Strengthening and long-term monitoring of the structure of an historical church presbytery

Abstract

The paper presents results of long-term monitoring of structural displacements in the historical presbytery in St. Ann’s Church in Ząbkowice Śląskie (Poland), which was carried out from 2009 to 2013. The monitoring involved periodic HDS 3D (High-Definition Surveying 3D) laser scanning coupled with analysis of the status and scope of conservation work completed.The church was built at the turn of the 14th century. Following a long period of neglect, conservation work was initiated to restore this valuable historical monument. Recognition of the historical value of the building meant that conservation work was preceded with a HDS 3D laser scan of the whole interior of the church. Data from scanning provided geometry information, which formed basis for a numerical analysis (FEM) conducted prior to repair work. It was decided that the oldest and most damaged part of the church – its presbytery – would be monitored in the years following repair work in order to observe conservation effects.Methods used for strengthening and consolidation of cracked brick walls and vaults of the presbytery involved application of steel tie rods, as well as C-FRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer) and C-FRCM (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix) technologies.