LISG - RM carries out experimental tests and verifies the compliance of structures with current standards. It supports research activities in the field of the mechanical behavior of conventional and unconventional materials, structural elements and structures, historical or innovative.
In addition to the destructive and non-destructive tests regulated for the characterization of materials, ad-hoc tests are developed that are functional to the study of the behavior of innovative materials and structures in contexts not yet regulated. Static and dynamic mechanical characterization activities are carried out at the scale of the structural element and structure.
The research and development activities are supported by advanced numerical simulations suitable for both the design of the experiments and the interpretation of the results.
As part of the research, the following activities are active:
- Use of the acoustic emissions method for diagnostics and monitoring of critical points of structures under static and / or dynamic load; in this context, light and low-cost measurement networks are also being developed for the measurement and processing of acoustic emissions;
- Monitoring of structures by modal vibrations; in this context, the research activities aim at the development of algorithms for the detection, localization and quantification of structural damage through the use of dynamic measures; for this purpose, dynamic measurements from forced or environmental vibration tests and innovative optimization algorithms are used;
- Mechanical characterization of natural, sustainable, unconventional materials for construction such as bamboo, Arundo donax and straw, study of the decay over time of the mechanical characteristics of the aforementioned materials subjected to external or environmental actions (temperature and humidity, UV rays);
- Study of construction details of constructions made of unconventional materials such as joints, anchors (for example connections that make nodes in which bamboo rods composed of several stems converge).
- Experimental study on the problem of interaction between mechanical and diffusive properties in natural or artificial porous materials aimed at studying the damage due to environmental actions on historical or contemporary masonry.