We analyse the effect of temperature and wind velocity on the natural frequencies and modal damping ratios of the Faculty of Engineering Tower at the Università Politecnica delle Marche, a 10-story reinforced concrete frame building, permanently monitored with low-noise accelerometers. The data recorded over the first 5 months of monitoring demonstrate that temperature variations and wind intensity have a clear effect on the first three natural frequencies and the corresponding damping ratios. Temperature is positively correlated to the first and second frequencies, corresponding to shear displacement modes and negatively correlated to the third frequency, corresponding to a torsional mode. All frequencies are positively correlated to wind velocity and changes in damping ratios are inversely correlated to any change in frequency. A mechanical explanation of these phenomena is offered, based on a critical review of literature case studies. These results suggest that using changes in modal parameters for damage detection always requires accurate knowledge of the correlation between modal parameters and environmental quantities (temperature, humidity, and wind velocity), an information which is only available through long-term continuous monitoring of the structural response.
This paper presents the results and interpretations of static and dynamic tests that were executed on a newly built cable-stayed steel-concrete composite bridge during the final proof testing. A brief description of the structure, the testing methodology, and the used instrumentation are presented. Then, the test results are widely discussed and interpreted in order to evaluate the bridge performance during the proof test and also to understand the usefulness of each performed test in a proof test framework. All the collected experimental data are also compared to the numerical ones that were obtained through a refined finite element model, in order to check the behavior of the structure. The outcomes of the present work can offer references for the proof testing and monitoring of cable-stayed bridges.
Tests on infill masonry walls have been widely performed by many researchers and for a long time with the main purpose of characterising the infill performance under earthquake-type excitations. However, most of these works deal with laboratory tests on purpose-built specimens. More recently, vibration-based tests have been also adopted to investigate the influence of the non-structural elements on the dynamic behaviour of buildings, with the advantage that this kind of tests can be performed both on laboratory specimens and on in-situ buildings. However, differently from classical infill tests (i.e., monotonic or cyclic lateral load tests, out of plane tests, etc.), a limited number of works is available in the literature discussing the outcomes and possible procedures for testing infilled structures with vibration-based methods aimed to investigate the role of the non-structural components. This paper presents a literature review of research works dealing with vibration-based tests performed on RC frame structures with the main target of discussing the influence of non-structural components on the dynamics of buildings. Tests on infilled buildings performed during the construction, in operating conditions and after the damage occurred due to earthquake shakings, are discussed. Furthermore, a comprehensive review about papers discussing vibration-based tests performed on infill masonry walls is presented and in-depth investigated with the aim of finding possible correlations between the dynamic test outcomes and the infill geometric and mechanical properties. From this study it comes out the need of further experimental data on both undamaged and damaged infills in order to get more reliable correlations.
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