From TLS data to FE model: a workflow for studying the dynamic behavior of the Pulpit by Giovanni Pisano in Pistoia (Italy)

This paper discusses the first results of an ongoing two-year research activity aimed to identify the actual dynamic behavior of the Pulpit of Giovanni Pisano in Pistoia in order to design a long-term structural health monitoring system. First steps of the research have foreseen a Photogrammetric and Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey of the structure in order to build a refined digital three-dimensional geometric model of the Pulpit to be employed for both documentation and structural assessment. The paper reports the main outcomes of the TLS survey together with the procedure employed to ob tain a reliable finite element model of the Pulpit. An original workflow for direct transfer of high accuracy TLS-based three-dimensional model to a finite element model is proposed and discussed.