MACE60031 Ground Engineering/2009-10 page 1/2 Mr.

Tom Chlayon ID 75327620

Commentary to the leaning tower of Pisa presentation

Background:
The Geometry and the Ground Condition
The leaning tower is designed to be a white marble bell tower which is one part of the
temple complex structures. It is designed as a hollow cylinder the inner and outer walls are
decorated with marble, the gap between being filled with rubble and mortar mix (one kind of
masonry structure). The existing buildings are the cathedral and the Baptistry. Both of them are on
the west side of the leaning tower. The structural geometry of the Baptistry and the Bell tower is
very alike but different only in a base diameter and a tower height. Despite the same locations, the
Baptistry does not suffer from the tilting problems.
The geology information of the site consists of Paleozoic to Tertiary rocks. The fault forming
was located 5 km east of the tower. By extrapolation of the fault line, it is high possibility that a
similar fault would pass directly beneath the Pisa tower concealed by the alluvium layer. Besides,
the temple area is only ten kilometers from the sea. When the construction began, the tower base
level is only 3-4 m above mean sea level. Boreholes in this area show that the soils layers are clays
and also infill with the sand between different types of the clay layer; Sandy and clayey silts,
Pancone clay, Intermediate clay, Intermediate sand, Lower clay, and Lower Sand (more layer detail
are provide in presentation slide).
Construction timelines and events
It took nearly 200 years to complete the white marble tower construction. The construction
can be divided into 3 main phases; during 1173-1178, during 1272-1278, and during 1360-1370.
In 1173, this white marble bell tower was first constructed. It was also the third and final
structure of the cathedral complex. Five year later, the tower tilted to the north side about 0.2
degree after three floors were built and the approximation of tower weight was 9000 tons. The
tower construction was paused and the reasons were still mystery. This was the end of the first
phase. In 1272, the second construction phase resumed again, and the forth to seven floor were
constructed during this period. Then, the work was halted in 1278 by some reasons, but the main
one might come from the military action at the end of the second construction phase. After the
seventh floor finished, the tower leaned 0.6 degree to the southern side opposing to the
construction phase one. And the current load from the tower at that time was 13600 tons. In 1322, a
great earthquake was spotted in some areas 160 km away from Pisa but was not properly
documented. During 1325 and 1345, three more catastrophic earthquakes were noted in the
Florence district. The final phase was re-commenced again in 1360. As the result of the significant
tilting effects at the tower southward, the construction elevation was necessary adjusted to be more
height in the southward part than the upward part. This act was for stabilizing the structural stability
in term of structural design. After finishing the bell chamber, the total tower load was 14500 tons.
The tower construction was finally completed in 1370.
The impact of the construction time
Two gaps between the three construction phases are quite long period. During the first and
second phases, the tower stands still there for nearly century. The survey teams indicate that the
tower already incline 0.2 degree to the north side. The tower weight is approximately 9000 tons. The
cause of this incline incident is still not clearly study during the first period. But the structure is
definitely instable since the first phase of construction. After finished the second phase, the total
load is now 13600 tons, and the survey team spots that the tower incline 0.6 at southward. During
the second gap which is 82 years later, the structure gradually continued to tilt, and the total tilt is
1.6 degree before the final phase was commenced in 1360. It is clearly that the overturning rates
related to the structural self weight and the center of mass (force and distance will produce the
overturning moment). The tilt rate is increasing from 0.002 to 0.012 degree per year. The second tilt
rate is 6 times faster than the first one. The effect may not only come from the structure, but the
ambient effects are also included too. Several severe earthquakes were spotted during 1322 and
1345 nearby the cathedral ground. These events were suspected to be another reason for the tilt of
the marble tower. After that the tower still continuously tilted over the times. By 1817 the tilt was
approximately 4.8 degree. The tilt did not only go downward at south but upward at north too.
During 1817-1985, some ground disturbing activity and ambient effects caused 5.4 degree tilt in
total which nearly reached the critical point of the instability.
MACE60031 Ground Engineering/2009-10 page 2/2 Mr.Tom Chlayon ID 75327620

Problems and Setting up Models

Leaning instability problems will happen when the overturning moment generated from the
increasing of the inclination is equal to, or larger than the resisting moment generated by the
foundations. Lacks of strength do not cause the leaning stability problems but the insufficient
stiffness of the ground is. In case of the Pisa tower, the combination effect of both the structural
geometry and the soft soil beneath has resulted for the reaching critical height of the tower.
Moreover, any disruption activity to the ground also leads to the tower tilt which is included ground
water conditions, climate seasonal effects, ground excavations, ambient temperatures, and tremors.
Many in-depth analyses can be studied from the Pisa tower problems by isolated and
consider only some focal parameters. For instance, the overturning effects caused by tower self load
and the incline angle. This research should state an assumption that other factors such as ground
disturbing activities, earthquakes, ground waters, and changing temperatures are excluded. This will
be structural static problems and it can be verified by hand calculation with proper assumptions and
theories or by creating small scale experimental models, then comparing the results of each method.
Another research that may take places is to focus on other induced factors such as ground water, an
excavation, earthquake effect to the underline fault, or fluctuating of climates and temperatures.
The researchers may considered to explore the creep effect in due time causing the slightly
inclination over times.
The first step in computer models is to creating the problem geometry. It would be wise to
model both tower and soil layers that relate to the disturbing movements together. The second step
is to find the reasonable material properties and behavior by doing the literature search. The
researchers may select to constrain all parameters except the inclination angle. Then try to vary the
angle for finding the critical failure point of the tower. For advance cases, the researchers may also
choose to study the combination effects from relevant parameters if the probability of superposition
effects of parameters is significant enough. For examples, the rise of the water table and the nearby
excavation may drastically increase the inclination rates rather than consider only one parameter at
the time.
Important Relevant Factors
Depending on the research topics, this paper will illustrate the problem related with the
overturning instability of the tower. The major parameters consist of the ground water levels, the
soil properties, the tower geometry, the seismic loads, and the recent disturbances of the ground.
The ground water level may alter the soil strength and stiffness depending upon the porosity
and the permeability properties of each soil type underneath the tower. The soil properties directly
relate to the stability of the tower in term of resisting moments of the foundations. The geometry of
the tower consists of three sub parameters; the inclination angles, and the tower loads and the
centre of mass. These parameters can be used to determine the overturning moment caused by the
self weight of the structure. The seismic load may be one of many problems in long term depended
on the change that the earthquake might occur or not. The seismic can cause the movement of the
fault located directly under the tower. If this happens, it may generate a large ground deformation
which may be troublesome in the tower foundations. The seismic may also cause the liquefaction in
soils. Considering the soil type, the soft clay layer can be highly liquidated by the induced seismic
load. By the record in the past, several catastrophic earthquakes occurred nearby the site. So, it can
be concluded that the tower is located in a seismic zone. The ground disturbances can also be a big
trouble. The record indicates that the unexpected excavations go below the ground water level; the
water flow into the hole caused the increasing 0.5 degree tilt which is exceptionally significant.
Other analysis methods for comparing the results
Depending on the complexity of the theories related to the problem and the problems size,
the two dimension problems can be possibly verified the results by using direct hand calculation. If
the problem size is quite large, the researcher may use some computer packages such as Mathlab
for solving the mathematic problems. However, the hand calculations may not be suitable for the
some problems containing many multi-variable parameters. In some circumstances, studying the
effects of the complex parameters can be appropriately done by building a small scale of
experimental simulation rather than done by hand calculation. Sometimes, the study of the similar
building cases can affect the decision of eliminating the suspicious non-relevant parameters out of
the scope of study.