Dynamic investigations on a masonry bell tower

This paper describes the analysis performed for the characterization of the dynamic structural behavior of the bell tower of “Nuestra Sra. de la Misericordia Church” (Valencia, Spain). Subsequent to the geometrical analysis of the bell tower structure, different numerical models were calibrated based on dynamic tests to determine the bending and torsion frequencies of the tower. This work was complemented with the analysis of the inertia forces caused by bell swinging and the possible dynamic amplification factor as a consequence of the close values between the excitation and bell tower frequencies. This study was performed prior to the restoration of the bells and to the installation of new automatic bell systems.