Building Information Modelling (BIM) standardization

BIM, short for Building Information Modelling, is a digital tool disrupting the construction industry as a platform for central integrated design, modelling, asset planning running and cooperation. It provides all stakeholders with a digital representation of a building's characteristics in its whole life-cycle and thereby holds out the promise of large efficiency gains. One particular area where standardisation on BIM is needed is the exchange of information between software applications used in the construction industry. The leading organisation in this domain is buldingSMART which has developed and maintains Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) as a neutral and open specification for BIM data model. Other standardisation work include data dictionaries (International Framework for Dictionaries Libraries) and processes (data delivery manuals). ISO/TC 59/SC 13 "Organization of information about construction works", a subcommittee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on the worldwide and CEN/TC 442 "Building Information Modelling", a technical committee of European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) on the European level develop and maintain standards in the BIM domain. Liaisons with a plethora of different institutions ensure the completeness and inclusiveness of the process as well as the smooth acceptance of adopted standards. Although BIM was originally devised for buildings the benefits such as less rework, fewer errors, enhanced collaboration, and design data that can ultimately be used to support operations, maintenance, and asset management mad it an attractive option also for infrastructure projects. As geographic information system (GIS) is a key element in any infrastructure project there is the need to integrate BIM and GIS. Both technologies use standard and open data formats, but they are different and presently there is no direct translation.JRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building

Achievements in Eurocodes implementation. Where do we stand?

The implementation of the Eurocodes is now in the key stage of National implementation where almost all Member States are approaching the final phase of the predefined roadmap. A limited but targeted assistance from the European Commission is provided to interested parties and stakeholders in the Member States supporting full implementation of the Eurocodes as well as further harmo-nization and extension of the scope of the European standards for construction to cover emerging demands of modern society. In order to assess the potential for further harmonization, detailed statistical analysis of the Nationally Determined Parameters (NDPs) is essential. For a selected representative set of NDPs - mostly from EN 1992, the similarities and discrepancies between the parameters set by Member States along with the motivation of these tendencies are investigated in detail and possibilities for further harmonization are identified.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Seismic Retrofitting of RC Frames with RC Infilling

The effectiveness of seismic retrofitting of multi-storey multi-bay RC-frame buildings, by converting selected bays into new walls through infilling with RC, was studied experimentally at the ELSA facility at JRC, Ispra, and the results are reported here. The full-scale model tested with the pseudo-dynamic method consisted of two parallel frames, linked through 0.15m slabs, having three bays each (8.5m long), with the central bay (2.5m) infilled with RC wall, and being four storeys tall (12m). The frames were designed and detailed for gravity loads only and are typical of similar frames built in Cyprus in the 1970’s. Different connection details and reinforcement percentages for the two infilled frames were used in order to study the effects of these parameters. The results of the pseudo-dynamic and cyclic testing performed are presented and conclusions are drawn.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Recommendations for National Risk Assessment for Disaster Risk Management in EU

Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) calls Participating States to develop risk assessments periodically and make the summary of their National Risk Assessment (NRA) available to the European Commission as a way to prevent disaster risk in Europe. In order to facilitate countries on this task, the European Commission developed the Guidelines on risk assessment and mapping. In spite of these, the summaries received have revealed several challenges related to the process and the content of the assessments. The current report aims to provide scientific support to the UCPM participant countries in their development of NRA, explaining why and how a risk assessment could be carried out, how the results of this could be used for Disaster Risk Management planning and in general, how science can help civil protection authorities and staff from ministries and agencies engaged in NRA activities. The report is the result of the collaborative effort of the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre team and nine Joint Research Centre expert groups which provided their insight on tools and methods for specific risk assessment related to certain hazards and assets: drought, earthquakes, floods, terrorist attacks, biological disasters, critical infrastructures, chemical accidents, nuclear accidents and Natech accidents. The current document would be improved by a next version that would include scientific guidance on other risks and the collaboration of potential users.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Implementation, harmonization and further development of the Eurocodes – A case study on Eurocode 2

The Eurocodes are a set of common technical rules for the design of structures and other civil engineering works and products, covering all major construction materials in almost all fields of civil engineering. The implementation of the Eurocodes in Member States, including the preparation and publication of National parts, the adoption of the National Provisions and the withdrawal of the conflicting National Standards are expected to be fully completed in 2012. This paper briefly presents the recent status of implementation, divergence of the Nationally Determined Parameters (NDP’s) from recommended values (focusing on EN 1992) and the activities of the European Commission for evolution and further development of the Eurocodes.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Experimental Campaign on the Full Scale FRP Motorway Bridge

We present the main results of an experimental campaign conducted at the ELSA laboratory of the Joint Research Centre on a hybrid-composite, fibre-reinforced, motorway bridge beam. The 14 metre long specimen is an identical prototype of the actual beams installed on a real (now functional) highway interchange roundabout in Madrid, Spain. The bridge ensemble consists of two 3×14 metre length, dual lane, two-way carriages capable of carrying fully laden heavy truck stock. The scope of the test campaign was to assess the design and ultimate capacity of the primary bridge beam and the participatory reinforced concrete deck system. The test set-up was designed to induce serviceability and limit loads in an isostatic manner, reflecting the primary load-bearing conditions within the context of the bridge as a whole (four parallel sets of three spans of simply supported beams connected by a reinforced concrete deck). In order to monitor the complex behaviour, the specimen was extensively instrumented with nearly two hundred channels – of which over one-hundred strain gauges – and stereoscopic photogrammetry with which to monitor in-(and out)-of-plane global displacements and buckling. The bridge beam-deck deflections during the deck grouting and subsequent curing were monitored for four weeks, after which the test campaign proper began with experimental modal analysis, followed by a comprehensive cyclic test campaign to confirm the serviceability and ultimate limit state of the bridge. The experiments were concluded with a test up to failure.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

OPTICAL 3 DIMENSIONAL MEASUREMENTS ON A FRP BEAM TESTED AT SERVICEABILITY LIMIT

Optical stereoscopic measurements were performed on a real size 14 metre long fibre-reinforced polymer composite vehicular beam bridge submitted to four-point bending. The field of view was 6 metres, with a pixel resolution of ~4 mm. The 3-D displacements were monitored by targets and texture tracking. Optical measurements show good correlation with traditional sensors. They allowed measuring 3-D displacement and strains fields, evidencing the out-of-plane buckling displacement of the beam web, sensing unforeseen displacements and giving insight in the boundary conditions of the experiment.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Pseudo-Dynamic Tests on a Full-Scale Four-Storey Reinforced Concrete Frame Seismically Retrofitted with Reinforced Concrete Infilling

The effectiveness of seismic retrofitting of multi-storey multi-bay RC-frame buildings by converting selected bays into new walls through infilling with reinforced concrete (RC) was studied experimentally at the ELSA facility of the Joint Research Centre in Ispra (Italy). A fullscale model was tested with the pseudo-dynamic method and consisted of two four-storey (12m tall) three-bay (8.5m long) parallel frames linked through 0.15m slabs with the central bay (2.5m) infilled with a RC wall. The frames were designed and detailed for gravity loads only and are typical of similar frames built in Cyprus in the 1970’s. Different connection details and reinforcement percentages for the two infilled frames were used in order to study their effects in determining structural response. The results of the pseudo-dynamic and cyclic tests performed on the specimen and their analytical simulation are presented, and conclusions are drawnJRC.G.4-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Cyber-physical testing of civil engineering structures at the ELSA laboratory

The European Laboratory for Structural Assessment performs tests of full-size specimens of civil engineering structures and contributes to the scientific knowledge on the behaviour of different structural typologies. Many of the testing campaigns are oriented to the improvement of design standards such as the Eurocode8, which is the European standard for seismic design of structures. The classic step-by-step Pseudo-dynamic (PsD) testing method is well suited for such huge specimens and is relatively easy to implement, including the case of substructuring, but imposes a very low execution speed of the test. A substantial improvement is introduced by the continuous PsD method that allows for a faster execution of the test and improves the quality of the results by making a more effective use of the measurements. This paper briefly reports on some examples of application of the classic method, such as bi-directional PsD tests on a real-size multi-storey building by using up to nine DoFs and twelve actuators, where sophisticated geometric and static on-line transformations of variables between the equation of motion and the controllers were required. As a second example, substructuring techniques developed within the PsD method have proved to be very useful for obtaining the seismic response of large structures, e.g. bridges. In such case, a testing set-up is devised in which the reduced part of the structure that suffers the largest damage (some of the piers) is the actual specimen whereas the rest of the structure (the deck and the remaining piers) is numerically substructured. Finally, another two examples refer to tests performed with the continuous PsD method on a new-design precast 3-storey building and on a 3-storey reinforced concrete building retrofitted with shear infill walls.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Dual eccentrically braced frames with removable links: experimental validation of technical solution through large-scale pseudo-dynamic testing

Conventional seismic design philosophy is based on dissipative structural response, which implicitly accepts damage of the structure under the design earthquake and leads to significant economic losses. Repair of the structure is often impeded by the permanent (residual) drifts of the structure. The repair costs and downtime of a structure hit by an earthquake can be significantly reduced by adopting removable dissipative members and providing the structure with re-centring capability. These two concepts were implemented in a dual structure, obtained by combining steel eccentrically braced frames (with removable bolted links) and moment resisting frames. The bolted links provide the energy dissipation capacity and are easily replaceable, while the more flexible moment resisting frames provide the necessary re-centring capability. The paper presents the results of a large scale experimental program on a dual eccentrically braced frame with replaceable links performed at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra within the framework of Transnational Access of the SERIES Project. The objectives were to validate the re-centring capability of dual structures with removable dissipative members, assess overall seismic performance of dual eccentrically braced frames and obtain information on the interaction between the steel frame and the reinforced concrete slab in the link region. Pre-test numerical simulations were performed in order to assess the response of the structure under different levels of the seismic input, as well as to establish the optimal sequence of link removal and replacement. The general set-up of the experimental mock-up, instrumentation, the test sequence, and preliminary test results are presented.JRC.G.4-European laboratory for structural assessmen