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SUMMARY:Structures Seminars – Manuel Buitrago (UPV): Structural Robustnes
 s: The work of the Building Resilient group with special emphasis on the c
 ase of timber structures.
DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\nTimber buildings are considered the construction of 
 the future given the environmental advantages that this type of constructi
 on has over concrete or steel structures. This main advantage is followed 
 by the outstanding characteristics of energy efficiency\, thermal and acou
 stic comfort\, lightness and even fire resistance\, as well as the economi
 c and temporal advantages of industrialised construction. The use of timbe
 r also requires little energy or water\, and is 100% renewable. This reali
 ty and current promotion of timber structures contrasts drastically\, howe
 ver\, with the scarce amount of research carried out in the field of struc
 tural robustness in relation to that of other materials (i.e. concrete or 
 steel). This contrast is especially relevant nowadays\, as extreme events 
 (e.g. storms\, floods\, vehicle impacts\, explosions or terrorist attacks)
  that usually cause sudden local-initial failures in structures become mor
 e frequent and unpredictable due to climate change and emerging conflicts.
  In this context\, state-of-the-art structural design standards and guidel
 ines indicate that structures should have sufficient structural continuity
 . This will prevent the propagation of failures because the structure will
  be able to activate alternative load paths in case of sudden failure of a
 ny element. In the case of timber structures\, continuity and efficient ac
 tivation of alternative load paths are considered critical because of the 
 way in which the connections between elements are made and their limited r
 otation capacity. One of the last tests of the Building Resilient group co
 nsisted of designing robust timber-to-timber connections that were also te
 sted in 1/3 scale building subassemblies. The tests have been carried out 
 for two new types of connections\, and for two strengthened connections to
  improve the structural robustness against sudden column failures.\nBio:\n
 Dr Manuel Buitrago is a Civil Engineer (MEng)\, MSc in Structural Concrete
  Engineering and PhD in Construction Engineering. He received 1 pre-and 2 
 post-doctoral competitive grants and signed several contracts funded by pu
 blic and private bodies. His current grant was funded by the Ministry of S
 cience and Innovation of Spain. He has also participated in 14 RD&I projec
 ts (2 of them being PI) and 25 contracts with different companies (budget 
 over €4.5 million)\, which proves his research and professional abilitie
 s. His research involves interdisciplinary collaboration and is now focuse
 d on the resilience of concrete\, steel\, and timber structures. He is aut
 hor of 33 papers in high-impact journals. These publications have been ass
 ociated with ambitious experimental campaigns which he led with significan
 t budgets. Highlighted should be the last experimental campaign (video)\, 
 which was disseminated in a very high-impact journal [Nature]\, being the 
 first time that Nature publishes a paper on building engineering. His pape
 rs have been published in leading journals (e.g. Engineering Structures\; 
 ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering\; Structures\; ACI Structural Journ
 al). He is co-author of 42 international conference papers and 4 book chap
 ters. The transfer of knowledgeto the industry has also been important to 
 him\, going from basic research (low Technology Readiness Levels – TRLs)
  to high TRLs and the development of a patent (ES2636833) which is being m
 arketed by Alsina Formwork Company SA (18 countries in 4 different contine
 nts). He has participated in teaching activities\, where he translates res
 earch into real applications\, mainly at UPV’s School of Civil Engineeri
 ng but also at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá\, the Unive
 rsidad de Alicante\, and the Politecnico Di Milano.\nOpen to all. Attendee
 s external to Imperial need to register by email. \nTime: 1:00 pm 
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/181763/structures-seminars-manuel-bui
 trago-upv-structural-robustness-the-work-of-the-building-resilient-group-w
 ith-special-emphasis-on-the-case-of-timber-structures/
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241007T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241007T140000
LOCATION:SKEM 207\, Skempton Building\, South Kensington Campus\, Imperial 
 College London\, London\, SW7 2AZ\, United Kingdom
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