Radar detection of pedestrian-induced vibrations on Michelangelo's David

Massimiliano Pieraccini; Michele Betti; Davide Forcellini; Devis Dei; Federico Papi; Gianni Bartoli; Luca Facchini; Riccardo Corazzi; Vladimir Cerisano Kovacevic

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0174480

Radar detection of pedestrian-induced vibrations on Michelangelo's David

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 10;12(4):e0174480. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174480. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Massimiliano Pieraccini¹, Michele Betti², Davide Forcellini³, Devis Dei⁴, Federico Papi¹, Gianni Bartoli², Luca Facchini², Riccardo Corazzi², Vladimir Cerisano Kovacevic²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Information Engineering (DINFO), University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
³ University of San Marino, San Marino, Republic of San Marino.
⁴ Florence Engineering s.r.l., Florence, Italy.

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of a two-day dynamic monitoring of Michelangelo's David subject to environmental loads (city traffic and pedestrian loading induced by tourists visiting the Accademia Gallery). The monitoring was carried out by a no-contact technique using an interferometric radar, whose effectiveness in measuring the resonant frequencies of structures and historic monuments has proved over the last years through numerous monitoring activities. Owing to the dynamic behavior of the measurement system (radar and tripod), an accelerometer has been installed on the radar head to filter out the movement component of the measuring instrument from the measurement of the David's displacement. Measurements were carried out in the presence and absence of visitors, to assess their influence on the dynamic behavior of the statue. A numerical model of the statue was employed to evaluate the experimental results.

MeSH terms

Accelerometry
Environment
Humans
Interferometry
Models, Theoretical
Museums
Pedestrians*
Radar
Sculpture*
Transportation
Vibration*

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work. Author [DD] is the president of "Florence Engineering s.r.l." that was paid by the foundation “Friends of Florence” to perform the experimental measurements. Both the foundation “Friends of Florence” and the society "Florence Engineering s.r.l." did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.”