Testing of the seismic isolation system for the bust of Francesco I d’Este in Modena, Italy

The seismic vulnerability assessment and the risk mitigation technique employed for the bust of Francesco I d’Este housed at the Galleria Estense in Modena, Italy are presented. To ensure an adequate level of safety of such an object, it was decided the adoption of the ISOLART® PENDULUM isolation system, comprising pendulum isolators. Even if the technology of pendulum isolators iswell known, it needs to be adapted to the specific requirements of art objects applications, i.e. objects with small mass and controlled dimensions. In particular, due to the small weight of the object, and consequent very low pressure on the sliding surfaces of the isolators, it is not easy to predict the friction coefficient value, and it is essential to measure it through proper experimental tests. Dynamic tests were performed on the four isolators altogether, with a mass on them equal to the one of the statue and its basement. The tests were carried out according to the European Standard EN 15129:2009, at different amplitude and different velocity. The results of the tests allowed to determine the main parameters used for non-linear dynamic analyses