Earthquake protection of historical buildings by reversible mixed technologies

The research project PROHITECH is framed within the INCO thematic areas, devoted to “Protection and conservation of cultural heritage” in the Mediterranean area. The main subject of the research is the seismic protection of historical and monumental buildings, namely dating back from the ancient age up to the mid of the 20th Century. The main objective of the project consists in developing sustainable methodologies for the use of reversible mixed technologies in the seismic protection of the existing constructions. Reversible mixed technologies exploit the peculiarities of innovative materials and special devices, allowing ease of removal when necessary. Furthermore, an optimization of the global behaviour under seismic actions is achieved by the combined use of different materials and techniques. The endpoint of the research is a proposal of codification for the use of such technologies in the seismic protection of existing constructions.