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This paper explores dynamic soil-bridge interaction in high speed railway lines. The analysis was conducted using a general and fully three-dimensional multi-body finite element-boundary element model formulated in the time domain to predict vibrations caused by trains passing over the bridge. The vehicle was modelled as a multi-body system, the track and the bridge were modelled using finite elements and the soil was considered as a half-space by the boundary element method. The dynamic response of bridges to vehicle passage is usually studied using moving force and moving mass models. However, the multi-body system allows to consider the quasi-static and dynamic excitation mechanisms. Soil-structure interaction was taken into account by coupling finite elements and boundary elements. The paper presents the results obtained for a simply-supported short span bridge in a resonant regime under different soil stiffness conditions.

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This paper uses the Continuous Wavelet Transform Analysis on mode shapes for damage identification. The wavelet analysis is applied to the difference in the mode shapes between a healthy and a damaged state. The paper also includes a novel methodology for estimating the level of noise of the experimental mode shapes based on a standard Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). The estimated SNRs are used for identifying and making emphasis on the less noisy data. Moreover, a mass attached to the structure is considered to enhance the sensitivity of the structure to damage. Modal analysis is performed for different positions of the mass along the beam. The results obtained for all the positions of the mass are combined so an averaging process is implicitly applied. The paper presents the results from an experimental test of a cantilever steel beam with different severity levels of damage at the same location. The results show that the use of the attached mass reduces the effect of noise and increases the sensitivity to damage. Little damage can be identified with the proposed methodology even using a small number of sensors and only the first five bending modes.

The images generated by the proposed method show that multistatic holography is capable of forming spatially accurate images in real-time with signal to clutter levels and contrast values higher than other published monostatic and multistatic cylindrical radar reconstruction approaches. In comparison to the monostatic holographic approach, the images generated by the proposed multistatic approach had SCR values that were at least 50% higher. The multistatic images had CCR and TFRR values at least 200% greater than those formed using a monostatic approach.

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Cómo citar este artículo/Citation: Solís, M., Torrealva, D., Santillán, P., Montoya, G. (2015). Análisis del comportamiento a flexión de muros de adobe reforzados con geomallas. RESUMENLa tierra cruda constituye el material de construcción más importante en muchas regiones del planeta. Dado el riesgo sísmico existente en la mayor parte de estas regiones, es necesario el desarrollo de técnicas de refuerzo eficaces y adecuadas desde un punto de vista tecnológico y socioeconómico. Este artículo analiza desde un punto experimental y analítico el comportamiento a flexión de muros de adobe reforzados con geomallas. Las leyes momento-curvatura de los muros ensayados son aproximadas mediante una serie de modelos analíticos que permiten analizar el comportamiento del material compuesto adobe-geomalla. Los resultados obtenidos muestran como la geomalla mejora el comportamiento de la mampostería de adobe en términos de resistencia y ductilidad, mejorando así su comportamiento en caso de movimiento sísmico.Palabras clave: Adobe; refuerzo con geomallas; diseño sísmico; comportamiento a flexión. ABSTRACT

This article presents the application of monitoring and detection of structural damage techniques to a historic monument. Seville cathedral’s famous bell tower ‘La Giralda’ is 96 m tall and is crowned with a large 16th century sculpture known as ‘Giraldillo’. The sculpture is supported with an internal bar structure, which is fitted over the axis about which it rotates according to the wind direction, allowing it to function as a weathervane. Between 1999 and 2005 the Giraldillo was demounted and underwent an intensive restoration process, which included mechanical and structural repair work. As the sculpture is only accessible by means of complex and costly scaffolding systems, an instrumentation system consisting of different types of sensors was installed to study the assembly’s mechanical response, its functioning as a weathervane and its state of conservation while it was being remounted atop the Giralda Tower. Different damage detection techniques aimed at detecting possible deterioration in the Giraldillo’s support structure were employed as well. This article presents results obtained in 2 years of system operation, showing how structural heath monitoring techniques can be applied to historical monuments.