Multisensor monitoring of monuments: measurement of vibration frequencies

This paper presents the results of an experiment aiming to measure the vibrational frequencies of the main structures of the medieval church of San Domenico (Matera, southern Italy) and relate them to the mechanical properties of geological stratigraphy and construction materials. Vibrational frequencies are measured by means of the ground-based radar inteferometry technique using a Ku-band radar. Time series of ground-based radar data are processed to measure displacements and vibration frequencies of the church structures. Data collected by a seismic triaxal station for the measurement of the H/V ratio are also processed to compare with radar-based frequencies measurements, providing information about the main vibration frequency ranges of the church structures and, more important, disentangle the site and structure vibration frequencies.