Projects / Programmes
Sensor technologies in diagnostics and monitoring of cultural heritage buildings
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.21.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Technology driven physics |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T000 |
Technological sciences |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 1.03 |
Natural Sciences |
Physical sciences |
built heritage, structural and grout injection, porosity, temperature and moisture sensors, energy efficiency
Researchers (24)
Organisations (5)
Abstract
Heritage assets are of important historical value and give evidence about the development of culture in a given area. They encompass the field of artistic heritage, movable and immovable assets including built heritage, historical monuments, frescoes and assets of the cultural environment. The proposed project will focus on renovation and/or restoration of built heritage that encompasses buildings in Slovenia from the Romanesque period to the modernism from the beginning of 20th century. For the renovation/restoration process, energy rehabilitation of built heritage is often required in addition to structural (re-joining bricks, refilling voids between the wall's leafs) and non-structural (establish the uniformity of wall paintings) injections as many buildings are still in use.
Incomplete or missing building plans, as well as legal constraints on the interventions on structural elements of built heritage are the most common obstacles in the renovation process of built heritage. Moreover, inappropriate restoration interventions on built heritage are often responsible for the damage and decay of the material.
Hence, the proposed project aims in linking the civil engineering and restoration field with non-destructive techniques of imaging, new sensors and the results of information technology.
We propose to:
1) Imaging of building elements before renovation with non-destructive techniques such as georadar, thermography and ultrasound, and image fusion in order to obtain a single, more reliable image of the investigated element.
2) Development of the multi-spot measurement system for measuring the heat flux through the building’s walls for an accurate and rational proposal for energy rehabilitation.
3) Development of miniature sensors that will be mixed into injection mixtures for monitoring the infiltration of the injection grouts. The sensors will be wirelessly connected to the main unit in order to obtain data about the sensors location and the temperature and moisture at their location. With this data we will be able to control the successfulness of the renovation during the procedure itself and if needed, make suitable adjustments.
4) The pore size distribution in new and existing injection mixtures will be determined in the laboratory using nuclear magnetic resonance. We have proved that the porosity is one of the most important properties that determine the compatibility of the injection mixture with the original material.
5) Development and application of terahertz spectroscopy for on site porosity determination. Terahertz spectroscopy does not require the sample to be saturated with water as needed when using nuclear magnetic resonance.
6) The efficiency of the renovation process will be determined using the same imaging methods as described in 1).
Two buildings of built heritage, both properties of University of Ljubljana, and one damaged stone masonry building in Posočje-region in Slovenia will be considered for testing. The proposed project enables an optimization and control of the interventions on built heritage. With this procedure, the required amount of used material for the renovation can be reduced, which contributes to the preservation of natural resources.
The project proposal refers to the following areas of Slovenia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S4, Sept. 2015):
1) Healthy working and living environment -) Smart buildings and homes, including wood chain -) Advanced materials and products,
2) Natural and traditional resources for the future -) Sustainable tourism.
At the end of the project, courses for restorers in Slovenia will be prepared and guidelines for their work will be published on the project website.
Significance for science
New injection mixtures for structural and non-structural strengthening of buildings of heritage assets with well defined physical properties will have an impact in the field of material science.
The development of a new method for the measurement of porosity with terahertz spectroscopy and the production of miniature sensors that will be inbuilt in the injection mixtures will have an important impact in the field of sensor technologies and implementation of IT (informational technology) in civil engineering.
New numerical methods for the fusion of images, acquired with existing and new imaging methods, will have an original contribution in the field of numerical methods with the use in civil engineering and in medicine.
Significance for the country
The guidelines and new building elements, in accordance to the requirements for minimal interventions on the building, will be prepared for the improvement of energy efficiency of two buildings of heritage assets, both property of University of Ljubljana.
Based on the knowledge and experiences that will be gathered during the project realization, the seminars for Slovenian restorers will be prepared.
On the project's web page the guidelines for restores will be prepared.
The production of the measurement system for multispot heat flow measurement could lead to a new spin-off company.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
