Structural evaluation of an earthen building from operational modal analysis

Rafael Aguilar, Mario Solís, César Chácara, Álvaro Ruiz

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper evaluates the structural behavior of a nineteenth century historical construction of rammed earth built in Lima (Perú). The dynamic response of the building was experimentally analyzed from Operational Modal Analysis tests. A FE model was built in order to approach the experimental behavior. Manual calibration of material properties and interaction with surrounding buildings were considered in order to achieve this goal. Due to the complexity of the structure, the level of damage and possible non-linear effects, only the first two modes were considered to be clear enough for calibration purposes. The building is a three story construction made of adobe masonry and a traditional composite material made of wood, cane and mud known as “quincha”. Experimental and numerical results evidenced the different behavior of the quincha and adobe walls in terms of flexibility. Moreover, loss of connectivity or stiffness between floors and walls is observed from the relative displacements between different parts of the building. The paper contributes to the application of vibration based structural health monitoring techniques to earthen historical constructions.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMechanics of Biological Systems and Materials - Proceedings of the 2013 Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics
PublisherSpringer New York LLC
Pages71-79
Number of pages9
ISBN (Print)9783319007762
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014
Event32nd IMAC Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2014 - Orlando, FL, United States
Duration: 3 Feb 20146 Feb 2014

Publication series

NameConference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series
Volume4
ISSN (Print)2191-5644
ISSN (Electronic)2191-5652

Conference

Conference32nd IMAC Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2014
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando, FL
Period3/02/146/02/14

Keywords

  • Adobe
  • Model updating
  • Operational modal analysis
  • Quincha
  • Structural health monitoring

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