The effect of traffic induced vibrations on Monumental buildings. Theoretical analysis with the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and Field Investigation

The paper reports the results of a theoretical and experimental study aimed at a better characterisation of the effect of traffic induced vibrations on monumental buildings. The theoretical analysis was based on the Boundary Element Method (BEM), which allows the effect of a concentrated load (Green’s solution) on the stress-strain behaviour of an elastic ground to be studied. The propagation of the “traffic induced vibration” phenomenon has been characterised, after schematising the road vehicle as a 2 degree of freedom system. The method has been evaluated after varying/modifying the structure of the road pavement and the properties of the medium in which the vibration transmission happens. The theoretical model has then been calibrated on the basis of deflectometric measures on the road pavement and accelerometric tests on buildings. Several surveys have been carried out along the Brenta Riviera, in Venice Province (Italy). Beside the waterway, many monumental sixteenth/eighteenth-century buildings (Ville Venete: historical country houses of the Veneto Region) are flanked by a major road (“Padana superiore” National Road no. 11), with high volumes of traffic and significant flows of heavy goods vehicles. Because of traffic induced vibrations, the buildings show degradations and cracks. The research intended to quantify the impact of traffic on the historical buildings in order to propose road design and construction solutions useful to guarantee the durability of monumental edifices.