3www.innovationandresearchfocus.org.uk Innovation & Research Focus Issue 95 NOVEMBER 2013

Structural engineering projects getting underwayRESEARCH, STRUCTURES

A number of new research projects are starti ng up, funded by the various schemes at the Insti tuti on of Structural Engineers.

The 2013 Institution of Structural Engineers Research Award is funding two projects.

‘Investigating the composite structural behaviour between glass and FRP’ is a project supervised by Dr Mauro Overend of University of Cambridge, working collaboratively with Dow Corning Ltd, that draws on recent research on glass bonding and the availability of new high-performance adhesives to develop Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP)-Glass composite units. These units will consist of GFRP pultrusions structurally bonded to the edges of rectangular glass panels, thereby generating composite action between the two materials and resulting in slim composite units that are structurally and thermally efficient.

The project entitled: ‘The use of adaptive structures for saving energy and material’ is addressing the challenge that most structures are designed to withstand a worst-case loading that will only occur rarely (e.g. during an earthquake or storm). In these cases, the structure is effectively overdesigned for most of its life. As part of an on-going Expedition-UCL research project with Dr Philippe Duffour at UCL, a novel design methodology has been developed allowing a given structure to withstand ordinary loads passively while enrolling the support of active elements when loads exceed a certain threshold. This project will enable the construction of a well-equipped, large-scale prototype to robustly validate the method and demonstrate that active elements strategically located and controlled save large amounts of energy over the structure’s whole life.

More details are available at: www.istructe.org/events-awards/research-award.

The 2013/14 Undergraduate Research Grant Scheme is supporting nine projects on the following topics.1. Truss connector plate slip-

tests: substituting concrete in a conventional steel frame building with cross laminated timber slabs.

2. New design equations for Rectangular Hollow Section joints subject to side wall buckling.

3. Optimisation of steel column-beam connections using beam web perforation for aseismic design.

4. An investigation into the in-situ assessment of the engineering properties of structural timber in old buildings.

5. Using distributed temperature measurements to characterise thermal stress variations in highway bridges.

6. Reinforced prefabricated racking wall panels: the behaviour of reinforced timber frame walls and the capabilities of closed panel products.

7. Development of pretensioned RC beams with Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) reinforcement.

8. Dynamic loading of floors in entertainment venues due to multiple active occupants.

9. Performance of anchored blind-bolts in lightweight self-compacting concrete-filled tubes.More details are available at:

www.istructe.org/education/scholarships-grants-and-bursaries/undergraduate-research-grants.

A new research grant scheme from the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), which is administered by the Institution, is supporting short-term projects that will benefit earthquake disaster mitigation and post-disaster reconnaissance efforts. Two projects are being funded in 2013.

‘Monitoring recovery after earthquakes through the integration of remote sensing, geographical information systems and ground observations’ is a study that will use data from the L’Aquila (Italy) earthquake to derive a recovery index based on spatial indicators, which will make monitoring recovery both time and cost effective. Such monitoring will enable the emergent causal factors of vulnerability to be kept under control and encourage recovery planning to be improved around the world.

‘Guidelines on field testing and material sample collection during earthquake field missions’ will devise a set of guidelines that define ways to collect data from earthquake field missions defining material and physical

properties. It will encompass tests that can be done on site and the collection of material for laboratory testing. The data collected will enable better calibration of structural analysis models and reduce uncertainty in the development of fragility functions.

Dr Sean Wilkinson, Chairman of EEFIT, said: “EEFIT is trying to increase the impact that our reconnaissance missions have, and these awards should help us to achieve this. The first award is assisting us in our ambition to expand into the area of earthquake recovery. We have already conducted return missions to L’Aquila and to Japan, where we have learned many important things about the recovery process. This research will allow us to improve our abilities in this area even further. The second grant will enable us to bring back more quantitative data from the field that we and other researchers can then use to better understand why structures have failed.”

More details are available at: www.eefit.org.uk/grant.

For further information please contact Berenice Chan, Institution of Structural Engineers (020 7201 9125; Email: Berenice.chan@istructe.org).

The new EEFIT Research Grant funds studies using damage data from the 6 April 2009 L’Aquila (Italy) earthquake to derive a new recovery index for monitoring recovery after earthquakes