Preparation for call for proposals for access to ELSA

The JRC Strategy 2030 for ‘Infrastructure fit for purpose’ includes an action to open up JRC’s research infrastructure to external use. This will give European research and business organisations access to equipment that they would not normally have. It will also raise the value and visibility of DG JRC’s research infrastructures. ELSA-OPEN is a pilot project of this action that will make available to researchers and industry the ELSA reaction wall and the HOPLAB facilities. Access will be granted through open calls and proposals will be evaluated by a selection panel, considering a set priority topics and other criteria. This report gives an overview of the facilities, the framework for access and the procedure and timetable for the submission and evaluation of proposals and the execution of accepted proposals.JRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building

The Emilia earthquakes: Report and analysis on the behavior of precast industrial buildings from a field mission

A series of earthquakes, the highest of magnitude Mw 5.9, hit a portion of the Po Valley in Northern Italy, which was only recently classified as seismic. The paper reports the findings and the lessons learnt from a preliminary field survey which was conducted immediately after the second event. As a result of the economic attitude of the affected area, and possibly of the characteristics of the event, an unprecedented number of industrial precast buildings were affected, resulting into most of the casualties as well as in large economic losses. Whereas most of the damaged and collapsed buildings were designed for gravity loads only, evidence of poor behavior of some precast buildings designed according to seismic provisions were discovered. The paper provides a description of the performance of precast buildings, highlighting the deficiencies that led to their poor behavior as well as some preliminary .recommendationsJRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Validation of Simplified Procedures for Predicting Global Response in the Context of DBD of Bridges, Including the Flexibility of Foundations / Case Study Comparison of DBD Iterative Procedures for Bridges

The present report collects the work performed in Deliverable 112 "Validation of simplified procedures for predicting global response in the context of DBD of bridges, including the flexibility of foundations" and in the chapter corresponding to Displacement Based Design of Deliverable 113 "Case study comparison of DBD iterative procedures for bridges" of the LESSLOSS Project, dealing with three main subjects: verifying that the concept of the Substitute Structure constitutes a valid means of predicting the response of a bridge structure undergoing plastic deformations; formulating a procedure for the displacement based design performance of bridges; defining the parameters of a Takeda Model to be used within the context of non-linear time history analysis of bridges with RC rectangular hollow columns.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Enhancing the collaboration of earthquake engineering research infrastructures

Towards stronger international collaboration of earthquake engineering research infrastructures International collaboration and mobility of researchers is a means for maximising the efficiency of use of research infrastructures. The European infrastructures are committed to widen joint research and access to their facilities. This is relevant to European framework for research and innovation, the single market and the competitiveness of the construction industry.JRC.G.4-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Simplified Models/Procedures for Estimation of Secant-to-Yielding Stiffness, Equivalent Damping, Ultimate Deformations and Shear Capacity of Bridge Piers on the Basis of Numerical Analysis

The present report gives charts and expressions for computing the equivalent stiffness and damping of bridge piers of rectangular hollow cross section at maximum displacement within the framework of displacement based design and assessment of bridges, based on the results of parametric non-linear cyclic fibre section analysis calibrated from full-scale experimental results. A state of the art review is presented concerning the different approaches that may be adopted to model shear effects in reinforced concrete columns concerning the different approaches that may be adopted to model the shear effects in reinforced concrete columns.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Adoption of the Eurocodes in the Balkan Region

This report addresses the activities carried out for the adoption and implementation of the Eurocodes in the non-EU countries in the Balkan region within the context of the Enlargement and Integration Action of the JRC. The considerable interest in the implementation and adoption of the Eurocodes in the Balkan region is based on the opportunity to have an advanced common standardization environment, which is adaptable to the particular requirements of each country with regard to the geographical, geological or climatic conditions and also allows selecting the level of safety. Moreover, adoption and implementation of Eurocodes will help the Candidate Countries to fully implement EU acquis at the time of accession and support Potential Candidate Countries to progressively align themselves with the EU acquis. The main objective of the activities presented herein was to focus on progress and specific needs for adoption and implementation of the Eurocodes and related EN standards in the Balkan region. Generally, it may be concluded that most of the non-EU countries in the Balkan region are going to use the Eurocodes as primary standards. These countries are aware about needs for harmonization of national legislation and standardization framework for construction with EU legislation. However, in most of the countries there is a lack of relevant institutional support for adoption and implementation of the Eurocodes.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen