Structural analysis and damage assessment of the Vistabella Church’s Tower to establish the masonry’s active reinforcement for its restoration

Abstract

This paper presents the reinforcement system for the restoration of the Vistabella Church’s Tower (La Secuita, Tarragona). The intervention was carried out due to evident chronic pathologies that affected the resistant behaviour and stability of the steeple. After some numerical approaches (structural analysis and damage assessment) it became clear that, in relation the wind action, the lightness of such a masonry construction along with the feebleness of the connections between the structural members were at the basis of the problem. In order to provide additional vertical load without substantively modifying the structural scheme, a solution based on external prestressed bars, was implemented. The procedure, the theory that supports it and the results of the follow-up are described in detail, these being the objective of the paper.