CAA 2017

(Part II) Ever present in the world of cultural heritage are the challenges associated with assessment, diagnosis, and preservation of as-built infrastructure with potentially unknown materials, techniques, or damage. Historical buildings, monuments and sculptures require delicate handling. Therefore, the techniques used to capture the existing conditions must be non-destructive, though at the same time must acquire accurate information at the surface, subsurface and volumetric levels. Collaboration between engineers, scientists, historians, and other stakeholders can reach beyond documentation and visualization towards the production of actionable data on the current “state of health” of buildings, monuments, and artworks as well as predict how structures or their constituent elements might respond to theoretical stresses in the future. Potential topics include modeling at different scales (micro vs. macro), characterization of the effects of common forces (seismic, subsidence, weathering, vandalism, etc.) and their potential impact, as well as structural monitoring and lifecycle management. Recent and ongoing research explores the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and other analytical approaches for cultural heritage. Technology must be leveraged to aid in modeling and simulating problematic aspects such as heterogeneous materials, existing damage patterns, seismic vulnerability, and unknown construction techniques. Structural engineering methods and software tools better enable cultural heritage practitioners to make informed decisions through understanding how the built environment responds to the always present forces that shape it.