STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF BRIDGES AGAINST FIRE HAZARDS - Part 1

Date: 17 January 2025. Time: 16-17 hrs CET. 

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Speaker: Stefan Zmigrodzki, Canada, CIMA, Longueuil, Canada, Vice-Chair, Task Group 1.2.                              

Moderator: Ignacio Paya-Zaforteza, Spain; Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Chair,  Task Group 1.2.

The first series of webinars prepared by Task Group 1.2, “Structural Design of Bridges against Fire Hazards,” is divided into two parts to fit in the time frame allowed for this type of presentation. The focus of the series is on “the why” of the importance of bridge fires, the vulnerability of bridges exposed to fires, dealing with fire hazards, and finally, fire engineering related to bridge structures.

This present webinar is Part 1 of the series and is composed of two sections: (1) Examples of bride fires (2) Structural response to fire. Examples of 22 selected bridge fires that occurred in the period 2002-2016 are reviewed in detail, explaining the origin of fires and the damages caused to the structure. Based on the presented cases observations and conclusions are then shared with the audience.

Structural response to fire refers to the performance of steel and concrete as materials exposed to heat, the temperature loads created by heat and acting on the structural system and the parameters related to the temperature considered in the analysis.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF BRIDGES AGAINST FIRE HAZARDS - Part 2

Date: 24 January 2025. Time: 16-17 hrs CET. 

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Speaker: Speaker: Stefan Zmigrodzki, Canada, CIMA, Longueuil, Canada, Vice-Chair, Task Group 1.2.          

Moderators: Maria Pina Limongelli, Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Vice-Chair, IABSE e-Learning and Ignacio Paya-Zaforteza, Spain; Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Chair,  Task Group 1.2.

The first series of webinars prepared by Task Group 1.2, “Structural Design of Bridges against Fire Hazards,” is divided into two parts to fit in the time frame allowed for this type of presentation. The focus of the series is on “the why” of the importance of bridge fires, the vulnerability of bridges exposed to fires, dealing with fire hazards, and finally, fire engineering related to bridge structures. This webinar will present on the topic:  Structural response to fire. This present webinar is Part 2 of the series and is composed of four sections:

- Design for fire based on the NFPA 502

- Risk Analysis

- Dealing with Fire Hazards

- Holistic Approach to Fire vs Life-Cycle Performance

- Closing remarks

Review of the NFPA 502 is followed by the risk analysis based on the parameters related to the nature of risks, the structural performance of bridges and the impact of fire. Examples are given to reflect the presence of dangerous goods under/on bridges and the use of space underneath for parking or storage.

Dealing with fire hazards includes passive protections, conceptual aspects and factors reducing the risks.

Conceptual holistic approach to the design for fire is put in the perspective of the life-cycle performance of structures.

Observations/remarks summarizing the content of both parts of the 1st series of webinars presented by the Task Group 1.2 will close the presentation.

THE GREAT ENGINEERS: RICCARDO MORANDI

Date: 21 February 2025. Time: 14-15 hrs CET. 

(Organised by the Italian National Group)

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Speakers: Prof. Enzo Siviero, e-Campus University, Novedrate, Italy, and,

Dr. Nicola Scattarreggia (IABSE Award for Best PhD Thesis 2024), Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia, Pavia, Italy                    

Moderators: Dr. Filippo Landi, University of Pisa, Italy; Dr. Erica Lenticchia, Politecnico di Torino; IABSE Italian Group

                                Introduction by: Dr. Fabrizio Palmisano, PPV Consulting, Bari, Italy. Vice-president of IABSE Italian Group

This webinar is the first of a new series organized by the Italian Group of IABSE, focusing on the Great Engineers.

It follows a Duo-webinar format, which includes two presentations on a specific topic. In this series, the first presentation focuses on the professional life of a renowned ‘Great Engineer’, while the second covers a research or practical topic closely connected to the works of this engineer. This webinar is devoted to Riccardo Morandi, who is best known as a bridge designer for his innovative technology in the field of prestressing devices with many patents. Among his most famous masterpieces there are the Maracaibo Lake crossing in Venezuela and the Polcevera bridge in Genoa-Italy. Some of his arch bridges, such as the Storms River in South Africa and the Fiumarella Bisantis in Catanzaro-Italy, are noteworthy for their innovative construction techniques. However, Morandi's talent extended beyond bridge design; he was also a remarkable architect and urban planner, proving that civil engineers and architects can share a common foundation in the essence of “design”.

The first presentation by Prof. Enzo Siviero discusses not only the bridges designed by Riccardo Morandi, but also his broader contributions throughout his intense career. Like the great engineers of the past, Morandi's activity was directed through a humanistic approach and deep scientific and technological knowledge, spanning from conceptual design to the construction procedure, even in challenging site conditions.

The second presentation is relevant to the PhD thesis by Nicola Scattarreggia, who was recently awarded the IABSE ‘Best PhD Thesis Award’. This presentation explores the robustness and performance of aging reinforced concrete bridge structures, emphasizing their sensitivity toward progressive failure under various loading scenarios. It introduces the Applied Element Method, an advanced discontinuum-based micro-modelling approach, alongside traditional Finite Element Analysis, to assess collapse mechanisms and debris distribution.

FERN THE DIPLODOCUS: A STRUCTURAL TALE

Date: 28 February 2025. Time: 14-15 hrs CET. 

(Organised by the British National Group)

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Speaker: Max Clayton, Winner of the Nethercot Prize 2024, IABSE British Group.                     

Moderator: David Knight, Chair, IABSE British Group.

In the gardens of the Natural History Museum, a new resident stands tall over the Jurassic vegetation. Over the past four years, Structure Workshop has collaborated with scientists at the Natural History Museum and Madrid-based art fabricators Factum Arte to design and make the world’s first and only post-tensioned bronze dinosaur. Based on Dippy, the Museum's famous and much-loved Diplodocus cast, the new attraction is a free-standing, 25m long, life-size bronze dinosaur. Newly named Fern, it was officially unveiled in July 2024 in the revamped museum gardens as part of the Urban Nature Project, which has transformed the gardens into a biodiverse green space. The living dinosaur was an engineering marvel: an incredibly elegant and efficient natural structure. The neck and tail cantilevers are held aloft by thick, strong ligaments under great tension, running along the spine and anchored back to the hip. In the final design, each bone is a separate hollow casting, and they form the primary structural elements. The vertebrae are held together with stainless steel structural ‘tendons’ running along the spine. The tendons have been posttensioned to compress the bronze, holding the separate vertebrae together and forming the main structural spine. Just like the real animal, the tendons are anchored to the hip bone, and the two cantilevers largely balance each other. Read further ...

Client: The Natural History Museum, London. Fabrication and digital mediation: Factum Arte. Founders: Fademesa.  Structural Engineering: Structure Workshop. Fern the Diplodocus is supported by Kusuma Trust.