Extending a total of 22.20 m above ground level, the circular plan chimney under examination is a medium-sized chimney.

In the requalification of an old industrial installation in Matosinhos, NCREP was called upon to perform the safety assessment and the project to recover the existing industrial chimney, consisting of solid brick masonry laid on cemented mortar. It is estimated that it was put in place between 1929 and 1930 to assist the old canning factory, which like many other specimens contributed to the progress and industrial modernisation of Portugal.

The intervention consisted of performing the geometric survey, through visual inspection with recording and mapping of the damage observed, evaluating the causes and conducting in situ dynamic identification tests in order to determine a rehabilitation project appropriate to the object of study.

The automatic calculation program was used to develop a numerical model of finite elements of the shell, with the objective of simulating the dynamic tests performed and calibrating the numerical model. This was subsequently used to evaluate chimney safety in relation to permanent and variable actions (of the wind and of earthquakes) and to define structural strengthening measures.

Inspection/diagnosis activities complemented by dynamic identification tests are currently one of the most effective and complete non-intrusive (or non-destructive) techniques for in situ identification of the mechanical characteristics of the structures.