PSI - Issue 78

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 1919–1926

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of XX ANIDIS Conference organizers Abstract Recurring collapses or detachments involving non-structural decorative elements in historic buildings highlight their fragility and the urgency of appropriate conservation measures. These phenomena underscore the need for integrated approaches aimed at their protection. The ongoing research presented in this contribution seeks to explore and develop innovative materials — specifically protective and consolidating paints — for reinforcement and restoration of ancient artificial stone-based components. The aim is to mitigate their vulnerability to environmental exposure and seis mic activity, while also protecting them from anthropogenic threats such as pollution and climate change, which can accelerate ageing processes and material decay. A particular focus concerns the mortar-like materials, historically used to create stuccoes, pilaster strips and string courses that characterize the rhythmic composition of heritage fac¸ades. The interventions proposed adhere to key architectural conservation principles of transparency, reversibility, and com patibility; in this regard, the design and application of graphene-based composites and other advanced nanomaterials present promising solutions. Their effectiveness is evaluated through experimental characterization and compara tive mechanical testing campaigns involving several prototypes, according to different mix-designs, as-built and af ter the interventions’ application. 1. Introduction ‘Scar tissue’, along with ‘blemishes’, ‘adiposities’, and fractures, are just some of the imperfections and unsightly effects that heritage buildings may acquire on or beneath their ‘skin’. These are the visible signs of the passage of time, revealing how it transforms every aspect of an architectural organism: its materials, structural safety, functions, and socio-cultural role, Belardi et al. (2022); Liberotti et al. (2021). In the historical and social contexts of Europe, and especially in Italy, such issues concern not only the buildings themselves but also their decorative apparatuses, which are generally extremely fragile, particularly Keywords: NSEs; heritage; seismic vulnerability; restoration; intervention XX ANIDIS Conference Architectural non-structural elements (NSEs) and heritage safety: restoration interventions for the seismic vulnerability reduction Riccardo Liberotti a, ∗ , Mattia Schiantella a , Federico Cluni a , Vittorio Gusella a a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Via G. Duranti 93, 06125 Perugia, Italy

∗ Riccardo Liberotti. Tel.: +39 3387168656. E-mail address: riccardo.liberotti@unipg.it

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of XX ANIDIS Conference organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.12.244