.
Thus was completed the launching of the deck beams and the subsequent pour of the slabs.
1- Bridge plan.
229
for the arch central precasting being struck. 3- Lower arch precasting
being2- Forms
mounted. 4- Handling the precastings. 5- Detail of the provisional support for
the precasting on the footing. 6- Longitudinal section. 7- Central precasting launch
phase. 8- Detail of the precastings upper connections.
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Project
Road bridge over the Sacco river
Location
Municipality of Sgurgola, Rome, Italy
Client
Consorzio Pegaso S.C.AR.L.
Roma I.T.S. S.p.A.
State Railway System High Speed lines
Design
PROGEEST S.r.l., Prof. Arch. HC E. Siviero CE, Prof.
R. Di Marco CE
Structural engineering
Enzo Siviero, Roberto Di Marco
Architects
Enzo Siviero
Management Contractor
Consorzio IRICAVUNO
General contractor
Consorzio IRICAVUNO
Consorzio PEGASO S.C.AR.L.
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The bridge over the Sacco river is one of a series of operations called for by the new highways
system setup, itself made necessary by the construction of the new high-speed railway line
between Rome and Naples.
The solution adopted is an arch bridge built using high-performance curved precast-concrete
elements. They are positioned on provisional supports and locked in place by completion
pours.To balance the thrust, at the abutments the arch ends are connected by diagonal struts
to the deck, which thus takes on the role of chain and is under tension. The moment arising
from the eccentricity of this force relative to the arch thrust is balanced by the action of active tendons placed at the deck ends, so that the forces transmitted by the structure to the soil
are practically vertical.
To eliminate continuous forms, which significantly affect the structures overall cost, in the construction of the arches precast curved elements were used, of high-performance concrete, placed in position by the use of provisional supports between the spans and later solidized by in
situ pours.
In order to cut construction time, a solution was adopted for the deck construction involving
precast beams completed by an in situ pour.
To balance the thrust of the arches, which could be incompatible with the soils mechanical
and strain characteristics, their ends at the abutments are connected by diagonal struts to
the deck. It thus takes on the statics role of a chain and is thrown into tension.
The moment given rise to through the eccentricity of this force relative to the arch thrust is
balanced by a counter couple due to the action of active tendons anchored to the deck ends
and by the corresponding reactions of the piles below the abutments, so that the forces transferred to ground are prevalently vertical.
The structure has a total length of 132 meters and comprises two arches, 56 m in span with
a 5.6 m camber, which sustain the deck connected to them at the crown and at the abutments.
The structures permeability reduces its environmental impact and interference with the flow
of water, increasing the flowrate and lowering the crosswise hydraulic thrust.
Each arch is created by the assembly of 20 x 5 precast arch segments of high-performance
concrete, having a 70 cm x 50 cm section.They are set side by side to create a structure 10
m wide, then solidized together by the pour of a concrete slab of 25 cm minimum depth.
Since the bridge centerline is skew to the rivers flowline, the precast arch segments are mounted having a mutual longitudinal slide so as to follow this geometry. In each archs central
zone the deck slab is directly connected to the arches by ribs of variable depth held up by
the arches. At the abutments and the pier the support consists of precast inverted-T-section
beams .
The total width of the deck is 13.10 m. It is sized for a road having two 4.75-meter lanes
and two sidewalks raised up and protected by guardrails.
The abutment and pier foundations are built on large-diameter piles (150 cm), their length
varying from 16 m at one of the abutments to 33 m at the central pier.
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The design solution and the arrangement in plan ensure simplicity and lightness to the whole,
in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape and fitting with the environment. In plan,
the highway bridge has a deck in the form of a parallelogram, whose major side is 64 m long,
while the width is 12 m.
As regards durability and resistance to weathering the choice of materials assures the structure the capacity to last if properly maintained. The structures symbolic significance too may
be considered quite as durable. Costs are in proportion to function, to structure safety, to the
advantages that the new structure produces, to the construction phases and schedules necessary to finish it, and to the positive judgement on the view of the whole at the end.
The bridge has a basic characteristic: its centerline is skew to the rivers flowline.
This design choice gives the structure a special characteristic, creating a very interesting foreshortening in perspective and a play of light and shadow.
Its centerline forms a 36 angle with the rivers flowline, this being perceptible from some
points of view but absolutely invisible from others. The result is, at times, a forced perspective that tends to lengthen the image laterally.
In the same way, the deck and arch dimensions and the imposingness of the whole structure are legible only when compared with the human dimension, bearing witness to a careful
search for proportion. Despite the strong dimensions the eye is not especially impressed by
the beam depths, whether before or after the successive pours.
Its juxtaposition with the existing bridge is natural: after having undergone restoration the
older structure will be used as a foot bridge, while continuing to be a memory of the past of
this part of the territory.
Structurally speaking the bridge comprises the following principal reinforced-concrete elements:
- a central parallelogram-plan arch 1.00 m deep, thrown across a 39-meter chord;
- a horizontal parallelogram deck 1.00 m deep and a width perpendicular to the sides of 7.00 m;
- along the lateral edges two wings are cantilevered, each 2.50 m wide, thus bringing total
deck width to 12.00 m;
- two diagonal lateral plates, 1.00 m thick, connect the central-arch springers with the end
edges of the deck plate;
- two support walls in the riverbed, created by continuous bulkheads 1.00 m thick, having a
plan length of 12.5 m, thrust down to a depth of 22.00 m below the arch springer;
- two support walls at the banks, built from continuous bulkheads 1.00m thick, having a
length in plan of 12.50 m, thrust down to a depth of 18.00 m below the springer of the horizontal upper deck.
Project
Road bridge over the Santa Caterina
Location
SantUrbano, Padua, Italy
Client
Municipality of SantUrbano, Province of Padua
Design
PROGEEST S.r.l., Prof. HC E. Siviero arch. CE
Structural engineering
Enzo Siviero, Luigi Rebonato
Architects
Enzo Siviero
Management Contractor
Municipality of SantUrbano
General contractor
Impresa Locatelli, Impresa Thiene
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4
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Project
Road bridge over the Cimadolmo branch
Location
Cimadolmo, Treviso, Italy
Client
Province of Treviso
Design
PROGEEST S.r.l., Prof. Arch. HC E. Siviero CE
Structural engineering
Enzo Siviero, Luigi Rebonato, Federico Zago
Architects
Alessandro Stocco
Management Contractor
Province of Treviso Lucio Bottan arch.
General contractor
F.lli PACCAGNAN S.p.A., Ponzano Veneto (Treviso)
Year of completion
2009
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As part of the general project for upgrading the roadway system to which S.P. 92 belongs, the
Treviso Provincial Administration indicated its intention to widen the structures so as to enable them to take the carriageway common to type V CNR roads (extraurban C2 according to
the new operating standards for highway construction, Ministerial Decree of 11 May 2001).
This involved upgrading the carriageway to a total width of 9.50 m and inserting service
sidewalks on both sides. During this phase the construction of just the deck holding the vehicle way is envisaged, while the sidewalks will have to await new financing.
The considerable use of precasting technology for the slab enabled shortening the construction-yard phase, greatly reducing the inconveniences caused to traffic. The system designed
envisaged the construction of six typological slabs combined in four types of segments to define the bridge plan for a total length of 420 m, broken down into 20 m spans.
The deck comprises three principal full-web beams 1000 mm deep, spaced 3500 mm apart,
connected to the 26 cm deep r.c. slab by Nelson-type rungs. The slab is constituted of precast plates having a 2 m module, broken down into two parts to cover the entire carriageway
width. The plate depth coincides in the central portion with the slabs finished depth, while in
some areas (lateral relative to the plates) and in the zone where it is supported on the steel
beams, the slab is lowered to permit an in situ pour of concrete, in order to bring about static continuity both longitudinally and crosswise, as well as with the steel beams below.The plates are so positioned as to supply the crosswise slope of the roadway plane, making the depth
of the asphalt pavement constant over the entire roadway surface, and consistent with the
behaviour of the centerline in plan. Envisaged are trestlework diaphragms (crosspieces) distributed at 4.00 m spacings and connected by diagonal shearbraces placed at the level of the
lower flat arch in such fashion as to form a structure of considerable torsional stiffness, able
to distribute the eccentric loads almost uniformly over the three principal deck beams. The
total deck width is 10.70 m, of which 9.50 m are carriageway, while 60 cm for each side of
the cross section are used to hold the guardrail and its cladding. On each pier and on the
abutments elastofip-type bearings are called for, made up of a coupling of neoprene, steel
and confined teflon, so as to create unidirectional bearings for the central beams, and multidirectional ones for the border beams, able to permit the shifts due to temperature changes
or to creep. For dynamic forces of the instantaneous type (earthquake, braking) it is provided
that the bearing for the central beam be fixed longitudinally as well, so as to distribute over
each pier the dynamic forces falling to it. Called for anyway is the insertion of a fixed bearing
into one of the two central piers. Called for on the abutments is the insertion of expansion
joints able to take the shifts due to the summation of slow and dynamic forces. It has been
ascertained, on the basis of preliminary calculations and after checking the original statics
relationships, that the hollow box structure overlying the beams current support plane is not
essential to the strength of the pier-pulvino complex and will thus be demolished (three sides).
Therefore, the construction can be prospected, above the pulvino itself, of a continuous steelconcrete deck outfitted with expansion joints only at the abutments.The structure will appear
slenderer than the preceding one (H=1.26 m versus H=1.58 m). User comfort will be increased and maintenance costs reduced owing to the radically reduced number of joints and bearings. Under the conditions indicated above, the carriageway can be widened to 9.50 m. In
relation to traffic conditions (current and future) the placement of lateral containment barriers is envisaged, sized for an H2 impact-severity index. On the outside of the curbing the
placement of a metal cladding 2.80 m high is called for, its function to clad the deck as well
as to provide partial protection of the roadway surface.
1- Axonometric view of the plate constituting the floor slab. 2- Axonometric exploded
view of the floor slab. 3- The paired piers, placed with a 20 m interaxial distance. 4-5 Laying the precast slabs.
1. precast plate
2. completion pour
3. stiffening socle
4. binder
5. finish layer
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Project
Road bridge
Location
Isola della Scala, Verona, Italy
Client
ANAS S.p.A. (Italian Road Administration)
Original design
ANAS S.p.A.
Redraft design and structural engineering
Prof. Enzo Siviero CE, Prof. Bruno Briseghella CE,
Prof. Tobia Zordan CE
The project presented concerns a flyover which construction was completed in 2007, located
in Verona - Isola della Scala, Italy. The total length of the structure is approximately of 400m
with 13 spans.
According to the designers knowledge, this is at the moment the longest IAB ever built. The
construction of the bridge, initiated in 2001 as a simply supported flyover, was interrupted
after 2 years because of economical problems. At the time of interruption, all pre-stressed concrete girders had been nevertheless purchased.
At the beginning of 2006, works restarted with a new proposal, aiming to improve the quality of the structure and change the static scheme from simply supported to integral abutment without changing the built parts, namely, the rigid abutments and the piers, in the purpose of not to increase the cost of the final structure.
During refurbishment, in order to achieve an IAB eliminating all bearings and expansion joints,
continuity was attained at the pier caps with the casting of concrete diaphragms between the
beams of adjacent spans, in order to achieve negative moment resistance. Hogging moment
resistance was also determined with a similar technique at the abutments for the end bays.
Connection between adjacent beams was carried out casting the concrete of the diaphragms
also inside the V-shaped girders for a length of 2 meters.
The bridge was opened to traffic in 2007; no mentionable damages have been noticed until
now, except for some cracks in the approach slabs.
Management Contractor
ANAS S.p.A.
General contractor
Nuova Bitumi srl, Trento
Year of completion
2007
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1- Typical cross section. 2- Longitudinal section at the pier. 3-4 Detail of the deck
reinforcings.
5- Typical crosspiece during construction. 6- The bridge in an advanced
phase of construction. 7- Viaduct scheme.
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Project
The first most urgent operations to make safe the
structures involved in the earthquake of April 6th
2009
Location
Motorway A24 Various viaducts between 99+000
km and 116+500 km
Motorway A25 - Popoli viaduct
Client
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A.
Firm Responsible for the proceeding
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. Marco Carlo Rocchi CE
Design
SPEA Ingegneria Europea Fulvio di Taddeo CE
Supervision of construction
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. Luca Bartoccini CE
General contractor
TOTO S.p.A.
Year of completion
2009
Main features
The project calls for the provisional restoration to
function of the structures, with a view to re-opening
the following viaducts to traffic:
A24 - Fornaca viaduct,
A24 - Genzano viaduct,
A24 - Raio viaduct,
A24 - Aterno viaduct,
A24 - S.S. 17 viaduct,
A24 - Fosso Vetoio viaduct
A24 - Pettino viaduct
A24 - S. Sisto viaduct
A24 - S.Giacomo viaduct
A24 - viaduct on the LAquila Est interchange
A24 - Le Campane viaduct
A24 - Palude viaduct
A24 - Viadotto Vigne Basse
A24 - Costa del Molino viaduct
A25 - Popoli viaduct
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On April 6th 2009 at 3.32 AM the LAquila area was struck by a strong earthquake (Richter magnitude (Ml) of 5.8, Moment magnitude (Mw) of 6.3, 8th-9th degree on the Mercalli scale).The earthquake sequence continued developing with a great many aftershocks, more than 20,000 of them
recorded as of June 10th 2009. 31 of them had a M1 lying between 3.5 and 5 and three had a
magnitude exceeding 5 (April 6th M1=5.8, April 7th M1=5.3, April 9th Ml=5.1)
The plan distribution of the aftershocks brings out very well the area concerned by the earthquake
sequence, extending for more than 30 km in the NW-SE direction, parallel to the axis of the
Apennine chain.
The earthquakes of the sequence took place for the most part in the upper crust, a depth of 1012 km. Only the event Ml=5.3 of April 7th to the SE of LAquila was as deep as 15 km.The data
gathered to date (seismicity, GPS, SAR, geology) agree in identifying the structure responsible for the
main shock as a fault having direct movement that extends some 15 km in the NW-SE direction
with a SW dip. Its extension on the surface is located in correspondence with the Paganica fault.
The damage in the epicenter zone was due, not only to the size of the earthquake (and therefore to its magnitude), but also to the breaks direction of propagation and to the soil geology.
In particular, the major damage is observed in the direction along which the faulting propagates
(effect of the source directivity) and is amplified in the areas where soft sediments (such as alluvial deposits, earth fill, etc.) lie on the surface.
In the case of the LAquila earthquake, the break associated with the April 6th event was propagated from below upwards (and therefore towards the city of LAquila) and from northwest to
southeast, towards the Aterno valley.
Motorways A24 and A25 have a total length of 281.4 km, and feature 174 viaducts of various
length and typology.Their total length sums to 58.3 km (21% of highway length).They were built
between the end of the sixties and the first half of the eighties. Added to these are 77 overcrossings so that there is a high incidence of crossing structures, owing to the territorys orography.
The seismic event involved an extensive area crossed by motorways A24 and A25, causing much
damage to the infrastructures.
After the shock that struck at 3.32AM of April 6th 2009, Strada dei Parchi SpA activated its own
engineering structures and those of the principal companies in the sector to carry out checks on
the infrastructures managed.
The most serious damage observed was that done to the bearings of forty spans on nine viaducts.
The consequent discontinuities at the expansion joints exhibited 10-20 cm steps.
The damage undergone by the roadway infrastructures varied depending on their zone. Three
motorway stretches (two on A24 and one on A25) can in fact be identified exhibiting very obvious
problems:
A24 from the Tornimparte interchange to that of LAquila West, featuring moderate damage to
viaducts and settlements of embankments at the viaduct abutments;
A24 from the LAquila West interchange to that of Assergi, featuring both important damage to
the viaducts (particularly to the S.Sisto viaduct), and breakage of the motorway embankment and
its settlements at the abutments;
A25 from the exit for Pratola Peligna to the exit for Bussi, with motorway embankment settlements at the abutments of some viaducts and serious damage to the Popoli viaduct.
The activities of monitoring the structures started up by Strada dei Parchi SpA and the very first
repairs carried out right from the start of the event kept the motorway open for rescue vehicles.
On the other hand, the activities necessary to immediately restore the infrastructures enabled reopening to traffic the stretch lying between the Tornimparte exit and that of LAquila West at 8.00PM
of April 6th, without any limitations on speed. On this stretch Civil Defence anyway kept in force the
limitation for vehicles heavier than 7.5 tons in order to handle the rescue vehicle flows.
1- Map of LAquila area, showing active faults. 2- Raio viaduct: yielding of the
abutment
body.
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246
involved in the earthquake of April 6 2009. 4- San Sisto viaduct: breakage 3-ofAreas
the roller and detachment of rack from the rack-roller supports. 5- San Sisto
th
viaduct: step resulting from breakage of the supports. 6- Vigne Basse viaduct: yielding of the embankment on the abutment body. 7- Popoli viaduct: step on the
platform owing to the expulsion of the roller from its support. 8- Le Campane viaduct: complete expulsion of the roller from the roller-rack support. 9- Vigne Basse
viaduct: disarrangement of the rack-and-roller support. 10- Popoli viaduct: expulsion
of the roller of the rack-and-roller support at the abutment. 11- Popoli viaduct: expulsion of the rollers of the rack-and-roller supports.
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Project
A24 Completion of the motorway
Roma-LAquila-Teramo
Location
Motorway A24 - Villa Vomano-Teramo stretch
Client
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A.
Firm Responsible for the proceeding
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. Marco Carlo Rocchi CE
Design
TOTO S.p.A. Vincenzo Consalvo CE
Supervision of construction
Strada dei Parchi S.p.A. Ernesto Maffei CE
General contractor
TOTO S.p.A.
Year of completion
2009
The job involved the completion of motorway A24 in the Villa Vomano-Teramo stretch, by the reconstruction of the east carriageway for a length of 5.7 km. The principal structures included in the
project are:
Vomano viaduct: a structure of 770 m long, on 44 m spans whose first two spans on the
Rome side run on a continuous beam having a mixed steel-concrete structure.The remaining part
runs on simply-supported prestressed-concrete decks having spans from 26.70 m to 35.40 m, and
a continuous-slab deck.The viaduct displays over its entire length a left curve in plan.The roadway
platform of the new east carriageway is a total 13.00 m wide, with two curbings of 65 cm and
115 cm, and a carriageway 11.20 m wide.
S. Antonio viaduct: a structure having a total length of 2500 m with simply-supported beams
and 33.80 m and 35.30 m spans, with a continuous slab in 500-meter-long segments, which subdivides the viaduct into five stretches.The roadway platform is identical to that described above for
the Vomano viaduct.
Carestia Tunnel: the structure has a total length of 824 m with a route in plan and a grade
that follows the existing adjacent west-carriageway tunnel of the same name.The soils involved in
the driving are Miocene marls, mantled by layers of detritus.
The stretch in driven tunnel is 731 m long, while at the tunnel mouths there are two stretches in
cut-and-cover tunnel 49 m long on the LAquila side and 33 m long on the Teramo side. The distance between the two tunnel centerlines is 40 meters.
The average section is 173 square meters with a driving width of 15.85 m and a height of 13.40
m, and a tunnel soffit profile having a radius of 6.77 m.The tunnel roof reaches peak heights of
60 meters above the soffit in the central stretch, while it stays rather moderate (10.20 m) at the
two mouths for a total stretch of 300 m. At spacings of 300 m are two emergency foot by-passes.The tunnel was outfitted with modern safety systems.
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1- A24: Panoramic view of the Vomano viaduct. 2- A24: Panoramic view of the S.
Antonio
viaduct. 3- A24: Mouth of the new barrel of the Carestia tunnel.
1.Vomano viaduct
2. S. Antonio viaduct
3. Carestia tunnel
4. Underpass transitable by car
5. Subway
6. Interchange underpass
7. Embankment
8. Abutment wall (BVV)
9. Beams field.
10. Begin job segment.
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S. Antonio viaduct
Project
Motorway A24 Rome-LAquila Teramo
Completion of the doubling between Villa Vomano
and Teramo the new S. Antonio viaduct
Location
Villa Vomano, Teramo, Abruzzo, Italy
Client
Strada Dei Parchi S.p.a
Holder of the Motorway A24 Rome-LAquila Teramo
concession for ANAS
Design
Prof. M. P. Petrangeli CE
Management Contractor
Strada Dei Parchi S.p.a.
General contractor
TOTO Costruzioni S.p.A., Chieti, Italy
Year of completion
2007
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The operation is necessary to doubling the roadway in the motorways last stretch of remaining single-lane-per-carriageway; it runs from Villa Vomana to Teramo. The job as designed, its
overall amount being 110 million euros, consists of building all the structures needed for doubling the stretch.
Among the structures, the S. Antonio viaduct is the most important economically, but also engineeringwise and construction-wise. It comprises 72 spans 35 m in length with decks comprising two precast beams and a continuous slab poured in place. The essential aspects in
addition to those just mentioned concern the study of this viaducts foundations.
In the stretch in question, the infrastructure in fact runs through many landslip-prone areas.
This fact led the designers of the existing viaduct 20 years ago to use caisson foundations for
all the piers. In our case, careful study of the site geomorphology led to a differentiation of
the foundation type. In fact, for the valley bottom areas the choice fell on more economical
foundations on piles (1500).
The Decks
The decks are built of precast U beams 2.0 m deep, prestressed with bonded cables (80T15).
The beams are connected in place by the pour of the upper concrete slab 25 cm deep.
Continuity under horizontal forces is provided by the slab, which at the beam heads, owing to
expedients aimed at reducing its depth, enables transfer of the longitudinal stresses in its own
plane and hence on the one hand the use of the technique of precasting the beams on a
supported scheme (with obvious economic and construction-time advantages) and on the
other the possibility of seismically isolating the viaducts (Precast beams: 45 MPa; In situ
pours: 30 MPa; Concrete incidence: 7.5 m3/ml; Steel: slack for r.c. fy = 430 MPa; incidence:
200 kg/m3; Bounded-cable prestressing: fptk = 1860 MPa; incidence: 14.5 kg/m2; Cross prestressing bars: fptk = 1230 MPa; incidence: 1,8 kg/m2).
Seismic isolation
It was mentioned that the sites strong seismicity (ag=0.25) and the need to limit the forces
at the foundation led to widespread use of seismic isolation of the deck from the substructures. In fact, the sites orography and the constraints on the design grade profile (the viaduct
lies at the mouth of an existing tunnel) demanded piers of quite variable height, though
always less than 18.01 m, and hence an irregular viaduct, low ductility and high foundation stresses. Thus, seismic isolation both crosswise and longitudinally was obligatory.
The viaduct was broken down into five sub viaducts having a varying number of spans (an
average of 15), whose constraints scheme envisages, longitudinally, connection with elastomer
isolations at the five central piers and moveable constraints on all the other piers and abutments. In the crosswise direction fixed constraints on the abutments or joint piers and elastomer isolations of varying stiffness on all other piers. By acting on the isolations stiffnesses
(32000kN/m 80000kN/m), the forces on the foundation could be regularized and diffused practically uniformly over all piers, whatever be their height. The result was the adoption
of joint devices and most especially of slides for the moveable bearings, of significant dimensions: (l 260 mm; t 150 mm).
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Project
Road viaduct
Location
Algeria, El Affroun-Hoceinia job segment
Customer
A.N.A. National Motorway Agency
Design
Studio SINTECNA Prof. Giuseppe Mancini CE
Contractor
Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti CMC, Ravenna
The viaducts were built as part of the construction of a stretch of 15 kilometers of the EastWest motorway in Algeria. Both were built of prestressed prefabricated reinforced-concrete
segments having a caisson cross section.
The structure at station 50.1 kilometers comprised a continuous deck of two separate carriageways, each of five spans having end spans 45.50 m long and intermediate spans 70 or
80 m long. Both carriageways are in curve, its plan radius 500 m.
The structure at station 49.2 kilometers also comprises a continuous deck of two separate
carriageways. It has eight or nine spans, each having end spans of 35 m or 45 m and intermediate spans of 50, 60, 70 or 80 meters. Both carriageways are in curve, its plan radius
500 m.
The 15.57 m wide individual carriageway was built having a single-light caisson section, its
depth varying from 2.80 m (in midspan) to 4.00 m (at the piertop). Both viaducts were seismically isolated using elastoplastic dissipators both longitudinally, at one abutment, and crosswise (at the piers).The degree of seismicity corresponds to a peak acceleration at the ground
of 0.35 g. The foundations are on 1200 mm diameter piles. The construction system called
for precast segments using the short line system, the segment earlier cast being used as
form wall for the next one. Launching was effected by a launch car, the segments were mounted with provisional prestressing bars; the tee prestressing cables being subsequently tensioned.
Year of completion
2007
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1-. Cross section through double-deck viaduct. 2- Structural steel for the span
segment.
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Project
MAXXI National Museum of Arts of the XXI Century
Location
Rome, Italy
Customer
Ministry for Cultural Assets and Activities Department
for architecture and contemporary art
Creation
Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport Public Works
Superintendence of Regione Lazio: Angelo Balducci R.U.P./Proceedings person in charge: Roberto Linetti
Construction yard management: Roberto Tartaro Architectural aspects operating director: Mario Avagnina
Architectural design
Designers: Zaha Hadid Patrik Schumacher
Project leader: Gianluca Racana (Zaha Hadid Limited)
Structural consultants
Anthony Hunt Ass., OK Design Group
In Romes Flaminio district, nearby the capitals new Auditorium, has risen the MAXXI, the
national museum for the arts of the 21st (XXI) century, conceived by architect Zaha Hadid.
Its construction began in 2003, in a construction yard of experiment and innovation.The new
structure, which houses museums and cultural activities as well as workshops and exposition
spaces, brought about a great transformation of the entire block. And this even if the design
solution adopted took its point of departure from a reading of the context, configuring a fabric
and a volume in continuity with the strictly horizontal lines of the surroundings. Entrance to
the MAXXI is gained in the heart of the block.
From the building-high hall access is had to two museums Maxxi Art and Maxxi architecture and to the reception services, the cafeteria, the book shop and the spaces for temporary expositions. Outside, a foot route insinuated below the overhanging volumes follows the
building plan, restoring an urban connection interrupted by the earlier military installation
occupying the lot. The architectural and structural elements connoting the oeuvre basically
number two: the walls that delimit the exposition galleries and that determine the interlacing
of the volumes; and the transparent roof that naturally lights the rooms.
The concrete wall is the element organizing space, while the roof system is the highly innovatory technological and systems element. In fact, integrated into the roof are the skylightframe elements, the devices for controlling natural lighting, the artificial lighting fixtures, and
mechanisms for limiting heat from solar irradiation.The roof system comprises a dual glazing
and is protected on the outside by a metalgrille sunshade that, besides screening light, acts
as walkways for maintenance purposes. Cement concrete (self-compacting concrete, SCC) is
the MAXXIs true protagonist. In fact of r.c. are the walls characterizing its form and structure, as too are the horizontal surfaces and the roof blades, entirely clad with fibre-reinforced
concrete (GRC). Concrete also forms a large part of the finishings, such as surfaces in view,
floorings and furnishings.
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CONSTRUCTION - Buildings
CONSTRUCTION - Buildings
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Olympic Palavela
Project
The renewal of Palavela
Location
Turin, Italy
Client
Agenzia Torino 2006
Final design
ing. Arnaldo De Bernardi, arch. Gae Aulenti,
ing. G. Siniscalco, arch. C. Roluti, arch. S. Basso,
arch. M. Filippi, ing. G.C. Gramoni, arch. F. Quadri,
ing. W. Peisino, ing. G. Forte, ing. E. Rosati
Construction design
ing. Valerio Actis Grosso (Project Manager), ing.
Giovanni Vallino Costassa (Structural engineer)
Yard management
prof. ing. Giorgio Siniscalco (SI.ME.TE Snc)
General contractor
A.T.I. (Maire Engineering SpA, Impresa Costruzioni
Rosso Geom. Francesco & Figli SpA, Keltermica
Cordero)
The affairs of the Palavela (sail hall) go back to 1958. In that year, as part of the Italia 61
exposition (organized in the Piedmontese capital to celebrate the centennial of Italys unity), a
competition was promoted for the design of a building to house the Fashion and Costumes
event.The winning solution was a smooth reinforced-concrete box vault, bearing on three points
and built using procedures like those used in the construction of the Centre des nouvelles
industries et technologies, built between 1956 and 1958 in the Dfense quarter. The roof
has a hexagonal plan inscribed in a circle 150 m in diameter, and consists of a self-bearing
reinforced and prestressed-concrete shell.The height at the crown of the arches is 29.00 m,
while the composite vault roofs an area of 14,625 square metres; the volume enclosed is
332,000 cubic metres.The vault structure consists of two slabs, each 60 mm deep, developing
over the entire roof and connected together by continuous longitudinal and crosswise ribs; its
1.30 m gross depth includes a transitable interspace 1.18 m high.The continuous monitorings
the structure was subjected to over the years gave results so encouraging as to include the building in the list of works potentially useable for the competition outfittings of the 2006 Winter
Olympics. In fact, its restructuring aimed at the creation of plant for artistic ice-skating and for
short-track. The new building, wrapped by its original roof, comprises two bodies set close
together, with a reticular steel roof that, although at different elevations, connects them together.
The southeast-southwest body is assigned to spectators of sectors 1 and 2 (7196 seats), and
the northeast-northwest body is assigned to the Olympic family, to the athletes and to the
media (1062 seats) for a total of 8258 seats. Structurally, the two building bodies are supported by parallel septums, on which the floor structures are made to bear as are the precast seating tiers, and by the perimetral walls. The bearing septums were built of reinforced concrete
with a fair-face finish.
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Images from the files (1958-1961) of phases in the construction of the Palavela1-2-(Sail
palace). 3- The sail roof was given a preliminary restoration: one of no
particular significance since careful monitoring over the years had brought out that
the buildings structural integrity and its surfaces had remained very nearly perfect.
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of the new buildings structure were created with fair-face concrete,4- Thethe elements
structure having to perform an architectural and aesthetic task as well.
Thus design opted for self-compacting mixes, capable of assuring both high mechanical performance and aesthetic beauty, besides meeting the specific pour requisites tied to so particular a construction job. 5- Design envisaged for the Ice Palace the construction of a galvanized steel reticular roof, given the necessary soundabsorbent and sound-insulation panelling. 6- The sports facilitys plan: the ground
projection of the hexagonal sail roof completely encloses the Ice Palace structure.
7- Phases in the construction, by in situ pour, of the tank that holds the ice-skating
rink. 8- Section through the building. 9- Detail of the facade of the new Ice Palace
during the final finish phases: the mix design and the special care taken in carrying
out the pours made it possible to create quality concrete surfaces, which at the same time became the sign characterizing the entire oeuvre.
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Project
Bocconi 2000 of Bocconi University (enlargement)
Location
Milan, Italy
Client
Universit commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milano
Client representative
Geom. Nicol Di Blasi
Architect
Grafton Studio, Dublino - arch. Shelley McNamara,
arch. Yvonne Farrel
Design team
Gerard Carty, Philippe O'Sullivan, Emmett Scanlon
Project Architect
Simona Castelli
The new building housing Milans Luigi Bocconi Business University, officially opened on October
31st last, completes the historic campus conceived by Giuseppe Pagano a little more than
seventy years ago and enlarged to a design by Giovanni Muzio and Ignazio Gardella and
becomes the whole university complexs new entrance gate. The construction stands at the
intersection of Viale Bligny and Via Roentgen on a 60 m x 150 m lot. Its functional program
envisages that on the 68,000 square metres of walking surface a quarter of the universitys
needs be housed, among which the offices, the departments, the classrooms, the exposition
zone and the great hall seating a thousand.
Characterizing the oeuvre too is the complex structural design worked out: the sophisticated
foundations, which reach down more than 14 m below site level, the traditional continuous concrete raft 2-3 metres deep, the prestressed-concrete floor structures on the basement levels,
and the enormous wall beams, with thicknesses of 400 mm, heights up to 30 m and 24 m
spacings. To build the enlargement of Milans Bocconi, concrete was used to pour almost the
whole of the bearing structures, which remain in view on the interiors and in some parts on
the outside too. In particular, for the wall beams, the bearing septums, the roof beams and the
great halls roof structure, self-compacting concrete (SCC) was used, a material of long-lasting
workability that ensures greater compactness of the pours and therefore better quality and a
more uniform fair face in terms of aspect and colour, as well as an improvement in the oeuvres mechanical strength and durability.
Many reasons led to this construction and technological choice: first of all, the designs architectural and structural complexity, which meant the need for thickly-laced reinforcing units that
would not have permitted the introduction of vibration equipment, the heavy stresses in the
hardest-working areas, the high ambient temperatures and the jobsites location right in downtown Milan.
Co-workers
Lennart Breternitz, Matthew Beattie, Philip
Comerford, Miriam Dunn, Andreas Degn, Ann Henry,
David Leech, John Barry Lowe, Eavan Meagher, Orla
Murphy, Aoibheann Ni Mhearainn, Kieran O'Brien,
Sterrin OShea, Eoghan OShea, Michael Pike, Anna
Ryan, Maurizio Scalera, Ansgar Staudt, Gavin
Wheatley
Structural design and supervision of construction
Studio Pereira, Milano - ing. Emilio Pereira,
ing Vincenzo Collina, ing. Massimo Sandrelli, ing. Silvio
Valloni
On-site building supervision
Progetto CMR - Marco Ferrario, Danila Aimone,
Maurizio Cantoni, Claudio Pin
Utility systems design
Amman Progetti
Lighting consultant
Metis - Claudio Valent, Marinella Patetta
Interior design
Avenue Architects - arch. Dante Bonuccelli
Acoustic and electrical consultant
ARP Service, Paolo Molina
Fire-fighting consultant
ing. Silvestre Mistretta
General Contractor
GDM Costruzioni S.p.a.
Photographs
UNICAL, Studio Pereira, A. Faresin, Redazione iiC
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Project
Milanofiori 2000 Corporate Center (Segments B
and C1)
Location
Milan, Italy
Client
Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare spa
Design
Erick van Egeraat, Rotterdam
Structural engineer and supervision of
construction
Redesco srl, ing. Mauro E. Giuliani, ing. Gianluca Vesa,
Milan
General contractor
Unionbau srl
Coordination of final design, general
supervision of construction
Intertecno spa, Milan
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The job is the first part of the Milanofiori 2000 development project. Located nearby the MilanGenoa motorway, it is also served by the subways line 2.
It consists of a large plate housing two floors above ground of parking and a raised plaza at the
elevation of the subways loading platform, i.e. at 6 m above site level.
Three nine-storey office buildings stand up from this foot plaza; on it space is found for business
activities, dining and refreshment, and sundry services.
The built area is 70,000 square meters, plus another 19,500 for site-level parking.
The structures feature an inclined lay of the plans of the standing buildings, which must be wed with
the orthogonal grid of the underlying parking structures.They are built of solid concrete plates.
The buildings typical grid (they feature irregular projections on their sides and large free-plan openings too) is 9 m by 6 m, arranged parallelogram-wise with a 73 minor angle.
The parking grid is square, 8.1 m on a side.
The columns, their dimensions kept limited, are typically in reinforced concrete, with a steel-concrete composite section for the buildings lower floors.
Right from the start of the study of possible structural alternatives to serve the buildings architecture with economy and speed of execution of the design, the solid-r.c.-slabs solution, cast over
industrialized formwork, was seen to be most advantageous.
Analysis of the geotechnical data and the value of the acting loads yielded the selection of an indirect foundations on r.c. piles drilled using the continuous helix technology.
Three types of piles are distinguished:
a. 80 cm diameter piles, 21.5m long, with Pnom = 2500kN;
b. 60 cm diameter piles 21.5m long, with Pnom = 1400kN;
c. 60cm diameter piles 11.5m long, with, Pnom = 875kN.
The parking area columns are of r.c., of typical circular section 50 cm in diameter. Columns of
different dimensions and types are envisaged in the standing buildings
The fire resistance requirement is R90.
The columns in the standing buildings are typically circular in form 50 to 70 cm in diameter, with
a composite steel-concrete type, which includes a steel H-section.
The outer concrete of the columns is not only requested by fire protection, but is considered as
working with the steel column to provide the necessary bearing capacity.
The deck of the first floor above ground (second parking level) and the deck at plaza elevation
consist of solid r.c. plates, one 28 cm deep having REI90 fire characteristics and the other 400
mm deep with REI180 fire characteristics.Their construction is envisaged by in situ casting over
industrialized modular forms. The plate fields plan dimensions vary depending on architectural
layout. The typical plate dimensions are 8.10 m x 8.10 m.
A dual grid of two-way reinforcing bars is necessary, with densely reinforced zones on the extrados at the columns and on the soffit in span at points where the fields are most highly stressed.
Prefabricated bundles of bars were used and unrolled on site in order to achieve the correct spacings, speed up the construction time and reduce the placing price. A specific shear reinforcing
against punching was included at the columns. The offices floor deck comprises solid r.c. plates
300 mm deep with REI90 fire characteristics. Its construction is envisaged by in situ casting over
industrialized modular forms. The plan dimensions of the plate fields vary depending on architectural layout and measure 9.00 m by 8.50 m or 6.00 m by 8.50 m.
The need to create terraces for the top offices floor and to maintain the facade module constant
as per the inter storey type meant that the mechanical deck and the roof had to be suspended
at the terraces. In fact, since the faade columns had to be set back without increasing the deck
depth for the top offices floor, a part of the mechanical deck and its roof had to be hung from
tendons.
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3-4- Construction of the first levels: the pour of the deck plates. 5- Use of prefabricated
bundles of rebars. 6- East faade. 7- North faade.
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Project
Building for industrial plant
Location
Paese (Treviso), Italy
Client
Acqua Minerale San Benedetto S.p.A., Scorz (Venice)
Design
Giuseppe Zago CE
Structural engineering
Studio di ingegneria RS Stefano Secchi CE, Padua
General contractor
Setten Genesio S.p.A.
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The new industrial installation called for the construction of various buildings on an area of
400,000 square meters, for a roofed area of 175,000 square meters. It stands within a gravel quarry and runs parallel to the Vicenza-Treviso railway line for a kilometer.
The most extensive building complex forms a heterogeneous body of plan 700 m x 120 m,
its height varying between 12 m for buildings A1 and A2 and 30 m for the remaining area.
Buildings A1 and A2 were built with reinforced- and prestressed-concrete precastings, while
buildings A3, A3/1 and A5 have steel bearing structures. The production buildings, A4 and
A4/1, were built of post-tensioned in situ-cast concrete.
Building A4 (production division) has a rectangular plan of 121 m x 164 m. On the railway
side and on the quarry side, adjacent to the building, stand four 26-meter-tall towers, in which
are created the stairwells. The building has two floors, each of net height 8.5 m, and a total
height of 30 meters. The structural grid is 15 m x 15 m with rectangular-section columns of
section sufficient to ensure, in at least one direction, a net distance between columns of not
less than 14 m.
To build the floor structures various structural solutions were evaluated.That best able to meet
specifications and most advantageous appeared to be the in situ-cast, with a grating-type floor
structure having post-tensioned ribs.
Construction needs, together with the need to create suitable expansion joints, identified the
ideal module as a 30 m x 30 m floor structure constituted of four meshes 15 m on a side
each. Thus was identified the dual typology of a bearing floor structure, statically indeterminable, on nine columns, and of a borne floor structure, on just three columns in line and
borne on saddles envisaged at the sides of the adjacent floor structure. Each module is a twoway ribbed floor structure, built of in situ-cast concrete with partial prestressing.The post-tensioning was effected with both bonded cables and unbounded cables.
The definitive solution calls for the construction of: 12 bearing modules of 1100 square
meters, 12 borne modules of 820 square meters, and 12 hybrid modules (bearing on one
side and borne on the other) of a thousand square meters each.The floor structure is lightened with re-useable aluminum forms so arranged as to create a two-dimensional ribbed structure.
The ribs are spaced 1.50 m apart and are 28 cm wide.The upper cap is 120 mm deep and
is surface-treated with quartz powder. A further surface treatment having a modified sodium
silicate base forms a protective barrier against aggressive agents and limits shrinkage effects.
The arrangement of the prestressing cables is such as to create principal bands 6 m wide,
aligned to the columns and prestressed with grouted-sheath cables of six and eight 0.6
strands. On the remaining ribs are present two unbonded single-strand cables. Further grouted cables 6 meters in length are called for in the areas of greatest negative moment and
shear.
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QUARRY
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Project
New Sky Italia headquarters Top Management and
Television Production
Location
Milan Rogoredo, Italy
Client
Milano Santa Giulia S.p.A., with the technical
direction of Silvio Bernab CE
Design
Byron Harford & Associates East Sydney
Structural engineer
In situ-built structures design and supervision of
construction: MSC Associati S.r.l. (Milan) Danilo
Campagna CE, Andrea Sangalli CE;
Precast/prefabricated structures design: Gamma
Engineering (Lecco) Gianluigi Fregosi CE,
Riccardo Castagna CE
Architects
Byron Harford & Associates East Sydney
Management Contractor
Colombo Costruzioni S.p.A Lecco
General Contractor
Colombo Costruzioni S.p.A Lecco
Year of completion
2008
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Building 1 is tied to building 2 through a connector body, building 2 in its turn being tied to
building 3 through a suspended bridge. The multifloor bridge (30.15 m in span, 16.80 m
wide) over the city street is held up by structural-steel work, consisting of two trestlework girders placed on the facade to form a resisting structure as high as the entire (three-story) facade. Regarding the structural systems capacity to stand up to horizontal forces, this is delegated to the r.c. structures of the first- and top-level floor structures, which in their plane act as
infinitely stiff beams (plates).The facade glazings transfer, at these levels, the wind loading to
the diagonals of the main trestlework beam, which have elliptical sections (composed of two
semi-elliptical pipes) with greater inertia crosswise to the loads. Except for the stair blocks,
the structure is built of precastings. The building floor structures are precast of adherentstrand prestressed concrete, the columns are plant precast (Rck=50 MPa) in forms prepared
especially for the SKY project, with different r.c. sections for transport, assembly and removal
from the forms in the plant.Their weight was kept down to forty tons. The column was then
cast in two pieces, solidly joined together during assembly phase. The central column, its section varying with height from the base, 0.90 m x 0.90 m, is a single piece twenty meters high.
It was jointed with an element whose section varied with height, the element being 20-25 m
high. The structures were mounted using precise sequences, which permitted construction of
the structures in shorter times than is usual for traditional r.c. structures. The construction
module is based on a typical grid of 8.40 m x 8.40 m, which is adapted to the various situations, the spans reaching 18.00 m (building 1) and 16.80 m (building 2).
Building 1 technological: rectangular-plan, of dimensions 180.5 m x 28.2 m (36,000 m2
of floor structure). Composed of: basement floor structure, ground floor and seven floor structures above ground. Total height: 39.20 m.
Building 2 offices: trapezoidal-plan, with dimensions 103 m x 26 m (22,000 m2 of floor
structure. Composed of: basement floor structure, ground floor and nine floor structures above
ground. Total height: 47.30 m. Building 1B: connector building between buildings 1 and 2
(4400 m2 of floor structure). Composed of: basement floor structure, ground floor and six
floor structures above ground. Total height: 34.45 m. Building 3: trapezoidal-plan, dimensions
12 m x 25 m (25,700 m2 of floor structure). Composed of: basement floor structure, ground
floor and eight floor structures above ground. Total height: 44.75 m. The structures (stairwells
and elevator shafts) acting as shearbracing for the buildings under horizontal forces were built
in situ (Rck=37 MPa) and tied in a second phase to the precast structure by various pourrestart and continuity systems. The soils demanded a raft foundation on single-fluid or twofluid jet-grouting columns, whether interpenetrating or tangent to one another, having a maximum diameter of 1.90 m for the greater vertical loadings and maximum height of 11.15 m
beneath the stair wells. Owing to the high level of the water table, the raft was waterproofed
using the so-called white tank waterproofing system. Building 1 required specific structural
analyses as well as special design choices since it had to possess considerable stiffness (maximum allowable antenna rotation: 0.01 or 36) under horizontal forces (reference wind
speed: 110 km/h), in order to ensure alignment of the trasmitting signals to the satellites
through the roof antennas. The displacement and rotation fields were derived by analyzing
two different structural models. The first is of a generalized type and was used to evaluate
the field of floor structure horizontal displacements at the various floors. From this the horizontal rotations of the decks (rotations with axes normal to the building floor structures) could
be deduced. The second concerns the buildings top floor structure, where the trasmitting
apparatus is installed. From this latter model the rotations at the antenna bases (rotations
with axes in the plane of the floor structures) were derived due to the wind pressures on the
trasmitting antennas.
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Light Pavilion
Project
Exhibition pavilion
Location
Grand Hotel, Como, Italy
Client
Meta S.p.A. (Paolo De Santis)
Design and yard management
Attilio Terragni
The Light pavilion stands under Lake Comos evocative light, in a ten-thousand-square-meter
park between the citys historic downtown and Cernobbio. The projects origin was quite simple: the program in fact needed a space as open to the outside as possible, without the natural lights disturbing the staging of the events.
To meet this need the constructions volume was intersected by several plane surfaces, arranged arbitrarily in space in such fashion as to create a series of fragments, suggesting a process that could continue on to infinity.
The intersections thus determined have become the linear voids through which a limited and
quite definite dialogue develops, between rule and free will, between structure and light.
The hall volume unveils a continual weave of cuts crossing it vertically and horizontally, taking
on the landscapes blue and green tints. The idea behind these cuts came out of the suggestiveness evoked by a former Fascist-headquarters building standing not far off, where a crystal slash crosses the upper part of the atrium roof, putting the mountains behind the city in
relation with the cathedral nave.
Analogously, in the pavilion the irregular network of cuts takes as its aim to reveal the power
and the all-pervasiveness of the corrosive action of the lines that have over hundreds of millennia modelled the present-day forms of the Lombard lakes landscape.
Design Team
Chiara Assanelli, Luca Mangione, Maja Leonelli
Structural design
Amis Milano Antonio Migliacci CE, Giovanni
Franchi CE
Mechanical and electrical equipment
Amman Progetti Milano
Acoustics
Paolo Molina CE
Sun-protections
Abba Srl, Treviso (Person in charge: Luca
Franceschin)
Safety engineering
CDR, Carlo Ruckstul CE
General contractor
Mondelli Battista. Construction yard supervision:
Aldo Mondelli CE
Facade
PERMASTELISA Construction yard supervision:
Alfredo Piccoli
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1- Pavilion plan.
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Project
Headquarters
Location
Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Client
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Structural engineer
Prof. Camillo Nuti CE
with STIN Section chief: Danilo Pierucci CE, Rome
Architects
5+1AA Alfonso Femia, Gianluca Peluffo
with Annalaura Spalla arch.
Management Contractor
Infrastructures Ministry
Interregional Office for Public Works for Latium,
Abruzzo and Sardinia
Superintendent: Giovanni Guglielmi CE
Supervision of construction: Mario Avagnina arch.
General contractor
SAC Societ Appalti Costruzioni S.p.A. Rome
Project manager: Bruno Cavallaro CE
Year of completion
2010
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The Italian Space Agencys new headquarters stands in the Tor Vergata university district, East
of Romes great ring road, on a sloping lot adjacent to the engineering faculty.
The complex comprises ten buildings: the semicircular main building (A), where most of the
offices are concentrated; the rectangular auditorium and atrium buildings (B and B), which
eccentrically intersect the previous one, on the centerline of the faculty of engineering they
represent the monumental aspect and act as connection with the outside; a series of minor
buildings, for offices or services, such as the library (C), the nursery-school and offices building
(D), the bank and fitness-center building (E), the doorkeepers office (F), the cafeteria-kitchen
(G), the laboratories-offices (I), and the underground parking garages (L).
Structural design had as reference OPCM 3274, and thus took account of the city of Romes
listing in seismic zone 3. This is one of the first applications of the new seismic design criteria for a complex of considerable size. The design was sifted by the Higher Public Works
Council, as a building having a value exceeding 25 million euros.
The main building A and buildings C-D are buildings having an r.c. core and a mixed steelconcrete structure, with hanging steel columns and floor structures made up of predalles and
a 9 cm deep slab.The other buildings are substantially wholly of r.c., in some cases with floor
structures made of prestressed elements (honeycomb floor structures or omega tiles).
Retaining walls of considerable height are present.
Vertical seismic joints separate building A into three bodies. In each body there are two r.c.
cores, while the remaining structure is mixed steel-concrete. The first two bodies have each
six floors, one or two of which are below ground depending on the lay of the land. The third
body stands five floors above ground.
Buildings B (lobby) and B (auditorium) stand along a line that crosses main building A, with
which they share the joint. They are almost totally built of r.c., with walls of great extent in
plan. Both are lower than building A.
The zone of intersection, the focus of the complex, where four structurally - independent buildings converge, is as high as building A and is without floor structures from the second floor to
the roof. In correspondence with the facade of the concave side, on the higher floors, the
overhead passageways run between the two bodies composing the main building, bearing on
more-or-less radial septums. The overhead ways, the first two floor structures and the concave facade have vertical joints in the middle of the atrium.
To roof this space an innovatory solution was found. It consists of a steel grid with concrete
slab resting through seismic isolators on the two r.c. cores of the two independent bodies of
the main building which delimit the atrium.
The upper part of the convex facade hangs from the isolated roof. At mid height a horizontal joint separate the facade from its lower part which sticks out from steel structure of the
roof of building B. Vertical joints separate the facade from the cores of building A on which
the roof of the atrium stands.
The latter solution, involving a structure bearing on seismic isolators, was particularly apt. In
fact, the stresses induced by independent seismic motion of the cores are moderate, the structure is simple, the support scheme is particularly suited to the mixed steel-concrete structure typology and its construction proceeded rapidly.
The connection of the mixed-steel concrete floors to the two bracing cores in each of the
bodies which compose building A was effected with special metal inserts to which the slabs
restart reinforcing were welded. These special pieces were connected to anchorage plates
buried in the cores by welding in place.
The vertical reinforcement of the structural walls stick up from the foundations for one floor
and a half without interruption, so as to exclude overlapping in the critical zones of the bracing walls where yielding may happen.
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General plan of the complex. 2- Main building (A) and Auditorium (B). (photo: 1-Giuseppe
Maritati). 3- Main building (A) West facade, concave side.
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plan. 5- Main building (A): restart steels. 6- Building atrium (B). 7Main4- Foundations
building (A): body 3, mounting the mixed structure after construction of the r.c.
core. 8- Main building (A) and Auditorium (B). 9- Main building (A) Concave side.
10- Cafeteria building structure (G). 11- Cafeteria building (G).
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Project
New administrative center for Lombardias regional
government
Location
Milan, Italy
Architectural design
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects, New York,
Caputo Partnership & Sistema Duemila, Milan
Architectural Design Supervision
Arch. Henry N. Cobb
Structural Design
Prof. Franco Mola CE ECSD S.r.l., Milan
Construction Supervisor
Infrastrutture Lombarde S.p.a. General Manager:
Antonio Giulio Rognoni CE
General Contractor
Consorzio Torre (Impregilo S.p.A., Techint
Infrastrutture, cmb, Cile S.p.A., Montagna Costruzioni
S.r.l., Pessina Costruzioni S.p.A., Consorzio
Cooperative Costruzioni, Sirti S.p.A.)
Leading Contractor
Impregilo S.p.A.
General Manager
Gaetano Salonia CE
Site Technical Manager
Vinicio Scerri CE
Construction Site General Manager and Safety
Supervisor
Guglielmo Fariello CE
Formwork
Doka italia S.p.A.
Precast vertical elements and beams
CSP Prefabbricati S.p.A.
Slabs
Cobiax Technologies S.r.l.
Year of completion
2009
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The Altra SedeTower, located in the center of the city of Milan, has recently been completed. On January
22, 2010 an official ceremony marked the end of the construction phase and unveiled the new building
to the citizens of Milan, who were also called to cast their vote and decide the new name of the complex: Palazzo Lombardia.The building is currently the tallest in Italy, and one of the strongest features of
the skyline of the city for years to come.
The Tower is the new administrative centre for Lombardias regional government in Milan; the administrative complex also includes five lower buildings (about 40 m high, called Cores 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6), surrounding the high-rise Tower (Core 1), which, 161.30 metres tall, set an Italian record.The buildings sinuous interweaving strands recall mountains, valleys, and rivers of the Lombardia region.Their curvilinear
forms are adaptable to changing functional requirements and are receptive to the regions evolving organizational structure. In addition to its headquarter functions, the building accommodates public amenities accessible to all.The winning architectural project for the new regional headquarters was conceived,
according to the guidelines set forward by the Adminisration, by the architecture bureaus Pei Cobb Freed
& Partners from NewYork, together with Caputo partnership and Sistema Duemila from Italy in 2003.
Given the very strict construction times (October 2006-December 2009), wise and innovative choices
were enforced as for the design of structures, entirely consisting of reinforced concrete elements.The foundation system is a 4m thick reinforced concrete slab resting on soil whose load bearing capacity was preliminarily improved by means of the jet grouting technique.The total volume of concrete is about 8.000
m3. For the lower layer, 1m thick, including most of the steel rebar, SC 30/37 self compacting concrete
was used, whereas for the upper layer, 3m thick, a high performance C 30/37 concrete was employed.
The vertical structures of the Tower consist of one 15,5x16,3m inner core hosting stairways and lifts,
whose maximum thickness of the walls is 45cm, and 22 circular columns with diameters ranging from
120cm at the bottom to 65cm at the top floors.The columns are located along two curved lines and
define a structural grid of 8,60mx6,50m. For the cast in situ slabs, 35cm thick, C 40/50 concrete was
used. Regarding the construction techniques, both for the vertical load bearing structure (cores and
columns) and for the horizontal ones (slabs), it was decided to make extensive use of industrialized systems, together with high profile state-of-the-art construction technologies, such as the self-climbing formwork employed to build the core of theTower, for which high strength concrete (class C 45/55) was used.
An hybrid steel encasing/reinforced concrete system was employed to build the columns, allowing the
columns to be cast at the same time for an height of up to three floors. Slabs consisted in pre-assembled panels including the main reinforcement and polyethylene spheres with a diameter of 27cm. In this
way, the total weight of the slab was reduced by about 25% with respect to a solid section and only additional reinforcement had to be placed, thus considerably reducing the construction time.These techniques,
coupled to the self-climbing formwork, allowed the construction of each storey of the tower in an average of 5.5 days, as opposed to the 8 days needed with the traditional casting system.The synergic use
of these technologies allowed the 38 floors of the Tower, of which those from 1 to 11 have a surface of
about 2000 m2 and those from 12 to 38 have a surface of 900m2, to be built in about eleven months.
This very remarkable reduction in construction times of the structural system of the Tower was reflected
in the global construction ending 60 days ahead of schedule.The roofing of the inner plaza, with a surface of about 4200 m2, consists of a steel truss structure made of welded and bolted S355 J2 steel tubes
on top of which a double-layer Texlon ETFE (ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) film is installed.The ETFE
cushions guarantee a filtering of sunlight of about 50%. EFTE was chosen since it is a transparent plastic film, lighter and more resistant than glass, with superior insulating power and easier and less expensive to install.The ETFE film is also stable to UV rays and is not altered by environmental pollution and
weather conditions. Sustainability, environmental impact, durability and reduced management and maintenance costs were also consistently pursued, by recurring to the most effective solutions for plants, photovoltaic energy production, air conditioning, faades and ventilation, such as the double-layer faade making up a thermal wall for the internal rooms, with an automated system of sun shades conceived to minimize heat dispersion and maximize the efficiency of the air conditioning system.
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Ground floor plan. 6- Columns and slab systems. 7- Tower contruction. 8Slab5-system.
9- Core 1: reinforcement details.
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Project
New SantAnna Hospital
Location
Como, Italy
Client
Infrastrutture Lombarde and Azienda Ospedaliera
SantAnna
Architectural and plants design
Bortolazzi Consulting
Structural design
Prof. Franco Mola CE ECSD S.r.l., Milan
On-site Supervisor
Francesco de Probizer CE
Construction Supervisor
Infrastrutture Lombarde S.p.A. - General Manager:
Antonio Giulio Rognoni CE
General Contractor
S.A.N.C.O. SCarl (Altair, GDM Costruzioni, Aster)
Year of completion
2009
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The new SantAnna Hospital in Como, located in the heart of the Lombardia Region, in northern Italy, is a large hospital complex for which a short time for construction, fixed in 900 days,
was allowed by the Administration.
The complex is made of eight interconnected buildings, with heights up to 22 m, including,
respectively, a number of floors ranging between 2 and 3 floors above the ground. The underground floors range between one and three, according to the height of each building above the
ground and the ground level itself varying across the plan.The whole complex is surrounded by
reinforced concrete walls with varying height.
Two main aspects governed the design choices: the earthquake hazard for the area where the
Hospital is located and the deep foundations, which caused the foundations themselves and the
lower underground floors to be entirely below the water level.
As for the seismicity, the Lombardia Region is classified as Zone N.4 in the Italian Seismic Code,
which corresponds to a PGA of about 0.05g. Since the hospital buildings are classified as strategic, an importance coefficient of 1.4 on the PGA is also compulsory, meaning that the design
PGA value became 0.07g. Due to their limited height, the buildings are all quite rigid, so that
earthquake effects are strongly prevailing on those of wind loads: earthquake is thus the main
load condition for pre-dimensioning of the structural elements for lateral resistance (global base
shear).
The chosen structural elements were reinforced concrete cores, adequately distributed in plan,
so as to reduce torque effects due to lateral loads; as for static loading, reinforced concrete
columns were dimensioned to the vertical loads in addition to the flexural effects derived from
the lateral displacements produced by the cores and also taking into account the interaction
with slab elements under vertical loading.
The foundation system includes reinforced concrete basements for the columns, supported by
concrete piles with driven steel formwork, having a maximum length of 26m.
The cores are supported by concrete plates resting on reinforced concrete diaphragms.The plan
configuration of the buildings, with a complex distribution of columns, not lined into orthogonal
patterns, gave way to varying spans for the slab structures.The lack of regularity in the distribution of vertical elements is not very strong, though, so, except for some peculiar areas, the mean
spans for the slab were 7.50mx7.50m.The ratio between the two spans calls for elements with
a two-dimensional behavior.
The irregularities in the grids called for the use of construction systems that are totally or mostly independent on the morphology of the slabs themselves. The most competitive technique at
this regard is the use of in situ casting: continuous prestressed concrete cast-in-situ slabs resting
on the columns turn out to be the best choice. An adequate number of prestressed unbonded
steel strands was introduced in the slab, which allowed a reduction of the slab thickness to
26cm.The quantity of prestressing strands and additional rebar is globally reduced with respect
to ordinary rebar, so that the time to arrange the steel before casting is significantly shortened.
Even if the arrangement of prestressing steel must be accurately carried out and supervised,
and special construction methods to guarantee the effectiveness of prestressing must be
enforced in particular provisional gaps, sliding supports along the cores and punching shear
additional reinforcement construction time can still be reduced, because the formworks can
be removed as soon as after only 36 hours from casting, when concrete, whose mix-design was
accurately studied, reaches a strength of about 30MPa, implying an elastic modulus of about
3x104 MPa. In this way, a good productivity level was guaranteed, coupled to high structural performance and strong standardization in the construction process.
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HOSPITAL
EAST PARKING
NORTH PARKING
5
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Verdi Theatre
Project
New Verdi Theatre
Location
Pordenone, Italy
Client
Municipality of Pordenone
Design
Ing. Carlo Filipuzzi, arch. Paola Moretti Interstudio
s.r.l., Udine
Structural engineer consultant
Ing. Carlo Filipuzzi
Yard management
Arch. Ermanno DellAgnolo
General contractor
Mazzi Impresa generale SpA, Verona
Photographs
Interstudio s.r.l.
298
The theatre stands on a long narrow lot bounded by the orthogonal street grid, and is in a
place of transition between the historic downtown and an urban outskirts almost a large
citys. The position of the architectural complex has not compromised the language of continuity of the sur-rounding buildings, indeed, it has relaunched their vitality through the great
appeal it enjoys within the city.The theatre main entrance opens on two broad streets: the via
Battisti and the via Martel-li, which meet at an angle, right at the building entrance and on
the entrance to the plaza.Volume-wise, three elements identify the theatres principal use assignments: the halls and the foyer, the stage tower, and the dressing rooms. The project called
for three halls: a principal hall seating 998 between the orchestra and three orders of balconies; a smaller one containing 160 seats, and a multi-use hall seating one hundred at the
third level, useable both for small entertainments and for rehearsals, since its dimensions are
those of the stage. The choice of theatre-hall conformation fell on the traditional horseshoe,
to guarantee good visibility and acoustics. The public accesses it through the building-high
foyer: two grand stairways serve the three balconies and a route along the perimeter of the
foyer joins the three balconies with three rings. The dressing rooms are divided into four singles, three doubles, three quadruples and six group dressing rooms. In the basement there is
only the wardrobe. The first floor of the backstage zone is taken up by some of the dressing
rooms and by the dressmakers. The second floor holds more dressing rooms, while the third
floor, besides other dressing rooms, also holds offices, including the press office, and in the central part the choir rehearsals hall, useable too as a conference room. The fourth floor holds
the final dressing rooms, the rest of the offices, a workshop, the carpenters shop (directly connected to the stage tower), and the rehearsal room.
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plan at the level of the main hall orchestra seating. 5- The buildings
top4-floorBuilding
(level of the boxes, 12.90 m). 6- Longitudinal section through building. 7Facade, on the via Martelli.
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Project
Banca Lombarda Center
Location
Brescia, Italy
Client
SBIM Societ Immobiliare Mobiliare S.p.A. , Brescia
Architect
Gregotti Associati International s.r.l., Milano
Structural engineer
Sajni e Zambetti s.r.l., Milano
System design
Amman Progetti S.p.A., Milano
General contractor
Colombo Costruzioni S.p.A., Lecco
Photographs
Donato Di Bello Gregotti Associati International
S.p.A.
302
The construction of the Lombarda banks new headquarters in Brescia, in the area of urban
expansion, is the result of a design search for an alternative to the tower typology, often used
for the design of buildings having a high services concentration. The complex is conceived as
a sort of virtual cube, 50 metres on a side, consisting of two lateral wings connected on the
north by a suspended volume and on the south by a low body having truncated-pyramidal
roof and by a glazed walkway at the tenth floor. The two lateral wings are assigned to operations offices; the block to the north is reserved to halls and offices for meeting the public,
and the volume that concludes in a truncated pyramid houses the two great congresses halls,
seating 500 and 150 persons. They may be accessed independently for any public use. The
complex features a sharp contrast between the white of the marble cladding of the stair
bodies four corner volumes and the transparent surfaces of the continuous glazed facades.
In the east and west wings completely transparent bands of glazing alternate with glass
blocks, while for the suspended building body a dual skin solution was adopted with a brisesoleil towards the south, and a wholly glazed faade to the north.The corporate offices building runs up twelve floors above ground, reaching a height of 54 metres, and has two basement floors, one outfitted for services and the other for parking, the total net area being
27,000 square metres. To this is added the 25,000 square metres of underground parking
adjacent. The office building structure features two trios of steel latticework beams placed at
elevations 23.35 and 44.15 metres. Their span is 36 m and their function is to sustain the
nine-floor suspended body.The beams bear on reinforced-concrete columns stabilized by two
of the four stairwells. For the foundations, considering the soils low compressibility and its bearing capacity, separate direct footings were chosen.
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Boglietti Palace
Project
Boglietti Palace Cultural Center
Location
Biella, Italy
Client
Giovanni Boglietti Obiettivo Domani Cultural
Centre
Architects
Arch. Alberto Rizzi, Biella
Assistants
Luca Gibello, Filippo Chiocchetti, Paolo Strobino,
Francesca Frigato
Structural engineer
Orio Delpiano, A.I.R.E., Biella
General contractor
Lasimon S.a.s., Biella
Photographs
Archivio Studio Rizzi, Costantino Merlini, Davide
Lovatti, Roberto Marchisotti
306
The building, located on the southwest outskirts of the city of Biella, is essentially characterized
by the juxtaposition of two truncated pyramids: one, upright, takes in and configures the basic
structural system, i.e. the great reinforced-concrete spherical caps representative of the entire
spatial order. The other, inverted and differently oriented relative to the axes of the system of
caps themselves, houses the main stairwell, making possible the natural statics equilibrium of
the whole. The construction develops on the whole on four levels above ground, besides the
basement floor and the roof terrace, for a total net area of 1500 square metres. Between the
ground floor, housing the accesses and reception desk, and the first floor is a mezzanine floor
having as its basic function to act as an intermediate between the spaces, all wholly devoted
to housing, small and large events, such as showings, reviews and exhibitions and the video
projections they involve. The first floor develops within the great spherical caps.
On the second and top floors, directly connected with the overlying terrace, space is found for
a cafeteria and a small multimedia library, while on the basement floor is the great exhibition
area, naturally lighted by special large skylights excavated in the structure of the hanging garden.This permits its conversion, as needed, into a sizeable conference hall.The building is strongly characterized by the massive use, not only of r.c., but also of marble and stone.The whole
main construction above ground bears on five columns, placed at the sides of an equilateral
triangle, that is in respect of the primary design of a truncated pyramid, which is what, substantially, the building configures. The two columns near the top of this triangle, towards the
east, are 0.60 m in diameter, while the remaining three, placed at the corners and in midspan
of the west side, are 0.70 m in diameter. Starting from the upper level (ground floor) the
columns change typology, being converted into characteristic oblique pilasters, two of which
along the west axis display a variable rhomboidal section owing to their tapering towards the
top.
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1- The building in plan and volume. 2- Structural system of the large spherical
vaults.
3- Basement-floor plan. 4- Ground-floor plan.
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5- First-floor plan. 6- View of building from the south during final finish phases.
7- Section
through building.
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Project
Cuore immacolato di Maria parish complex
Location
Formia, Latina, Italy
Client
Parroco Maccioni Don Gesuino Arcivescovo di
Gaeta, Mons. Vincenzo Farano
Project
Arch. Bernardo Re
Geothecnical advisory
Ing. Giovanni Gambacorta
Photographs
Arch. Bernardo Re
310
The Immaculate Heart of Maria parish complex stands in an area donated by the bordering
Salesian Sacred Heart hospice. During design it seemed fitting to exploit the lots orographic
conformation in relation to the main street, as did the need to lower the foundation plane to
reach a soil of consistency adequate to permit direct foundations.Thus was permitted: the shifting of the catechism classrooms and the services below the sacristy into a band as long as
the lot, lighted by a light shaft with plantings; the location below the church of the multi-use
community salon seating 450; and the construction of the weekday chapel for seventy faithful. On the upper floor were located the assembly hall, with access from the sacristy, the sacristy itself with parish office, and hygienic facilities for the handicapped.
Over the sacristy, suspended from the roof, are the priests quarters. The bell tower, placed
pseudobaricentrically, completes the whole; it is accessed from the sacristy. The entire oeuvre
was built of fair-face white lightweight structural cement concrete, having as well an excellent
heat-transfer coefficient, which meant the adoption of walls only 250 mm thick that met
energy-consumption standards. The lightness of the statics scheme was made possible by the
special technologies applied for construction.
One such was that used for the ribbed triangular lacunar plates with fine triangular mesh that
permitted very low structural weights and were aesthetically pleasing as well as acoustically
suitable. Stimulating too was the design and construction of the five bomb sail walls of trapezoidal form, all different the one from the other. Extremely complex was the construction of
the belltower, especially at the points where it was grafted onto the arches and at the floor
structures where the in-depth beams arrive with strong traction forces.The sacristy floor structure is a dual slab lightened with polystyrol pads, poured in situ without break. The three St.
Andrews crosses, placed on each end of the frames connecting the walls to take up horizontal forces, were built on site, positioned and solidly joined in the pour of the ends of the rectangular section walls.
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1- Church plan.
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front facade. 3- The soffit of the special roof created with ribbed triangular2- Church
plates. 4- The wooden intermediate floor suspended from the concrete frame.
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Project
New parish complex of San Giovanni Battista
Location
Lecce, Italy
Client
Archdiocese of Lecce, Italy
Architect
Arch. Franco Purini, prof. Laura Thermes Rome
Assistants
Luigi Paglialunga, Massimiliano De Meo
Structural engineeer
Ing. Enzo Pierri (church), ing. Andrea Cinuzi (belltower)
Supervision of construction
Raffaele Parlangli
General Contractor
Fratelli Marullo, Calimera (Lecce)
Photographs
Studio Purini Thermes
314
The St. John the Baptist parish complex was built in Lecce, in the Stadio district, a zone on
the outskirts featuring numerous residential buildings and economic and subsidized public
building construction.The design of the centre was thus made up with the aim of creating an
urban pole of attraction, a true community house, able finally to attribute recognizability to
the entire area.
The complex comprises a series of volumes that de-limit and define a foot plaza, an internal
court and a closed space, the Walled Garden, conceived for meditation. The churchs assembly hall is square-plan, 24 m on a side. Next to it is a rectangular wing holding the sacristy
and the weekday chapel.
The assembly halls bearing structure is sustained by just four columns, which identify a fullheight central basin, trapezoidal in plan, connoted by a strong feeling of lightness. On the hall
perimeter are the service spaces, lower in height. The four columns are con-nected by isolated beams, at a height of eight metres. One of the beams of this internal frame extends
towards the entrance wall, piercing it and projecting beyond cantilever-wise. From it hangs the
large cross that connotes the building faade. The hall roof bearing structure, which reaches
a peak elevation of 15.65 m, is seen as a lacunar complex formed of square-section beams
1.60 m on a side. In one section, the roof cantilevers out by 7 m. In the lateral areas the
beams and the columns create a square-mesh modular grid 6 m on a side.
The frame structure arranged on the perimeter is clad with plastered tuff block walls. The
parish works building has an r.c. frame bearing structure. Of special interest is the stairway,
created by a cantilevered slab.The campanile is shaped like a portal, expanded in height.The
two vertical outside septums are 0.30 m thick, as is the septum supporting the stairway, and
have a total height of 28 m. The foundations are a one metre deep footing. The cladding for
the Parish hall and for the entrance security lock, both inside and outside, is of Lecce stone.
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plan and facade (line of section 4). 2- First-floor plan and interior1- Ground-floor
facades (lines of sections 2 and 3).
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3- Sezione trasversale.
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Project
Business Center
Location
Residential and shopping centre Somada, Italy
Design
Arch. Enzo Zacchiroli, Bologna
Precast structure design
Ing. Mauro Ferrari, Reggio Emilia
General contractor for structure
Edilquattro spa, Montecavolo di Quattro Castella (RE)
General contractor for precast structures
APE spa, Montecchio Emilia (RE)
Photographs
PatriziaVirginia Belli, Bologna
318
The project concerns a corporate complex including offices and shops set down in and completing the residential and business center of a subdivision called Somada. The triangular-plan
building features a large internal patio-garden. Lining the patios three sides are the shop spaces,
on the raised ground floor and the first floor, while the spaces assigned to offices are on the 2nd
and 3th floors. At the buildings heart, besides its planted area, is the cylindrical core. Within it,
starting from the raised ground floor, the helicoidal stairs and a glazed-wall elevator develop. It
culminates in a conical-roof skylight.The shops, all enjoying extensive glazing, and the offices are
served, and accessed, on all levels by broad porticoed foot ways. On the raised ground floor, the
area fronting on the court is furnished around the whole perimeter with chairs in which to sit
and enjoy the outdoor area. Formally, the complex is characterized by a number of elements,
which spring from the search for an appropriate architectural system, filled out with the necessary functional elements.The building comprises a bearing frame structure of semi-precast typeK reinforced concrete. Being conceptually connected with the traditional reinforced-concrete
frame, it is composed of reinforced-concrete precastings (beams, stair flights) light-weight
predalles-type floor structures, prestressed-concrete honeycomb slabs and in situ-poured members (foundations, columns, perimetral and dividing walls, and the stairwells). Characteristic of
the system is the wet-type node, where beam-column structure continuity is created by the simple overlapping of reinforcings and a successive solidizing pour, made at the same time as the
floor structure is poured.The structures subsystem consists of v.r.c. semi-precastings, whose joins,
effected by reinforcings and integrating pours, create a statically indeterminate structural complex. Its performance characteristics can be traced back to an equivalent in situ-poured structure, as regards the absorption of both vertical and horizontal forces.
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Established in 1959,
w w w . a i t e c w e b . c o m