Projects / Programmes
January 1, 2015
- December 31, 2018
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 2.01.00 |
Engineering sciences and technologies |
Civil engineering |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| T220 |
Technological sciences |
Civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, offshore technology, soil mechanics |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 2.01 |
Engineering and Technology |
Civil engineering |
earthquake engineering, seismic design, existing structures, probabilistic methods, precast buildings, structural walls, nonlinear analysis, seismic risk, non-structural elements, strengthening, retrofitting, heritage buildings, laminated composite materials, decision methods, standards, Eurocode
Researchers (27)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Seismic resistance of structures is extremely important for the safety of the population in Slovenia, as well as for the protection of the material goods and of the cultural heritage. The proposed research is aimed at obtaining new knowledge which will contribute to an increased seismic resistance of structures and their equipment, and at transferring this knowledge to the designers and other stakeholders and thus contribute to the mitigation of consequences (prevention of casualties, decrease of material damage, and protection of cultural heritage) of future earthquakes.
The proposal represents a continuation of the existing programme. The core of the research team is the same as in the existing programme. Some new post-docs, former “young researchers”, will replace the post-docs which participated for some time in the existing programme, after finishing their PhD within the programme group, and moved later to other institutions. As a result of the work in the existing programme, inter alia 45 papers have been published in top international journals (A” and A’), and 11 “young researchers” successfully completed their studies ( 10 PhD and 1 MSc). The research team is also well established internationally.
Research will be analytical, numerical and experimental. Strong international cooperation is foreseen within the existing and future European joint research projects and with the leading research centers in USA and Japan. In parallel to basic research, applicative and pre-normative research will be performed. Research will be devoted mainly to the problems which have not been adequately solved worldwide and which are, at the same time, important for the application in Slovenia. A non-exhaustive list of topics to be studied is as follows: seismic behaviour of buildings with structural walls and of precast industrial buildings, including cladding-to-structure connections, practice oriented approaches for probabilistic analyses including design of structures for a target seismic risk, extension of the N2 method to the determination of floor response spectra, novel structural elements: laminated glass panels in cross-laminated wood (CLT) frame, development of composite boards from waste plastic, textile and reinforcing materials aimed to be used for strengthening, development of multi-criteria based strategy for maintenance and retrofitting of existing structures, system for inspection and early detection of progressing damages in materials and structural elements, development of mortars and grouts for strengthening, especially for heritage buildings.
A major impact of results is expected on practicing engineers, professional organizations and code-writing bodies. The developed methodologies will directly affect regulations for design of structures in seismic areas. New knowledge will be incorporated in curricula at the University of Ljubljana. Several young researchers will be trained within the research program.
Significance for science
The research team is well established internationally which is evident from numerous citations of publications, editorship of the most prominent journal in the field of earthquake engineering, the memberships in editorial boards of several international journals, as well as the invitations for visiting professorships at the eminent universities abroad. Due to collaboration with several research centres worldwide is the research program to a great extent coordinated with the researches abroad and deals with some of the most actual problems. Thus, it can be expected that the results of our research will contribute to the knowledge in the field of earthquake engineering.
The N2 method, developed within the research group, has been widely recognized and applied worldwide. It has been implemented in the European standard Eurocode 8. The extensions of the applicability of the method for the determination of floor response spectra and in the probabilistic analysis will hopefully represent important contributions to the development of practice-oriented methods.
Research on structural walls will contribute to the extensive research campaign recently organized worldwide (e.g. in the largest world experimental centre E-Defense, University of Tokyo and UCLA) after recent strong earthquakes, and, together with research on precast buildings, to the improvements of the future versions of the Eurocode standards, which include several deficiencies related to these structures.
The risk-based design and assessment procedures utilizing nonlinear analysis will allow introducing a new philosophy for seismic design and strengthening of structures. This will trigger new research opportunities in earthquake engineering. The high-level information regarding the seismic risk (e.g. probability of loss of live, expected economic losses, recovery time) is also attractive for other fields in science, which are involved in topics associated with the disaster resilience and crisis management.
Synergy of knowledge from various disciplines, related to novel materials and test methods, and by considering lessons learned from past non-successful interventions, will enable selection of best possible cement- or lime-based material composition and/or casting technology, for new structures and for strengthening of existing structures, where compatibility of original and new (repair) material is of exceptional importance.
Laminated timber frame infilled with laminated glass having non-sealed or glued glass to timber contact introduces a novel dissipating element for construction of wooden houses and strengthening of frame structures. Test results and development of FEM based computational models will create new knowledge regarding the design of structural elements where friction between wood and glass can be used for energy dissipation.
Significance for the country
Seismic resistance of structures is extremely important for the safety of the population in Slovenia, as well as for the protection of the material goods and of the cultural heritage. The main goal of the proposed research is to enhance the resilience of our society against earthquakes.
In parallel to basic research, applicative and pre-normative research is performed. The implementation of some results in Eurocode 8 is foreseen, especially the results related to the extensions of the N2 method, structural walls, precast industrial buildings and probabilistic methods.
RC wall structures are typical for many apartment buildings in Slovenia, whereas a great share of the Slovenian industry operates in precast buildings. The deficiencies of the present systems, indicated during recent earthquakes, may lead to large direct and indirect losses in the case of a major earthquake. The developed models and methodologies will provide useful data for seismic response emergency planning and for efficient insurance policy. Design methodologies will be developed, which will prevent excessive damage in new structures and provide efficient recyclable and sustainable techniques for prevention of excessive damage in existing structures.
Development of new structural elements based on wood and glass, as well as those based on waste materials is important for creation of new product lines and creation of new jobs. Wood based structural elements are an important contribution to Slovenian efforts for wider use of timber and a support to Slovenian producers of prefabricated wooden houses.
A good example of cooperation with Slovenian industry (SME CEP, Celje) is development of new products in form of composite boards made of waste plastic, textile and reinforcing materials aimed to be used as strengthening elements or energy efficient loadbearing elements in prefabricated buildings.
Development of IT based strategy for inspection, documenting and assessment of built heritage is of high importance for preservation and preventive conservation of heritage in Slovenia. These activities are an essential part of international cooperation through the ongoing and concluded FP7 projects, and new project proposals following the Horizon 2020 calls. From June 2014, two early stage researchers from abroad will join our research group within the ITN DCH Marie Curie project.
A major impact of results is expected on practicing engineers, professional organizations and code-writing bodies. The developed methodologies will directly affect regulations for design of structures in seismic areas. New software tools and IT applications will increase the technological development of Slovenia and will allow a well-informed decision-making in the process of design of new buildings and/or in the process of strengthening of existing structures. New knowledge will be incorporated in curricula at the University of Ljubljana. Several young researchers will be trained within the research program.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
