Laser vibrometry for damage identification in historical buildings: Fid-Bau Portal

Laser vibrometry for damage identification in historical buildings

Fino, Mariella de / Tommasi, Giambattista de

Vibration based methods offer effective tools to gather global information on the historical structures without interfering with their integrity and stability. In fact, by analysing the dynamic response to suitable excitation sources, it is possible to define the mechanical properties of the structures, as well as to detect and localize some anomalies within their global behaviour. Among the available technologies, laser vibrometry, which allows non contact measurements of vibration velocity of moving surfaces by a focused laser beam, is a very attractive method for qualitative dynamic characterization and damage identification. From the operating point of view, laser vibrometry shows different advantages. It is simple, speedy and non intrusive. It allows remote measures and it shows high sensibility and ample frequency response. Moreover, the system is completely computer controlled, so that data are easily stored, transmitted and elaborated for further analysis. Beside the wide interest to this technology for applications in medicine, biology, acoustics and mechanical engineering, the attention to the historical buildings is more recent. Nevertheless, it is promising and challenging in that field. In this study, some experimental validations of laser vibrometry in a wall model have been performed in order to assess the reliability and the effectiveness of this technology, by comparing the measures coming from undamaged and damaged configurations.