Xavier BRUNETAUD is Professor at the University of Orleans, France. He is graduate in Civil Engineering from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan and made his PhD in Ecole Centrale Paris on concrete durability. He teaches structural mechanics and construction materials in the Polytech Orleans Engineering School. Member of the Laboratory of Mechanics “Gabriel Lamé”, his main research field is the durability of built heritage materials, mostly historical masonry. Xavier Brunetaud has been the coordinator of several interdisciplinary research projects involving the monitoring and the diagnosis of famous monuments in the Loire Valley including the castles of Chambord and Chaumont-sur-Loire.

The DIANE project: interdisciplinary diagnosis of the castle of Chaumont-sur-Loire.

The objective of the DIANE research project was to develop diagnosis methodology based on interdisciplinary approaches, using altogether material science, computer science, and history. During this project, a large quantity and variety of data on the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire were produced. First, these data concern all the 3D survey of the interiors and exteriors of the castle, with particular attention paid to documenting the different stages of the progressing work of the east wing. Second, physico-chemical characterizations in the laboratory of in situ samples have made it possible to develop diagnoses of alterations in problematic areas of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, leading to the analysis of conservation solutions. The documentation of degradation mappings on orthophotos of the facades was used to train Deep Learning, now able to detect degradations directly on pictures. These elements were disseminated to the decision-making authority to take them into account when developing future strategies for the monitoring and the restoration of the monument.