Experimental tests and numerical modelling of traffic-induced vibrations

It is rather unusual that the vibrations induced by the traffic, even if heavy, cause damage on the structures, whereas they are a common reason of environmental nuisance affecting residents. On the other hand, the effect of the traffic vibrations on the finishes is usually disregarded as not affecting the structural safety of the building. Nevertheless, in the context of the historical buildings such an effect may become relevant. This paper summarises the preliminary results of the effects of the traffic vibrations monitored on buildings, with special attention to the historical and artistic surface coatings. Two historical Palaces are investigated. A special procedure is developed in order to deal with the monitoring data and to extract the relevant features. After a short introduction describing the state-of-art, Sect. 2 reports the equipment used to acquire the vibration data and describes the monitored historical building, and Sect. 3 details the procedures developed to capture and analyse the meaningful events. The paper is closed with some conclusions.