The Role of Terrestrial LiDAR for Mechanical and Safety Evaluation of Historic Timber Floors

Abstract

The paper describes an activity conducted by a multi-disciplinary research group (architecture, civil engineering, technology, geomatics) for the mechanical evaluation of a timber floor belonging to a historic residential building located in the city center of Torino. The floor was made of beams of solid wood and wooden boards and presented a mid-span deflection. Since the floor structure was hidden by a suspended ceiling, the difficulty was to determine with precision all the geometrical characteristics of the main beam and its creep with the aim of verifying its mechanical resistance and stiffness. Through an accurate application of laser-scanner technique, it was possible to carry out the precise assessment of the structure.