Author(s)

J. FEINBERG, D. WOODHAM & C. CITTO

Abstract

The original construction of the San Juan fortification walls in Puerto Rico dates from the mid-16th century. The fortifications were constructed with the single purpose of defending the City of San Juan and its harbour from attack, principally by sea. Over a four-century period of construction and reconstruction, the fortification walls evolved from one construction typology into at least ten identifiable types. The walls investigated in this study are 750m long and 15m high, and include two bastions and the San Juan Gate. The challenging task of evaluating such complex structures required the synergism between historic research and modern diagnostic techniques to develop a deep understanding of the history, materials and structural behaviour of the fortification walls. In addition to historic research, 21st-century technologies selected to evaluate the walls included laser scans, digital photo-documentation, wall coring, remote visual inspection of the core interior, microwave radar scans, thermography, characterization of stone and mortar types and strength, and finite element modelling.

Keywords

finite element modelling, historic, masonry, non-destructive, radar, wall.