A rescue plan for historical buildings
The Mediterranean region boasts numerous important historical monuments that reflect its mosaic of cultures and civilisations, but many of these treasures are succumbing to seismic activity or neglect. The EU-funded project WIND-CHIME aimed to reverse this trend. It conceived a new method of rehabilitating monuments in the region in a cost-effective way. To achieve its aims, the project worked on developing shape memory alloy (SMA) pre-stressed devices that could be fastened to cracked brick and stone monuments. It also looked at introducing SMA dampers into slender structures such as minarets and bell towers. WIND-CHIME therefore conducted thermo-mechanical evaluation of alloys to eliminate inconsistencies between potential materials and their target applications. This was followed by tension and torsion testing at different temperatures to isolate a cost-effective copper-based alloy and find ways to protect against vibration. Other important project developments include a novel base isolator device, innovative seismic dampers and new retrofitting technology. Once these were successfully defined and elaborated, WIND-CHIME validated the technology through case studies across historical areas of the Mediterranean and in conjunction with project partners from the region. The project's valuable results were disseminated to stakeholders through conferences, events and online with the aim of preserving the region's superb heritage.
