Analysis of the state of conservation of the ferrocement structures by Eng. Pierluigi Nervi: numerical and experimental study.

As we have seen in the recent years the restoration and preservation of the old historical architectural buildings have taken the much attention from the overall global scale and various projects have came in to the light to preserve these marvelous heritage, like wise is the one “the Getty Foundation”, whose philanthropic mission is by supporting individuals and institutions committed to advancing the greater understanding and preservation of the visual arts all around the world as the Torino exhibition center, built by pier Luigi Nervi In 1954 for which the realization of a conservation plan is committed to the Politecnico di Torino. Ferrocement elements which were designed and built by Pier Luigi Nervi were used in the Torino Esposizioni in hall B & hall C. Ferrocement is the oldest form of the reinforced concrete dating back two centuries Nowadays, reinforced concrete is widely known and used material, whereas ferrocement has limited applications. Properties such as high strength/weight ratio and good resistance to cracking and impact loadings are bringing ferrocement under the spotlight again. This dissertation seeks to analyze the behavior of the state of conservation of the prefabricated ferrocement curved beams, which composes a floor in the Hall C. As the structure is very old the need for its restoration requires different results and data to proceed further. The onsite testing of the beams cannot be carried out on ferrocement elements, and the current state of the beams is deeply analyzed on a curved beam model designed and prefabricated in the in Politecnico di Torino laboratory. A similar scaled beam model of 6m was casted and later to be tested for its strength parameters and relatives data. In whole process 3 model will be made to simulate the deteriorating condition of the beam over time. And comparing the results with the reference beam which concludes the experimental study. Numerical modelling and analysis of the ferrocement beam is carried out on Ansys. A curved beam shape model was made on Rhinoceros and transferred to Ansys to do the Finite element Analysis of the beam numerical model and extract the strength parameter and understand the most stressed section in the beam and later on compare these results with the experimental 3 point bending test to be done on the beam.