Historical and Masonry Structures
The group consists of 25 PhD members, led by Graça Vasconcelos and integrated in two clusters. Originally centred in “Historical”, i.e. existing buildings with cultural value, often referred to as architectural heritage (majority in masonry and timber, but also 20th century heritage), and “Masonry”, i.e. new masonry construction.
Overview
Group HMS - Historical Masonry
The group interests are wider, with relevant activity in timber structures, infrastructure management and geotechnical engineering. Conservation of the built heritage includes non-destructive testing and monitoring, advanced experimental characterization, sophisticated numerical simulation tools, earthquake engineering, repair and strengthening techniques, durability, management systems and life cycle analysis.
Re-use of structural masonry and timber aims at developing integral building solutions (all functional requirements) and modular solutions. Infrastructure management has a strong focus on assessment of bridges and transportation networks, including risk management and extreme events. Geotechnics has a focus on ground parameters and performance predictions, namely for rock masses, slope management and railways engineering.
Clusters
Projects
Latest News
SEMINAR: Advancements in AI and Sensor Technologies for Infrastructure Monitoring and Optimization in Urban and Indoor Environments — by Assistant Professor Zhouyan Qiu (School of Robotics, Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University, China).
🗓 Monday, September 29 | ⏰ 12:00–13:00 | 📍 NORISK Room, Building 3, Block C, 2nd floor (Room 2.01), University of Minho - Campus de Azurém.
Session at a glance:
• Point-cloud compression using compressive sensing for efficient urban-scale 3D data handling (planning, disaster response, structural assessment).
• Deep-learning super-resolution for RGB and depth images to enhance inspections and defect detection in indoor datasets.
• Thermal imaging + 3D fusion to assess wall temperature uniformity and support insulation/energy optimization and digital twins.
• Autonomous robotic system combining SLAM, AI detection, and language models for real-time crack monitoring and structural health management.
Keywords: point cloud compression, structural health monitoring, SLAM, autonomous robotics, image super-resolution, RGB-D, thermal imaging, indoor mapping, digital twins, crack detection.
#ISISE #HMS #RAMCI #Seminar #AI #Sensors #StructuralHealthMonitoring #Robotics #SLAM #DigitalTwin #ComputerVision #UrbanTech #IndoorMapping
Seminário | “Prevenção, manutenção e durabilidade de pontes de concreto no Brasil”
🗓 19 de setembro de 2025 | ⏰ 14h30–15h30 | 📍 Sala de Reuniões 1, Departamento de Engenharia Civil (UMinho).
Orador: Prof. Julio Timerman (IBRACON – Brazilian Concrete Institute).
Sobre a sessão
Pontes de concreto são ativos críticos da infraestrutura de transportes; a sua longevidade depende de prevenção eficaz, manutenção rigorosa e soluções de reabilitação adequadas. O Prof. Timerman partilhará experiências práticas e avanços na garantia da durabilidade de pontes no Brasil.
Sobre o orador
Engenheiro civil com >40 anos de experiência, autor de projetos de mais de 200 pontes e consultor em reabilitação ( >400.000 m² de tabuleiros). Presidente do IBRACON (2024–2026); foi presidente da ABECE e vice-presidente da IABSE; distinguiu-se com os prémios Emilio Baumgart (2005), Gilberto Molinari (2009) e Trajetória Profissional (Alconpat International, 2021).
👉 Entrada livre. Junte-se a nós para discutir estratégias atuais de durabilidade e manutenção de pontes.
#ISISE #HMS #RAMCI #Seminário #EngenhariaCivil #Pontes #Durabilidade #Manutenção #Reabilitação #Concreto #IBRACON #UMinho #DEC #ISISE
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🎓 ISISE PhD Spotlight 🔬
Discover the future of structural engineering—one pitch at a time!
📽️ This week’s featured presentation from the ISISE PhD Webinar Series:
🎙️ Sinem Tola (Cluster: HMS/RAmCI)
📌 “Vulnerability Assessment of Existing Bridges to Scour via Indirect Monitoring and AI Tools”
In just 3 minutes, Sinem showcases an innovative AI-based method for monitoring bridge scour—essential for ensuring infrastructure safety.
📺 Watch now: buff.ly/RaG9EMc
👍 Like, share, and join us in supporting our next-gen structural engineers!
#ISISE #HMS #RAMCI #BridgeSafety #AI #PhDResearch #UMinho #Engineering
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