Safety assessment of the Torre de la Vela in la Alhambra, Granada, Spain: The role of on site works

On-site works are crucial for accurate seismic safety assessments of historic structures, as demonstrated by a study on the Torre de la Vela, a 13th-century fortress tower within the Alhambra UNESCO World Heritage Site in Granada, Spain. The research employed finite element modeling and nonlinear static analyses, revealing that incorporating experimental data from non-destructive testing significantly improved the precision of seismic safety evaluations compared to purely bibliographic-based models. This finding underscores the necessity of integrating fieldwork into the analysis of heritage structures located in high-seismic-risk areas.

Vuoto, A., Ortega, J., Lourenço, P. B., Javier Suárez, F., & Claudia Núñez, A. (2022). Safety assessment of the Torre de la Vela in la Alhambra, Granada, Spain: The role of on site works. Engineering Structures, 264, 114443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2022.114443