Development of An Energy Modeling Approach to Analyse Historical Building Performance

In the last years the attentions on the energy efficiency on historical buildings grows, as different research project took place across Europe. The attention on combining, the need of the preservation of the buildings, their value and their characteristic, with the need of the reduction of energy consumption and the improvements of indoor comfort condition, stimulate the discussion of two points of view that are usually in contradiction, buildings engineer and Conservation Institution. The results are surprising because a common field is growing while remains the need of balancing the respective exigencies. From these experience results clear that many questions should be answered also from the building physicist regarding the correct assessment: on the energy consumption of this class of buildings, on the effectiveness of the measures that could be adopted, and much more. This thesis gives a contribution to answer to these questions developing a procedure to analyse the historic building. The procedure gives a guideline of the energy audit for the historical building considering the experimental activities to dial with the uncertainty of the estimation of the energy balance. It offers a procedure to simulate the energy balance of building with a validated dynamic model considering also a calibration procedure to increase the accuracy of the model. An approach of design of energy efficiency measures through an optimization that consider different aspect is also presented. All the process is applied to a real case study to give to the reader a practical understanding.

The influence of infill walls on seismic behavior of a historical building in Shanghai

Seismic assessment and seismic strengthening are the key issues need to be figured out during the process of protection and reusing of historical buildings. In this thesis the seismic behaviors of the hinged steel structure, a typical structure of historical buildings, i.e. hinged steel frames in Shanghai, China, were studied based on experimental investigations and theoretic analysis. How the non-structural members worked with the steel frames was analyzed thoroughly. Firstly, two 1/4 scale hinged steel frames were constructed based on the structural system of Bund 18, a historical building in Shanghai: M1 model without infill walls, M2 model with infill walls, and tested under the horizontal cyclic loads to investigate their seismic behavior. The Shaking Table Test and its results indicated that the seismic behavior of the hinged steel frames could be improved significantly with the help of non-structural members, i.e., surrounding elements outside the hinged steel frames and infilled walls. To specify, the columns are covered with bricks, they consist of I shape formed steel sections and steel plates, which are clenched together. The steel beams are connected to the steel column by steel angle, thus the structure should be considered as a hinged frame. And the infilled wall acted as a compression diagonal strut to withstand the horizontal load, therefore, the seismic capacity and stiffness of the hinged steel frames with infilled walls could be estimated by using the equivalent compression diagonal strut model. A SAP model has been constructed with the objective to perform a dynamic nonlinear analysis. The obtained results were compared with the results obtained from Shaking Table Test. The Test Results have validated that the influence of infill walls on seismic behavior can be estimated by using the equivalent diagonal strut model.

Optimal model through identified frequencies of a masonry building structure with wooden floors

The paper presents the analysis of an important historical building: the Saint James Theater in the city of Corfù (Greece) actually used as the Municipality House. The building, located in the center of the city, is made of carves stones and is characterized by a stocky shape and by the presence of wooden floors. The study deals with the structural identification of such structure through the analysis of its ambient vibrations recorded by means of accelerometers with high accuracy. A full dynamic testing was developed using ambient vibrations to identify the main modal parameters and to make a non-destructive characterization of this building. The results of these dynamic tests are compared with the modal analysis of a complex finite element (FE) simulation of the structure. This analysis may present several problems and uncertainties for this stocky building. Due to the presence of wooden floors, the local modes can be highly excited and, as a consequence, the evaluation of the structural modal parameters presents some difficulties.

Numerical analysis of the settlement induced damage to Palazzo Loggia in Brescia

One of the main causes of failure of historic buildings is represented by the differential settlements of foundations. Finite element analysis provides a useful tool for predicting the consequences of given ground displacements in terms of structural damage and also assesses the need of strengthening techniques. The actual damage classification for buildings subject to settlement bases the assessment of the potential damage on the expected crack pattern of the structure. In this paper, the correlation between the physical description of the damage in terms of crack width and the interpretation of the finite element analysis output is analyzed. Different discrete and continuum crack models are applied to simulate an experiment carried on a scale model of a masonry historical building, the Loggia Palace in Brescia (Italy). Results are discussed and a modified version of the fixed total strain smeared crack model is evaluated, in order to solve the problem related to the calculation of the exact crack width.

Convergência para NZEB de um edifício classificado

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Edificações

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954. Stamped on the back: Taylor Publishing Co. Job Number 30232 - Pict. No. 4 - Page No. 56 - Chapman College - Orange, Calif.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall and part of Roosevelt Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California,1979

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California, June, 1979. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Helicopter landing near Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Helicopter landing near Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Students on lawn by Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California, November, 1964.

Reeves Hall, Chapman College, Orange, California, November, 1964. This historical building (2 floors, 17,862 sq.ft.), completed in 1913 is named in honor of George N. Reeves, president of the university from 1942 to 1956. It is listed in the National Registry for Historical Buildings and houses the Kathleen Muth Reading Center, College of Lifelong Learning, and the School of Education. Originally constructed to serve Orange Union High School, it was designed along with its twin building by Santa Ana architect Frank Eley. Acquired by Chapman College in 1954.