PRESENTATION MADE BY:

AWAIS KHAN,
CIVIL DEPARTMENT,
UET PESHAWAR,
12-PWCIV-3770,
01-D,
15/SEP/2014

The Le
aning
Tower
of Pisa

By: Awais Hidayat

PROLOGUE
TheLeaning Tower of Pisa

(Italian:Torre pendente di
Pisa)orsimplytheTower of
Pisa isthefreestandingBell
tower,ofthecathedralofthe
ItaliancityofPisa,known
worldwideforitsunintended
tilttooneside.Thecitylies
onthealluvialplainof
theArnoRiver. Pisagotits
namein600BCfroma
Greekwordmeaning
marshyland.


The

height of the tower is 55.86

meters (183.27 feet) from the
ground on the low side(South side)
and 56.67 meters (185.93 feet) on
the high side(North Side).

The width of the walls at the base is

2.44m (8ft 0.06in).
Its weight is estimated at 14,500
metric tons(16,000short tons).[

The tower has 296(N) or 294(S)

steps.

Prior to restoration work performed

between 1990 and 2001, the tower
leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees,
but the tower now leans at about
3.99 degrees. This means that the
top of the tower is displaced
horizontally 3.9 meters (12ft 10in)
from where it would be if the
structure were perfectly vertical.

The Tower of Pisa began

construction in 1173.
The tower took 174 years to
complete
The major problems began
when the construction of the
third floor of the tower began
in 1178
The original foundation was
only 3 meters (roughly 10
feet) deep and it was set in
weak, unstable alluvial soil,
which caused the tower to
begin leaning to one side
Construction was immediately
halted, for fear that the tower
would fall

For the next century or so, Italy was

involved in several wars and the

project was ignored, which thankfully
gave the soil time to settle. Had this
not happened, the tower would have
toppled for certain.
In 1272, construction was resumed,
under the architect Giovanni di
Simone. In the hopes that he could
compensate for the tilt, he had
workers build the tower with the floors
taller on the side opposite the tilt. As
a result, the tower is curved.

The tower

contains 7
bells
representing
seven notes
of the musical
scales.

Types of Settlements

Uniform Settlement
It is type of settlement brought about when entire

structure settles evenly

under uniform pressure distribution on
homogeneous soil.

Differential Settlement
When the settlement is non-uniform or some part of

the structure settle.

The soil is usually non-homogeneous.

Causes of
Settlement
1. Soil bearing capacity failure.
2. Failure due to deflection of foundation structure.
3. Compression of soil mass under loads.
4. Ground subsidence due to mines, caves or
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

underground erosion.
Landslide or creep.
Vibration in case of loose cohesion less soil
Lowering of water table.
Lack of lateral support in excavation.
Chemical action including decay.

Remedial Measures
1. Remove the soft layer.
2. Use of deep foundation.
3. Reconsolidation or preloading the building
4.
5.
6.
7.

site.
Construction of building slowly.
Chemical and mechanical stabilization.
Provision of lateral support or counter
weight against the structure.
lateral expulsion of soil mass from
underneath the foundation.

Reasons For Inclination

1. Tower is built on soft alluvial soil.
2. Soil has a very low bearing capacity.
3. Soil was not properly compressed prior to

laying foundation.
4. The foundation was just 3m deep.
5. Restoration works like digging angular
holes and grouting them with cement
caused further inclination of towers due to
change of water table with time.

Efforts to save the tower

1. The tower is today anchored with

2.

3.

4.
5.

steel cables and lead weights, which

has rectified the problem (for the most
part.)
In 1992, plastic coated steel wires
were wrapped around the south side
of the second floor to prevent a type
of failure called Buckling.
In 1993, the incline was halted by
stacking lead ingots on the north side
of the tower. 750 metric tons of lead
was used(Acted as support)
This caused the weight of north side =
weight of south side.
The 800 year old mystery was finally
solved by John Burland, an English
geotechnical engineer, who
discovered that the primary cause of
the tilt was a fluctuating water table
which would perch higher on the
towers north side, causing the
towers characteristic slant to the
south

FIN