In Situ Tests for the Geotechnical Characterization of Airship Hangar Soils in the City of Augusta

The military Airship Hangar overlooks the city of Augusta (SR) in Sicily. The Hangar is a big building and was built in order to provide South Italy with an air defence by airships against the continuous attacks from German U-boats during the First world war. Its construction began in 1917, but it became operative in 1920 because of the majesty of the project. On 1987 Sicily Region Government declared it a highly interesting historical monument. To preserve this monument a project for the reinforcement of the Hangar was made, based on accurate geotechnical investigation. This paper is a contribution to this project. In situ investigations were carried out with a view to determine the soil profile and the geotechnical properties of area of Hangar, with special attention to the variation of shear modulus with depth. Boreholes, SPT, Down Hole tests, Field Vane tests, Pressuremeter tests and Permeability tests were performed. The in situ obtained results by means of empirical correlations were also compared with those experimentally determined by laboratory tests.