Characterization of the clay masonry units and construction technique at the ancient city of Nippur

The theater of the ancient city of Akragas has been researched for centuries and, in 2016, a multidisciplinary and multi-scale research work that involved topographic studies, analysis of satellite images, geomorphological characterization of the land, archaeological surveys, and non-invasive geophysical surveys led to its discovery. In this work, a comparison between the archaeological structures hypothesized by geophysical results and the archaeological structure excavated is presented. The area of about 5.500 m2 was investigated using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The survey highlighted a series of resistivity highs arranged on concentric semicircles defining perfectly the presence of an articulate building attributable to a theatrical complex of imposing dimensions (diameter of about 95 m). Archaeological excavation led to the identification of the summa cavea with the discovery of foundation-level structures arranged on a semicircle, on which the tiers were located, and cuts in the rock with seat imprints. The overlap of the technical layouts obtained from the documentation of archaeological excavation on the modelled resistivity maps shows the perfect correspondence between the features of the resistivity highs and the ancient structures actually found.

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Characterization of Adobe Blocks: Point-Load Assessment as a Complementary Study of Damaged Buildings and Samples

Heritage ◽

10.3390/heritage4020047 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 864-888

Author(s):

Adria Sanchez-Calvillo ◽

Elia M. Alonso-Guzman ◽

Wilfrido Martinez-Molina ◽

Marco A. Navarrete-Seras ◽

Jose L. Ruvalcaba-Sil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Formal Analysis ◽

Complete Characterization ◽

Point Load ◽

Load Test ◽

Construction Technique ◽

Load Tests ◽

Non Destructive

Adobe masonry is one of the oldest construction systems still in use today, Mexico has an enormous cultural heritage with traditional adobe houses being very representative of the rural communities and their culture. The 2017 Puebla Earthquake on September 19th struck the country causing the loss, destruction, and damage of historic buildings in several Mexican states, with the traditional earthen dwellings being the most vulnerable structures to these events. The fast abandonment of the local materials and techniques entails further research regarding the characterization of these construction systems, therefore, reconstruction efforts first require the recovery of the construction technique. After the seismic events, adobe samples of the remaining adobe structures of Jojutla de Juarez were collected. This population was one of the most affected in all the country, and, because of the major losses suffered, the study was conducted to determine the material properties of the dwellings’ adobe shards and natural quarry clays of the region. The characterization included destructive and non-destructive tests, mineralogical and granulometry analyses, and composition of the adobe samples of the buildings, as well as the aggregates. As a novelty, the compressive strength of the pieces was tested by two methods: the traditional compression strength test and the point-load test, in order to obtain the indicative values and the correlation equations between both tests. From the formal analysis and the laboratory, it was observed that the adobes from Jojutla presented different compositions which combined with the building malpractices and alterations to the traditional systems caused unpredictable behavior during the earthquake. The conduction of point-load tests in situ, as a part of a complete characterization methodology, could be an alternative to study the mechanical properties of patrimonial or damaged building samples before its disappearance.

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Characterization of the dry stone heritage of the Barrocal region (Algarve, Portugal)

IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1088/1757-899x/1203/2/022026 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1203 (2) ◽

pp. 022026

Author(s):

Cèlia Mallafrè Balsells ◽

Marta Marçal Gonçalves ◽

Agustí Costa Jover ◽

Sergio Coll Pla

Keyword(s):

Cultural Memory ◽

Rural Landscape ◽

Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽

Architectural Heritage ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Construction Technique ◽

Different Types ◽

Beach Tourism

Abstract The paper aims to value the diverse and important dry stone heritage located in the Barrocal area (Algarve, Portugal). The dry stone construction technique and the set of constructions that derive from its application are present in all parts of the world where stone is present. Throughout the Iberian Peninsula and specifically in the territory of Portugal, there are different dry stone constructions that make up the rural landscape. They are an example of the work in the field and the use of local natural resources during different generations. The recognition by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2018) highlights the importance of maintaining a construction technique that, transmitted orally, is materialized in different constructions according to the constructive heritage and the stone typology of the nearby environment. The study focuses on a specific partially cultivated area of the Barrocal where different types of construction of dry stone elements exist. Starting from the contextualization of the studies carried out throughout Portugal, the predominant dry stone constructions of the Barrocal, the area with the greatest presence of a variety of types of the Algarve, are being identified, recorded and analysed. The work provides a classification of the present constructions in the area linked to their use and provides data on the construction characteristics and the typology of the stone. The knowledge of these constructions makes it possible to explain the economic and social context of a certain period and to plan reactivation measures for other economic sectors not linked to tourism. The Algarve, one of the most touristic areas of Portugal, has focused most of its economy on beach tourism, leaving the cultural and dry stone architectural heritage almost unnoticed.The constructions and the dry stone construction technique are a way of preserving the rural landscape and the cultural memory so that the benefits related to ecology and biodiversity are observed through this document.

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Characterization of Natural Stone from the Archaeological Site of Pella, Macedonia, Northern Greece

Heritage ◽

10.3390/heritage4040257 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 4665-4677

Author(s):

Panayotis K. Spathis ◽

Maria Mavrommati ◽

Eirini Gkrava ◽

Vasilios Tsiridis ◽

Sotiris P. Evgenidis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Absorption ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Natural Stone ◽

Mechanical And Thermal Properties ◽

High Porosity ◽

Alexander The Great ◽

Northern Greece ◽

Ancient City ◽

Marly Limestone

The goal of the study was to characterize the limestone that was used extensively in the ancient city of Pella (Macedonia, Greece), the birthplace of Alexander the Great. An on-site examination of the building material was carried out to record the types of damage and to select sampling areas. A variation in the nature of the stone and the degree of deterioration, even between the stones that comprise a specific monument structure, was observed, with water absorption and biological colonization being the main factors resulting in the deterioration of the stone. A comprehensive microanalysis and testing scheme was conducted to fully characterize the mineralogical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of the stones collected from various areas of the archaeological site. Optical microscopy, XRD and SEM–EDX were used to investigate the chemical composition and the structure of the stone samples. Finally, other properties, such as porosity, specific gravity and water absorption, were measured. Surface alterations, material degradation and biological deterioration were observed in most samples. The results obtained using XRD showed that the dominant mineral phase of the limestone is calcite, with quartz and clay minerals also detected in traces. The microscopic examination of the samples showed that the main natural stone at the archaeological site is a marly limestone. Thermographical measurements showed that the decay of the stones due to ambient temperature variation and corresponding contraction/expansion phenomena may be relatively limited, as the stone exhibited a low thermal diffusivity. Moreover, high porosity values (12.06–21.09%) and low compressive strength (11.3–27.7 MPa) were recorded, indicating the vulnerability of the stone and the need to take conservation measures.

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Mechanical Characterization of Concrete Masonry Units Manufactured with Crumb Rubber Aggregate

ACI Materials Journal ◽

10.14359/51689482 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 114 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ahmed A. Gheni ◽

Mohamed A. ElGawady ◽

John J. Myers

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Characterization ◽

Crumb Rubber ◽

Concrete Masonry ◽

Masonry Units

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Characterization of tabique walls nails of the Alto Douro Wine Region

Open Engineering ◽

10.1515/eng-2016-0064 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rui Cardoso ◽

Jorge Pinto ◽

Anabela Paiva ◽

João Carlos Lanzinha

Keyword(s):

Cultural Landscape ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Construction Technique ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Building Technology ◽

Building Component ◽

Timber Connections ◽

Wine Region ◽

Douro River

Abstract Tabique is one of the main Portuguese traditional building techniques which use raw materials as stone, earth andwood. In general, a tabique building component as a wall consist of a wooden structure made up of vertical boards connected to laths by metal nails and covered on both sides by an earth based material. This traditional building technology as an expressive incidence in the Alto Douro Wine Region located in the interior of Northern Portugal, added to the UNESCO’s Word Heritage Sites List in December 2001 as an ‘evolved continuing cultural landscape’. Furthermore, previous research works have shown that the existing tabique construction, in this region, reveals a certain lack of maintenance partially justified by the knowledge loosed on that technique, consequently this construction technique present an advanced stage of deterioration. This aspect associated to the fact that there is still a lack of scientific studies in this field motivated the writing of this paper, the main objectives are to identify and characterize the nails used in the timber connections. The nails samples were collected from tabique walls included in tabique buildings located in LamegoMunicipality, near Douro River, in the Alto Douro Wine Region. This work also intends to give guidelines to the rehabilitation and preservation of this important legacy.

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University educational management and clinical practice applied to nursing by the faculty of a public university

Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem ◽

10.1590/0034-7167-2018-0909 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 73 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Maria Eduarda Grams Salum ◽

Alacoque Lorenzini Erdmann ◽

Kamylla Santos da Cunha ◽

Carolina Kahl ◽

Gabriela Marcellino de Melo Lanzoni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Single Case ◽

Observation Data ◽

Construction Technique ◽

Educational Management ◽

Management Actions ◽

Nursing Training

ABSTRACT Objective: to emphasize university educational management actions and their articulation to develop clinical practice in nursing training, designed by its faculty. Methods: a single-case study with qualitative approach. The sources were composed of documentary research, focused interview with key informant and direct non-participant observation. Data were organized with the help of NVivo®10. Analysis followed the explanation construction technique from the perspective of complex thinking. Results: three categories emerged: Characterization of university educational management actions; Articulation of university educational management with clinical practice and its repercussion; and Spaces to develop university educational management and clinical practice. Final considerations: university educational management actions are associated with the work of professors, supporting teaching, research, and extension in order to improve clinical knowledge in the general nursing training.

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Characterization of historical mortar from ancient city walls of Xindeng in Fuyang, China

Construction and Building Materials ◽

10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.125780 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 315 ◽

pp. 125780

Author(s):

Kuangliang Qian ◽

Yufeng Song ◽

Junying Lai ◽

Xiaoqian Qian ◽

Zhe Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ancient City ◽

City Walls

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