The hole drilling technique - in site stress measurement on the piers of the Saint-Jacobs church in Leuven (Belgium)

Title: The hole drilling technique - in site stress measurement on the piers of the Saint-Jacobs church in Leuven (Belgium)
Author(s): S, Sánchez-Beitia, L. Schueremans
Paper category : conference
Book title: RILEM Symposium on On Site Assessment of Concrete, Masonry and Timber Structures - SACoMaTiS 2008
Editor(s): L. Binda, M. di Prisco, R. Felicetti
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-061-5
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-075-2
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2008
Pages: 881 - 892
Total Pages: 12
Nb references: 11
Language: English

Abstract: The construction of the Saint Jacobs church dates back from 1220. During several subsequent building phases, the Romanesque church has been replaced and extended by a church in early gothic style. Because of the location of the church, constructed on a swamp, and the unforeseen additional vertical loading on the columns of the main nave, large differential settlements took place. During a research campaign, the resulting stresses are determined, numerically as well as experimentally, based on a minor destructive technique called the Hole Drilling Technique. The latter allows the deduction of the principal stresses and their direction in stone masonry. The experimental technique is presented and the results are compared with the outcome of a comparative numerical analysis. The quality of the experimental technique and the usefulness of the on site methodology in the framework of cultural heritage are presented and discussed.

Online publication: 2009-05-26
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00