Open-source digital technologies for low-cost monitoring of historical constructions

Abstract

This paper shows new possibilities of using novel, open-source, low-cost platforms for the structural health monitoring of heritage structures. The objective of the study is to present an assessment of increasingly available open-source digital modeling and fabrication technologies in order to identify the suitable counterparts of the typical components of a continuous static monitoring system for a historical construction. The results of the research include a simple case-study, which is presented with low-cost, open-source, calibrated components, as well as an assessment of different alternatives for deploying basic structural health monitoring arrangements. The results of the research show the great potential of these existing technologies that may help to promote a widespread and cost-efficient monitoring of the built cultural heritage. Such scenario may contribute to the onset of commonplace digital records of historical constructions in an open-source, versatile and reliable fashion.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The restoration of severely damaged churches – Implications and opportunities on cultural heritage conservation, thermal comfort and energy efficiency

“…Garcìa-Diego and Zarzo [34], using the Metropolitan Cathedral of Valencia (Spain) as case study, presented a measuring instrument that allows the insertion of the probes directly inside the frescoes demonstrating how much variable the thermo-hygrometric conditions of conservation are over the time. Basto et al [35] proposed a measuring instrument capable of measuring crack width, internal and external temperatures, and internal relative humidity, to show the great potential of such technologies and to promote the dissemination of costefficient monitoring for cultural heritage with reference to Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). Sileo et al [36] presented the environmental analysis of the Crypt of S. Francesco D'Assisi in Irsinia (Italy) underlining the importance of monitoring as an appropriate tool to define preservation strategies of the cultural heritage and the potential deriving from the use of low-cost monitoring instruments.…”

“…• Phase II: based on the results obtained during the Phase I, a continuous monitoring of indoor thermohygrometric conditions is performed identifying a new measurement grid that considers the number of necessary points identified in the Phase I as a function of the thermo-hygrometric fluctuations observed. Similarly to the duration of many of the works proposed in the literature [3,6,13,18,35,49], the total time span of the monitoring phase was 40 days, divided into 16 days for the Phase I and 24 days for the Phase II, in the period between September and November, 2017. The technical specifications of the measuring instruments employed during the experimental campaign are summarized in Table 3.…”

Structural stability and microscale behaviors of the fortress wall from the sixth century Baekje Kingdom in ancient Korea

“…An assessment on safety of the fortress and auxiliary facilities is performed through a multidirectional analysis by integrating research results from a variety of fields including geology, architectural engineering, geohydrology and conservation science [1,2]. Also, in order to check if a structural deformation is in progress on the rampart, measuring sensors are installed to observe changes in slope or distance and, nowadays [3][4][5][6][7][8][9], the IoT technology is applied to construct a monitoring system capable of detecting changes in real-time [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Structural Stability and Behavioral Characteristics of the Fortress Wall from the 6th Century Baekje Kingdom in Ancient Korea

“…An assessment on safety of the fortress and auxiliary facilities is performed through a multidirectional analysis by integrating research results from a variety of elds including geology, architectural engineering, geohydrology and conservation science [1,2]. Also, in order to check if a structural deformation is in progress on the rampart, measuring sensors are installed to observe changes in slope or distance and, nowadays [3][4][5][6][7][8][9], the IoT technology is applied to construct a monitoring system capable of detecting changes in real-time [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”