NewsSt. Barbara Event @ Società Italiana Gallerie
Last Friday, Società Italiana Gallerie (SIG) celebrated St. Barbara, the patron saint of tunnellers, miners and all those worki
ng in underground construction. As a long-standing tradition dating back to 1500, indeed, a small shrine to St. Barbara is usually placed at tunnel portals to pray for protection during its construction.
After the inspiring 6th Adolfo Colombo lecture by Eng. Remo Grandori, the best Master's Thesis concerning "design and realisation of underground construction" written between 2020 and 2023 were awarded. Among them, the two top spots on the podium were secured by, respectively, Francesco Campana (1st prize) and Simone De Feudis (2nd prize) with the following contributions:
- "Numerical modelling of the interaction between a motorway tunnel and a large landslide" by Francesco Campana with the supervision of Proff. Marco Barla and Alessandra Insana.
The Thesis aimed to investigate the interaction between a large deep-seated gravitational slope deformation and the Sparvo motorway tunnel. This suffered from large deformation and even local collapses, making it necessary for a structural reinforcement intervention after a few years it was opened to traffic.
- "Analysis of the Monte Mario tunnel excavated in swelling silty clays" by Simone De Feudis with the supervision of Proff. Marco Barla and Alessandra Insana. The Thesis was focused on refurbishing the Monte Mario motorway tunnel which suffered from unforeseen and time-delayed uplifts of the pavement. Two different refurbishment approaches were analysed and compared. Whether the former consists of a stiff concrete slab, the latter envisages the structural renovation of the lining invert.
Many congratulations to Francesco and Simone, who had the honour to give a presentation in front of the SIG members.