Analysis of overturning stability of a historic cemetery entrance structure

This study assessed the safety against overturning of an old entrance structure located at the entrance of Lady of Solitude Cemetery (1850) in Belém do Pará/Brazil. A non-destructive technique using ground penetrating radar (GPR) was used to map the existing foundation and the assessment was made by analyzing the action of load on its centroid and comparing the results of the net allowable capacity of the soil with the maximum pressure exerted at the base of the foundation, also, comparing the moment resistance and the overturning moment in terms of the minimum safety factor required. The GPR results revealed the type of shallow foundation with a depth of 1 m; while the geotechnical results showed that there was no tension in contact with the base. The position of the centroid within the column kern resulted in a safety factor 10 times greater than the minimum recommended value.