Title:
Reinforced Concrete in Roman Opus Caementicium Monuments: Sustainability of Interventions
Author(s):
Silvia Santini
Publication:
Web Session
Volume:
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
Keywords:
DOI:
Date:
4/2/2023
Abstract:
The city of Rome has numerous examples of historical monuments surrounded by urban traffic, affected by environmental degradation and material decay. It is therefore essential to monitor the dynamic response of these structures and carry out periodical assessment to better plan maintenance, based on the effective health state of the structures. The aim of this research is to explore the role of the reinforced concrete interventions, massive during to the 20th century, in the seismic and complex behavior of roman monuments, mainly made of opus caementicium. Case studies were referred to relevant examples of late Roman Imperial Architecture as Minerva Medica, the Great Halls at the Diocletian Baths and the Crypta Balbi. A comprehensive study which integrates information from different sources (historical sources, non-destructive testing NDT, dynamic monitoring) has been carried out. Heritage building information modeling (HBIM) was employed to connect the historical and geometrical information and model the structure, its foundations, the archeological remains (sub-foundations) and the soil. Experimental data (dynamic monitoring and onsite testing) were implemented in the finite element model (FEM), and then the draw backs of each simulation were identified by comparing the numerical and experimental results. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify the most influential parameters and the contribution of reinforced concrete. Finally, to give a response to the question of cultural heritage which involves the authenticity criteria and the principle of minimum intervention and reversibility, a comprehensive evaluation through a multicriteria analysis, combining the AHP with MIVES approaches, has been carried out to quantify the sustainability of RC interventions.