Fornale Engineering was responsible for the structural design of the restoration intervention of the thin brick vault floor of a building in the province of Modena affected by the earthquake.
The intervention was funded by the Emilia Region following the 2012 earthquake and involved the entire building of which this floor is part.
This is a floor composed of a rectangular grid of 4×3 vaults resting on solid brick pillars.
The thin brick vaults had been constructed with solid bricks made on site and laid with lime mortar.
The horizontal thrusts are counteracted by a system of tie rods interrupted at the central pillars, probably due to the excessive lengths the tie rods would have reached.
The space was once used as a stable and the seismic damage was aggravated by poor maintenance and salts that had impregnated the pillars to the point of making them friable.
The proposed intervention aimed to restore the structure while maintaining its very interesting structural characteristics and peculiarities.
MACRO-PHASES OF INTERVENTION for restoration of thin brick vaults
- General cleaning, removal of salt efflorescence on pillars, removal of plaster and paint from the intrados of the vaults;
- Emptying of the extrados of the vaults;
- Cutting along the directrices of the solid bricks of the support arches of the vaults to expose the tie rods and assess their state of degradation;
- Complete replacement of tie rods and stakes fixed to the pillars;
- Restoration of the grooves along the directrices of the arches;
- Cleaning and wetting for the application of a first coat of NHL lime-based mortar, M15;
- Installation of aramid mesh on the extrados of the vaults and completion with an additional layer of NHL lime-based mortar, M15;
- Leveling of the extrados of the thin brick vaults with expanded clay;
- Cement-based grout for regularization of the floor extrados;
- Construction of screed and subsequent installation of local clay “pianelle” tiles.
The completed intervention ensured greater floor rigidity and increased the load-bearing capacity of the floor to ensure it can be used as a warehouse.
Assignment: Executive structural design
