Bramante Tower in Sforzesco Castle at Vigevano – Diagnostic analysis and monitoring
The main tower aka Bramante Tower, which is the main access to Vigevano Sforzesco Castle from Ducale Square, shows, mainly on the internal side of the walls and along the stairs, a wide crack pattern. For this reason a diagnostic campaign was carried out, aimed at acquiring the information necessary to evaluate the structural (both static and seismic) safety of the building.
Ispezione delle superfici esterne effettuata operando con sistemi di accesso e di posizionamento su fune
Verifica della stabilità dei coppi del tettuccio sud
Localizzazione degli elementi metallici nella muratura effettuata con magnetometro
Indagine video endoscopica all’interno di fori di piccolo diametro
Prova con martinetto piatto sulle murature in laterizio
Uno degli estensimetri installati a cavallo delle lesioni con rivestimento protettivo in plexiglas
The following activities were performed:
- crack pattern and degradation phenomenon survey on the internal and external surfaces of the tower: to allow the close inspection on the external surfaces it was necessary to operate with access and positioning techniques through ropes;
- diagnostic analysis aimed to define the stratigraphy of the masonry performed with corings, then video-endoscopic survey in small diameter holes to deepen the information acquired and flat jack test to determine the status of stress and the deformability characteristics of the masonries;
- installation of a structural monitoring system articulated with 8 crack-gages for measuring the opening variations of the main cracks and Pt100 temperature probe: the scannings will be carried out for a minimum period of one year and they will be related to the temperature data in order to discriminate any significant structural trends from fluctuations due to thermic phenomena.
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