Publications associées à Segmented Spiral Using Inter-Connected Timber Elements

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

Short-term behavior of glass fiber-polymer composite bending-active elastica beam under service load application

Thomas Keller, Landolf-Giosef-Anastasios Rhode-Barbarigos, Tara Habibi

Bending-active elastica beam is a structural configuration that is based on the elastic deformation of an initially straight beam. This deformation occurs when horizontal displacements are applied to a sliding support, causing the beam to bend into an arch ...

2024

Influence of model uncertainty and long term deformations in action effects calculation in reinforced concrete structures

Xhemsi Malja

Most codes of practice adopt a semi probabilistic design approach for the dimensioning and assessment of structures. Accordingly, structural safety is ensured by performing limit state verifications using design values determined with adequately calibrated ...

EPFL2024

A global framework for data-informed bridge examination

Eugen Brühwiler, Philippe Schiltz, Numa Joy Bertola

Examining the performance of an existing bridge requires information on several aspects, such as design choices, material properties, and ongoing degradation processes. It often happens that some critical information is not available. The traditional appro ...

2024

Experimental Investigation on Size-Effect of Rubble Stone Masonry Walls Under In-Plane Horizontal Loading: Overview and Preliminary Results

Katrin Beyer, Savvas Saloustros

Rubble stone masonry is a common construction typology of historical city centres and vernacular architecture. While past earthquakes have shown that it is one of the most vulnerable masonry construction typologies, there are few experimental campaigns giv ...

2024

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

Reuse of cut concrete slabs in new buildings for circular ultra-low-carbon floor designs

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

The study explores an original idea that responds to the urgent need to reduce the detrimental environmental impacts of load-bearing floor construction in new buildings by reusing saw-cut reinforced concrete (RC) pieces salvaged from soon-to-be demolished ...

2024

Selection of informative monitoring techniques for bridge-performance evaluations

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola

Decisions regarding the management of civil infrastructure are becoming more crucial as a large share of bridges is presently approaching what is often considered to be the end of their theoretical service duration. Evaluating existing structures using a d ...

Trinity College2023

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

Sensing the structural behavior: A perspective on the usefulness of monitoring information for bridge examination

Eugen Brühwiler, Yves Sylvain Gilles Reuland, Numa Joy Bertola

Managing existing civil infrastructure is challenging due to evolving functional requirements, material aging, and climate change. With increasingly limited economic, environmental, and material resources, more sustainable solutions for practical asset man ...

2023

Reliability analysis and partial safety format calibration considering the characteristics of the resistance of reinforced concrete structures

Qianhui Yu

Every engineering calculation is an approximation of reality, with inevitable uncertainties involved. This fact implies that a reliability verification accounting for the uncertainties is a necessary step in the design and assessment of structures. Nowaday ...

EPFL2023

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

Framework to evaluate the value of monitoring-technique information for structural performance monitoring

Eugen Brühwiler, Numa Joy Bertola

The management of existing civil infrastructure is becoming more crucial as a large share of bridges is approaching their theoretical end of service duration. Structural performance monitoring aims to verify bridge safety at a given time, and it should be ...

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

Computational Conceptual Design – Typological Exploration Of Spatial Truss Systems Through Optimization

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jonas Warmuth, Pierluigi D'Acunto

Exploring a wide range of relevant design options from the outset is crucial for every sound conceptual design process. Optimization techniques are generally employed to generate well-performing structural design options. However, focusing only on performa ...

2023

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

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

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

Reusability Assessment of Obsolete Reinforced Concrete Structural Components

Maléna Bastien Masse, Célia Marine Küpfer, Julie Rachel Devènes, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet

The production of concrete, the most widely used construction material, detrimentally affects the environment. Obsolete reinforced concrete (RC) load-bearing structures, even when still in good condition, are today prematurely crushed and landfilled or rec ...

Springer2023

Inverse Analysis of R-UHPFRC Beams to Determine the Flexural Response under Service Loading and at Ultimate Resistance

Eugen Brühwiler, Emmanuel Denarié, Bartlomiej Wojciech Sawicki

Ultra high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites (UHPFRCs) have demonstrated their outstanding efficiency as structural materials. Determination of the bending resistance of members combining UHPFRC with steel reinforcement bars (R-UHPFRC) u ...

2022