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Dynamic Testing of Historic Towers Using an Interferometric Radar from an Unstable Measurement Position

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Abstract

Interferometric radar is a rather popular equipment able to remotely perform dynamic testing of large structures (towers, bridges, buildings …) by detecting the relative displacement in the line of sight between the radar and geometric discontinuities in the engineering structure under test. This technique has been demonstrated effective when the radar is positioned at ground on a stable position. Unfortunately there are practical cases for which a suitable stable position is not available. This is the case of the towers of San Gimignano (Italy) that are embedded in the narrow streets of the old town. A solution to monitor the towers is to install the radar on the top of a tower, which is located in a central position of the town. The tower is not a stable arrangement for the radar and in this paper the authors propose and test the use of an accelerometer fixed to the radar head for detecting and removing its own movement.

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Acknowledgements

This research work has been funded by Local Government of Tuscany (P.A.R. FAS REGIONE TOSCANA Linea di Azione 1.1.a.3—decreto dirigenziale n. 155 del 13/01/2010) in the framework of RISEM (RIschio Sismico negli Edifici Monumentali) project, coordinated by prof. Gianni Bartoli of DICeA (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering), University of Florence.

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  1. Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Via Santa Marta 3, 50139, Florence, Italy

    M. Pieraccini, D. Dei, D. Mecatti & F. Parrini

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  1. M. Pieraccini
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  2. D. Dei
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  3. D. Mecatti
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  4. F. Parrini
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Correspondence to M. Pieraccini.

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Pieraccini, M., Dei, D., Mecatti, D. et al. Dynamic Testing of Historic Towers Using an Interferometric Radar from an Unstable Measurement Position. J Nondestruct Eval 32, 398–404 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-013-0193-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10921-013-0193-9

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