OMA TESTS AND SETUP OF THE MODAL BASED SHM SYSTEM OF THE CIVITACAMPOMARANO BELFRY

Protection and conservation of cultural and architectural heritage represent key problems worldwide and require advanced tools for structural assessment and monitoring under operational conditions as well as extreme loads. Vibration-based Structural Health Monitoring represents an attractive solution thanks to its little invasiveness and the ability to detect damage onset from the analysis of the global response of the structure without any prior information about the damage itself. The present paper illustrates the results of preliminary OMA tests aimed at setting up the continuous modal-based Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of the Civitacampomarano belfry. The tower is located close to a landslide which might affect its structural safety, so timely assessment of possible damage plays a critical role for its conservation and maintenance. The architecture of the SHM system and the technological solutions adopted for continuous monitoring of the vibration response of the tower under operational conditions are described in this paper, pointing out the role of Operational Modal Analysis for the remote assessment of the health state of the structure.