Tram- and train-induced vibrations in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome

Abstract

The analysis of the traffic-induced vibrations on the floors of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome is shown in this paper. The interest for this case study is related to the importance of this historic building and its contents, but also to the presence of particular vibration sources, i,e, a tram track and an underground train, in addition to vehicular and bus traffic. The differences between the two vibration sources and the comparison with the effects of ambient vibrations are analyzed, both in terms of amplitudes and frequency content. The measurements were done using seismometers, deployed in the portion of the museum adjacent to the tram line. The results show that the vibrations induced by the tram are much higher than the ambient vibrations and characterized by a different frequency content. The effects of the train are even much more evident but only in the portion of the building above the underground railway and frequencies even higher than those due to the tram are apparent in the recording spectra. The dynamic response of the structure is influenced very much by the vibration source features but also by its extremely long rectangular shape and the deformability of the floors. The results of this study are very useful to better manage the deployment of art objects, which are extremely vulnerable to vibrations at frequencies higher than those of interest for the building, in the museum or to design an antivibration protection system.