Regional training course on NDT for civil structures at Quito (Ecuador)

The project, which involves countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, aims to anticipate possible seismic damage to civil and industrial structures and to assess the structural safety of buildings affected by earthquakes. The project became particularly relevant following the September 2017 earthquake in Mexico, which severely affected numerous buildings in Mexico City..

Consequently, the IAEA, in cooperation with the Ecuadorian government through the Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas (ESPE), organized the first “Regional Training Course on NDT for Civil Structures”, aimed at developing technical expertise in the use of NDT across Latin America and the Caribbean, and ultimately creating a certification system for these skills. The course, held in Quito, Ecuador, from May 14 to 18, 2018, involved 28 technicians from various countries in Central and South America.

Engineers Dario Foppoli and Abel Domato, representing Italy and Spain respectively, were appointed by the IAEA to develop the scientific content of the course and deliver the lectures. Their sessions covered the theoretical principles of several NDT methods, presented numerous case studies from their professional practice, and included practical on-site exercises conducted at the UNASUR (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas) headquarters at La Midad del Mundo, at a reinforced concrete bridge in Sangolquí, and at the Basilica del Voto Nacional in Quito.

During his visit to Ecuador, Dario Foppoli was also invited by Prof. Fausto Cardoso Martínez, a lecturer in “restauración, protección y mejora del patrimonio cultural” at the Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism, to give a conference at the Universidad de Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city. The lecture, entitled “El conosimiento del comportamiento sismico del patrimonio monumental Italiano  a traves de Tecnicas no destructivas (NDT)”, illustrated numerous examples drawn from Foppoli Moretta and Associates’ activities, highlighting the correct diagnostic and investigative approach to assessing the structural safety (both static and seismic) of major Italian monuments. The goal was to share the knowledge and expertise developed in Italy in this field, particularly relevant for regions with high seismicity, such as the Andean mountain range.