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Current practice and open issues in strengthening historical buildings with composites

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Abstract

Modern techniques and innovative materials are often quite rapidly proposed and allowed in current practice, even for restoration of historical constructions, in which essential preservation criteria must be taken into account. The considerable variability and complexity of masonry structures and types means that choosing the most appropriate structural models and interventions is particularly difficult, since they must be based on suitable knowledge of both existing and new materials, and on their interactions in environmental and loading conditions. This paper discusses the potentials and limitations of externally bonded composite materials in masonry structures and components, in the light of knowledge acquired from research in the field, together with the requirements and recommendations of codes and restoration documents. The analysis of some case studies is presented, to highlight the advantages and constraints in the use of composites for strengthening historical buildings.

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Acknowledgments

The case studies in Sects. 4.1, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 were designed in Padova; that of Sect. 4.2 was designed in Rome. The authors wish to thank C. Bettio and SM Ingegneria s.r.l. (Padova) and A. Mauro (Rome) for their contribution to design and assessment of interventions on case studies. Kerakoll SpA and Hardwire Ltd respectively supplied the matrices and the steel strips for SRG. Resimix srl and BASF SpA respectively supplied the CFRP for the case studies of S. Corona in Vicenza and the Cansignorio tomb in Verona.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Padova, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139, Padua, Italy

    Maria Rosa Valluzzi

  2. Department of Civil, Environmental, Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Padua, Italy

    Claudio Modena

  3. Department of Engineering, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy

    Gianmarco de Felice

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  1. Maria Rosa Valluzzi
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  2. Claudio Modena
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  3. Gianmarco de Felice
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Correspondence to Maria Rosa Valluzzi.

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Valluzzi, M.R., Modena, C. & de Felice, G. Current practice and open issues in strengthening historical buildings with composites. Mater Struct 47, 1971–1985 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-014-0359-7

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