Dynamic Behavior of a Masonry Civic Belfry under Operational Conditions

Slender structures, such as towers, are characterized by a high sensitivity to dynamic excitation. As a consequence, meaningful information about their behavior under operational conditions can be obtained by monitoring their response to ambient vibrations. Furthermore, significant stresses could be induced to the ancient masonry walls when the dynamic forces due to the swinging of a bell are acting. To assess the structural conditions of a case study representative of such type of structures and to plan an adequate retrofit, numerical analyses are carried out on a model whose modal parameters are calibrated based on the elaboration of the results from the ambient vibrations tests. In particular, full time histories analyses are performed using as input either the signal recorded while the bell was hit by a hammer, or the numerically calculated dynamic forces that would be produced by the actual swinging of the bell. The first set of analyses aims to investigate the capability of an equivalent linear elastic model to capture the actual dynamic response of the structure. The second set of analyses provides an evaluation of the tower response when dynamic loads of higher intensity and likely occurrence are considered.