About

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Inspiring a new generation of scientists

INSPIRE aims to foster a new generation of highly qualified researchers and engineers, which will create a critical mass kernel, trained to implement novel concepts for the efficient protection of structures from all ground induced hazards, including earthquakes and all other sources of low-frequency noise and vibration excitations.

New Concepts for Structural protection against Earthquake & Noise

To transcend the limitations of existing seismic protection methods.

– Current seismic isolation devices do not provide protection against the vertical component of the seismic excitation.

– Seismic upgrading in existing structures (e.g. historical buildings) is usually prohibitive

– Conventional seismic isolation methods requires large installation/construction costs.
To extend noise protection in the low frequency range methodologies.

– Noise Protection measures in the low-frequency range (below 100Hz) are very poor. Yet a wide class of ground vibrations generated by heavy and high-speed vehicles such as trains and trucks (referred as transit vibration) or construction activities (i.e. dynamic compaction, roadbed compaction, pile driving, blasting) present a frequency spectrum well below 100Hz.

The notion of “meta-materials” refers to natural or artificial materials or structures which exhibit extraordinary properties for inhibiting or conditioning wave propagation in all spatial directions over broad frequency bands and are already finding successful technological applications for high frequency waves (electromagnetic, optical, thermal, ultra-sound), and for wavelengths limited at micro-/mesoscopic scales. These general developments of metamaterials will be further enriched and advanced through novel absorption and isolation concepts, such as negative effective mass and stiffness moduli media and structures, or novel friction and vibro-impact rocking motion based non-linear mechanisms.

Meet our early stage researchers

INSPIRE network will train fellows in wave propagation and wave conditioning, seismic/noise isolation and vibration attenuation concepts. Close collaboration between partners from academia and private sectors is pursued to provide both scientific and transferable skills to our Early Stage Researchers in response to the labor demands of the academic, industrial and private sectors.

Georgia Efthymiou

Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

ESR02: Design of pile arrays for low-frequency vibration protection in soil

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Antonios Mantakas

National Technical University of Athens

ESR07: Non-linear mechanisms for structural damping

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Fabrizio Aloschi

Ingenieurgesellschaft Dr.-Ing. Fischbach mbH

ESR10: “Meta-Pipes”: Designs for protection of pipes and associated structures

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“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.
Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less”

Marie Skłodowska Curie

National Technical University of Athens

School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering

University of Trento

Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM)

ETH Zurich

Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering

Université de Lille

Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

Division of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering

University of Bologna

Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering

University of Mons

Department of Theoretical Mechanics, Dynamics and Vibrations

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Inspiring a new generation of scientists

New Concepts for Structural protection against Earthquake & Noise

Meet our early stage researchers

National Technical University of Athens

University of Trento

ETH Zurich

Université de Lille

Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

University of Bologna

University of Mons

Rina Consulting S.p.A.

FIP MEC srl

ADT – OMEGA Consulting Engineers S.A.

Ingenieurgesellschaft Dr.-Ing. Fischbach mbH

Group Science