M.Sc. Pilot Course | Experimental Testing Based on Impact and Resistance: Wind, Fire and Earthquake
Introduction
Bauhaus University Weimar (BUW) - Chair of Advanced Structures took lead to organize an elective module with partner universities between Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), University Aveiro (UA), University Osijek (UNIOS), and Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology (IZIIS). The pilot course was organized within the framework of the Erasmus+ strategic partnership for digital education program (2022-2023), under the project title “PARFORCE: Partnership for virtual laboratories in civil engineering”, the course will be offered by each partner as an elective module for the local students. The pilot course served as an example for collaborative teaching and learning, whereas the project achievements were applied and tested. Based on the final evaluation, the pilot course can become the basis for future implementation in the curricula of the partners study programs and shall be opened for external students keeping recognition and inscribing rules of the partners, participating students will got the chance to attend civil engineering experiments related to the course content in a virtual environment and visit constcution site throughout Germany.
Course Description
Participating students familiarize with principles of the design and setup, as well as evaluation and interpretation of experimental testing in structural engineering, by attending the experiments in a virtual environment. The studentsapplied their theoretical knowledge and competences for solving complex practical tasks, and thus, building their own “mental models”, the focus on the special and diverse demands in the elaboration of repeatable and destructive testing.
Students got the chance to work with methods and instrumentation requirements to provide structure related parameters and characteristic e.g. force-displacement relationships in support of analytical studies. Students decided upon appropriate test configuration for particular problems and to formulate the right questions in preparation of experimental studies. The attending participants worked in international teams composed of students from each partner on a collaborative project, students were trained in distant group work.
Project Description | Assessment of Structures under Wind, Fire, and Earthquake
The fact that earthquakes, as well as winds, exert lateral forces on buildings invites a comparison between the two. Suffice it to say that although earthquakes and winds produce dynamic forces with distinctly different characteristics, approximated by static loadings in the simplified approaches usually adopted in building design codes. It is generally recognized that the two forces need not be considered simultaneously; ascertaining the necessity of determining the governing lateral load provisions in any given design problem where both apply. A comparison of this sort, however, is valid only for one particular set of conditions and may fail to reveal the effects of certain important variables (e.g. geographic location) on the relative importance of earthquake and wind on a country wise basis.
The aim of this project is to introduce the participants to the field of earthquake and wind engineering, starting with the study of code requirements and their application to different structural systems. The structural performance for different levels of seismicity and wind-speed will be evaluated using modern software. During the project, various modelling techniques and analysis methods will be demonstrated. Different modeling assumptions (e.g., material parameters) and modifications of the structural layout (e.g., irregularity in elevation) should be considered while evaluating its influence on the dynamic behavior. After the project, the participants should be able to model and analyze structures using standard procedures. In addition to the evaluation of the structural performance for wind and seismic loads, students are asked to elaborate on a comparative fire safety concept with regards to the occupant’s evacuation time. At the end, a small presentation should be prepared by the participants in order to discuss the results.
More information regarding the course project can be accessed here ...
Course Schedule
The course will be divided into two parts, a hybrid part where local students might attend the classes face-to-face, and participating students from other partner universities will attend the class online, this phase will start on 12th october 2022. The hybrid phase is followed by a one-week presence part, where all students and responsible lectures will meet in Germany for one week. The face-to-face meeting is assigned to discussion/reflection of knowledge, team building, presentation and working on the project assignments, visiting of construction sides in further support of training competencies. the complete course schedule can be viewed here...
Finally, the participating students were taken on excursions to the A45 replacement project for the Bornbach and Bechlingen viaducts. Here, engineers and supervisors provided a brief presentation of the project, followed by a tour of the construction site. Additionally, during the presence phase of the course, a specialized course in scientific practices was delivered by a team from Bauhaus University to improve the writing and presentation skills of the students. The participating students got the chance to present their work and final outcomes of the course.
