Friday, 3/31/2017
The SRP – Seismic
Retrofitting Project involves the Institute
for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE) of the
School of Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM), the Pontifícia
Universidad Católica del Perú and the Getty Conservation Institute, USA.
The Seismic Retrofitting Project uses traditional building materials and
techniques – associated to advanced methodologies – to develop tools for the
maintenance and seismic strengthening of existing earthen buildings (where
about 25% of the world population lives, or 2 billion people). The materials
used in traditional construction and in certain contexts seems to be insufficiently
resistant to seismic actions. This construction is responsible for a
significant number of deaths in the world, whenever a large earthquake occurs
in buildings that were not designed to withstand the seismic impact.
“This project is not specifically for Peru, but intended to be used in
all countries – mostly developing countries–, so the techniques and materials
do not have high costs and are readily available locally. Our aim is
essentially Latin America, but also the entire world”, Paulo Lourenço,
professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of the EEUM and project
coordinator at the UMinho, explains.
The ultimate aim of the Seismic Retrofitting Project is to work on a
preventive approach, which means working on strengthening and repairing
buildings before an earthquake occurs. “We studied the buildings with advanced
methods and analysis tools. We are able to predict the current level of safety of
the construction and the level of safety afterwards”, Paulo Lourenço
highlights.
Thinking about conservation of cultural heritage, the researcher has no
doubt that the project will be a benefit to avoid the loss of cultural identity
of constructions. “What has been observed in the large earthquakes for this
type of constructions, which are relatively heavy, fragile, poorly connected
and that suffer serious problems of lack of maintenance, is that about two
thirds of the built cultural heritage collapses. Therefore, there is an
important loss of identity. It is something that is irrecoverable. We can
always rebuild, but the original value of materials and technologies is lost”,
he adds.
The Seismic Retrofitting Project involves three beneficiary partners and
has a budget of 220 thousand euros for UMinho, from the Getty Conservation
Institute and until the end of 2017.
+ info: http://www.isise.net/
