Publications associées à X-Shell, a new spatial deployable lattice compared to traditional reticulated shells

FLO:RE – A new floor system made of reused reinforced concrete and steel elements

Maléna Bastien Masse, Numa Joy Bertola, Célia Marine Küpfer, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet

Carefully extracting reinforced concrete (RC) elements from soon-to-be demolished structures and reusing them as load-bearing components is an emerging circular low-carbon alternative to building new structures. As floor construction typically accounts for ...

IABSE2024

Instabilities in Elastic and Magneto-Elastic Beams and Shells: from Shell Buckling to the Design of a Programmable Braille Reader

Arefeh Abbasi

In this thesis, we conduct a comprehensive investigation into structural instabilities of both elastic and magneto-elastic beams and shells, resulting in a creative proposal to design a programmable braille reader. Methodologically, we combine numerical si ...

EPFL2024

Energy geotechnology: A new era for geotechnical engineering practice

Lyesse Laloui, Melis Sütman

Energy geotechnology provides low carbon, cost-effective and local energy solu-tions to structures and infrastructures, which opens a new era for the geotechnical engineering practice, by extending the conventional role of structural design to the ...

CRC Press2023

Low-tech methods for the reuse of reinforced concrete structural elements

Maléna Bastien Masse, Julie Rachel Devènes, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Nicole Widmer

Most of existing buildings are made of concrete, new buildings are being built with it and others are demolished when still in good structural condition. This drives increased demands for raw materials, greenhouse gas emissions, and an accumulation of demo ...

2023

Combined Passive and Active Ultrasonic Stress Wave Monitoring of UHPFRC Properties on a Structural Level

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola, Thomas Schumacher

Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC) is becoming popular in designing lightweight and durable structures. UHPFRC structural elements remain crack-free and waterproof under service conditions, significantly improving durab ...

2023

Preliminary design of the cold mass supports for the EU DEMO feeders

Kamil Sedlák, Roberto Guarino

The Cold Mass Support (CMS) is a basic structural component of the feeder system of the EU DEMO tokamak. The function of this structural element is not only to provide support to the containment duct - wiring the cryogenic lines, electrical bus bars and in ...

2023

Experimental testing and structural analysis of composite tile – reinforced concrete domes

Savvas Saloustros

Conventional formworks for concrete curved shells either are expensive, complex and wasteful or have formal restrictions. Using tile vaults (also known as timbrel, Guastavino, thin-tile or Catalan vaults) as stay-in-place formwork for concrete shells could ...

2023

Design of New Low-Carbon Floor Systems by Reusing Cut Cast-in-Place Concrete Pieces

Numa Joy Bertola, Célia Marine Küpfer, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet

As floors typically account for the largest share of a building embodied carbon footprint, new strategies to build low-carbon floors must be developed and implemented. Among these strategies, the reuse of existing components is a promising circular approac ...

Novus Press2023

A Collaborative Workflow to Automate the Design, Analysis, and Construction of Integrally-Attached Timber Plate Structures

Pierre Latteur, Yves Weinand, Aryan Rezaei Rad, Petras Vestartas, Nicolas Henry Pierre Louis Rogeau

This paper introduces a computational framework that fosters collaboration between architects, engineers, and contractors by bridging the gap between architectural design, structural analysis, and digital construction. The present research is oriented towa ...

CAADRIA2022

From Marshall Plan to “Hilton in the wild”: The Transnational History of a Cooperative Housing Block in Esat, Ankara

Sila Karatas

This paper concerns the planning, design, and construction history of a postwar multifamily housing block in Ankara, Turkey, viewed from the perspective of the transnational and local networks behind its realization. Built by the Mintrak Building Cooperati ...

2022

Case-Study on the Creep Behavior of Interconnected Timber Elements using Wood-Wood Connections

Yves Weinand, Julien Gamerro, Jean-François Bocquet, Martin Thomas Nakad

With the increasing use of automation and computer-aided manufacturing in timber construction, a standardized timber construction system using digitally produced wood-wood connections has recently been developed for basic building components. Its structura ...

EPFL2021

Structural design methodology in Integrally-Attached Timber Plate structures

Aryan Rezaei Rad, Petras Vestartas

The immediate application of research discoveries requires a global and exact understanding of the structure under consideration. To gain insight into the complex behavior of structures, numerical simulations are carried out in parallel to physical experim ...

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group2021

Component reuse in structural design: emerging practices and tools for the circular economy

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jan Friedrich Georg Brütting, Jonas Warmuth, Pierluigi D'Acunto

Structural engineers play an increasing role in ensuring the transition towards a more sustainable construction sector: a) they are responsible for the design of the most resource- and energy-intensive part of buildings and infrastructure, and b) they regu ...

fib2021

Design and temporal issues in Soil Bioengineering structures for the stabilisation of shallow soil movements

Giovanni De Cesare, Massimiliano Schwarz

In the last decades, soil bioengineering has gained considerable popularity worldwide, especially in hillslope, riverbank, and earth embankment stabilisation works. The use of plants as a building material transfers the plant multifunctionality within engi ...

2021

Design of Integrally-Attached Timber Plate Structures

Yves Weinand

Design of Integrally-Attached Timber Plate Structures outlines a new design methodology for digitally fabricated spatial timber plate structures, presented with examples from recent construction projects. It proposes an innovative and sustainable design me ...

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London, 20222021

Decision Framework to Balance Environmental, Technical, Logistical, and Economic Criteria When Designing Structures With Reused Components

Numa Joy Bertola, Célia Marine Küpfer, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jan Friedrich Georg Brütting

The reuse of structural components in new buildings has great potential to reduce the environmental impacts of the construction sector but remains uncommon practice. An obstacle to its wider implementation is the lack of robust assessment methods and decis ...

2021

Upcycling Space Structures (Preface to special issue)

Olivier Baverel, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet

The construction industry’s contribution to the deterioration of Earth’s ecosystem is huge. 11% of all anthropic greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are due to the construction, demolition, and transformation of buildings and infrastructure. Construction an ...

2021

Development of Novel Standardized Structural Timber Elements Using Wood-Wood Connections

Julien Gamerro

Traditional wood-wood connections, widely used in the past, have been progressively replaced by steel fasteners and bonding processes in modern timber constructions. However, the emergence of digital fabrication and innovative engineered timber products ha ...

EPFL2020

A Contribution to the Design of Textile Reinforced Concrete Structures

Patrick Lorenzo Valeri

The reduction of green-house gas emissions is one of the global challenges that our society is facing and the production of cement plays a major role because concrete is the most used material worldwide. For every 1000 kg of cement produced, 900 kg of CO2, ...

EPFL2020

Mechanical Characterization of Integrally-Attached Timber Plate Structures: Experimental studies and macro modeling technique

Aryan Rezaei Rad

Spurred by the recent advancements in Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Integral Mechanical Attachment (IMA) technique has been resurrected. Using IMAs, connections between timber elements are established through their form, instead of using additional connecto ...

EPFL2020