Evolve funding proposal has been granted

One of our most recent funding proposals entitled, “Identifying when current design guidelines contribute to disproportionate collapse of reinforced concrete building structures – Evolve”, has been granted. The overall aim of Evolve is to develop a performance-assessment framework to identify when more connectivity and continuity can increase the risk of disproportionate collapse in reinforced concrete (RC) structures.

This aim will be achieved by: 1) calibrating a suitable computational modelling strategy to simulate all phases of a building collapse, 2) systematically analysing collapse propagation in a carefully defined set of realistic building designs using the calibrated computational modelling strategy, 3) defining performance objectives for determining optimal levels of continuity for enhanced robustness.

The most notable scientific impact of Evolve is an improved understanding of collapse propagation in reinforced concrete structures, with a clear impact on the resilience of future buildings. Moreover, Evolve will provide a better understanding of the limitations of current methods included in building codes, paving the way for new solutions to improve the structural robustness of buildings. This will lead to more resilient buildings, having a clear societal impact in the form of reduced losses and the saving of lives during extreme events.

The Principal Investigator (PI) of the project is Nirvan Makoond (UPV). The project is funded by the Generalitat Valenciana – Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, under the GE 2024 call (CIGE/2024/199) with a total budget of €20,000 with a duration of 2 years.

Funded by Generalitat Valenciana – Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital under the GE 2024 call (CIGE/2023/199).